IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v38y2010i6p2797-2805.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sustainability standards for bioenergy--A means to reduce climate change risks?

Author

Listed:
  • Schubert, Renate
  • Blasch, Julia

Abstract

The paper discusses the importance of standards for sustainable bioenergy production. Sustainability of bioenergy production is crucial if bioenergy is supposed to contribute effectively to climate change mitigation. First, a brief overview of current bioenergy policies and of initiatives and legislation for bioenergy sustainability are given. Then, the authors show that under free market conditions undersupply of sustainable bioenergy will prevail. Two types of market failures are identified: information asymmetry and externalities in bioenergy production. Due to these market failures bioenergy is less sustainable than it could be. It is shown that mandatory certification and subsequent labeling can help to overcome the information asymmetry and lead to a more efficient market outcome since consumers can choose products according to their preferences. The authors conclude, however, that the existence of production externalities asks for stronger market intervention, for example in the form of binding minimum standards or taxes. The paper discusses the efficiency and feasibility of such policy measures and shows that mandatory certification combined with binding minimum standards can be an adequate policy choice to regulate the bioenergy market.

Suggested Citation

  • Schubert, Renate & Blasch, Julia, 2010. "Sustainability standards for bioenergy--A means to reduce climate change risks?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 2797-2805, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:38:y:2010:i:6:p:2797-2805
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301-4215(10)00017-0
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Martin L. Weitzman, 1974. "Prices vs. Quantities," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 41(4), pages 477-491.
    2. Winand Emons, 1997. "Credence Goods and Fraudelent Experts," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 28(1), pages 107-119, Spring.
    3. Dawes, Robyn M & Thaler, Richard H, 1988. "Anomalies: Cooperation," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 2(3), pages 187-197, Summer.
    4. Bruno S. Frey & Alois Stutzer, 2006. "Environmental Morale and Motivation," IEW - Working Papers 288, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - University of Zurich.
    5. Spence, Michael, 1974. "Competitive and optimal responses to signals: An analysis of efficiency and distribution," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 296-332, March.
    6. Bergstrom, Theodore & Blume, Lawrence & Varian, Hal, 1986. "On the private provision of public goods," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 25-49, February.
    7. Sonnemans, Joep & Schram, Arthur & Offerman, Theo, 1998. "Public good provision and public bad prevention: The effect of framing," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 143-161, January.
    8. Rametsteiner, Ewald, 2002. "The role of governments in forest certification--a normative analysis based on new institutional economics theories," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 4(3), pages 163-173, July.
    9. Matthew J. Kotchen, 2006. "Green Markets and Private Provision of Public Goods," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 114(4), pages 816-845, August.
    10. Darby, Michael R & Karni, Edi, 1973. "Free Competition and the Optimal Amount of Fraud," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 16(1), pages 67-88, April.
    11. Jaffee, Steven & Henson, Spencer, 2004. "Standards and agro-food exports from developing countries: rebalancing the debate," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3348, The World Bank.
    12. van den Bergh, Jeroen C.J.M., 2008. "Environmental regulation of households: An empirical review of economic and psychological factors," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(4), pages 559-574, July.
    13. Grolleau, Gilles & Caswell, Julie A., 2006. "Interaction Between Food Attributes in Markets: The Case of Environmental Labeling," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 31(3), pages 1-14, December.
    14. Frey, Bruno S, 1997. "A Constitution for Knaves Crowds Out Civic Virtues," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 107(443), pages 1043-1053, July.
    15. George A. Akerlof, 1970. "The Market for "Lemons": Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 84(3), pages 488-500.
    16. Alphons Kragt & Robyn Dawes & John Orbell, 1988. "Are people who cooperate ‘rational altruists’?," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 233-247, March.
    17. Michael Spence, 1973. "Job Market Signaling," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 87(3), pages 355-374.
    18. Brian Roe & Ian Sheldon, 2007. "Credence Good Labeling: The Efficiency and Distributional Implications of Several Policy Approaches," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 89(4), pages 1020-1033.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ashish Dwivedi & Claudio Sassanelli & Dindayal Agrawal & Md. Abdul Moktadir & Idiano D'Adamo, 2023. "Drivers to mitigate climate change in context of manufacturing industry: An emerging economy study," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7), pages 4467-4484, November.
    2. Carsten Herbes & Lorenz Braun & Dennis Rube, 2016. "Pricing of Biomethane Products Targeted at Private Households in Germany—Product Attributes and Providers’ Pricing Strategies," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-15, March.
    3. Fabio G. Santeramo & Monica Delsignore & Enrica Imbert & Mariarosaria Lombardi, 2023. "The Future of the EU Bioenergy Sector: Economic, Environmental, Social, and Legislative Challenges," International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, now publishers, vol. 17(1), pages 1-1–52, April.
    4. Ackom, Emmanuel K. & Alemagi, Dieudonne & Ackom, Nana B. & Minang, Peter A. & Tchoundjeu, Zac, 2013. "Modern bioenergy from agricultural and forestry residues in Cameroon: Potential, challenges and the way forward," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 101-113.
    5. Lucas Reijnders, 2022. "Defining and Operationalizing Sustainability in the Context of Energy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-9, July.
    6. Pradipta Halder & Javier Arevalo & Liisa Tahvanainen & Paavo Pelkonen, 2014. "Benefits and Challenges Associated with the Development of Forest-Based Bioenergy Projects in India: Results from an Expert Survey," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 5(1), pages 1-12, March.
    7. Alejandro Carbonell-Alcocer & Juan Romero-Luis & Manuel Gertrudix, 2021. "A Methodological Assessment Based on a Systematic Review of Circular Economy and Bioenergy Addressed by Education and Communication," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-37, April.
    8. Chen, Lihong & Li, Xiaobing & Wen, Wanyu & Jia, Jingdun & Li, Guoqing & Deng, Fei, 2012. "The status, predicament and countermeasures of biomass secondary energy production in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(8), pages 6212-6219.
    9. Segerstedt, Anna & Bobert, Jans, 2013. "Revising the potential of large-scale Jatropha oil production in Tanzania: An economic land evaluation assessment," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 491-505.
    10. Halder, Pradipta, 2014. "Perceptions of energy production from forest biomass among school students in Finland: Directions for the future bioenergy policies," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 372-377.
    11. Francesco Manta & Valeria Stefanelli & Vittorio Boscia, 2023. "Spread the word: Certifying sustainable behaviour for territorial development. A stakeholder engagement approach to assess financial performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(3), pages 1096-1103, May.
    12. Pannicke, Nadine & Gawe, Erik & Hagemann, Nina & Purkus, Alexandra & Strunz, Sebastian, 2015. "The Political Economy of Fostering a Wood-based Bioeconomy in Germany," German Journal of Agricultural Economics, Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, Department for Agricultural Economics, vol. 64(04), December.
    13. Purkus, Alexandra & Gawel, Erik & Thrän, Daniela, 2012. "Bioenergy governance between market and government failures: A new institutional economics perspective," UFZ Discussion Papers 13/2012, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Division of Social Sciences (ÖKUS).
    14. Jiang, Zhong-Zhong & He, Na & Huang, Song, 2021. "Government penalty provision and contracting with asymmetric quality information in a bioenergy supply chain," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    15. Pinto, Lígia Costa & Sousa, Sara & Valente, Marieta, 2022. "Forest bioenergy as a land and wildfire management tool: Economic valuation under different informational contexts," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    16. Meneses-Jácome, Alexander & Diaz-Chavez, Rocío & Velásquez-Arredondo, Héctor I. & Cárdenas-Chávez, Diana L. & Parra, Roberto & Ruiz-Colorado, Angela A., 2016. "Sustainable Energy from agro-industrial wastewaters in Latin-America," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 1249-1262.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. repec:hal:pseose:halshs-00736551 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Cuffaro, Nadia & Di Giacinto, Marina, 2015. "Credence goods, consumers’ trust in regulation and high quality exports," Bio-based and Applied Economics Journal, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA), vol. 4(2), pages 1-19, August.
    3. Fabrice Etilé & Sabrina Teyssier, 2012. "Signaling Corporate Social Responsibility: Third-Party Certification vs. Brands," PSE Working Papers halshs-00736551, HAL.
    4. Etilé, Fabrice & Teyssier, Sabrina, 2013. "Corporate social responsibility and the economics of consumer social responsibility," Review of Agricultural and Environmental Studies - Revue d'Etudes en Agriculture et Environnement (RAEStud), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), vol. 94(2).
    5. Julia Blasch & Mehdi Farsi, 2012. "Retail demand for voluntary carbon offsets - A choice experiment among Swiss consumers," IED Working paper 12-18, IED Institute for Environmental Decisions, ETH Zurich.
    6. McCluskey, Jill J., 2000. "A Game Theoretic Approach To Organic Foods: An Analysis Of Asymmetric Information And Policy," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association, vol. 29(1), pages 1-9, April.
    7. Holland, Steven, 2015. "Lending Credence: Motivation, Trust and Organic Certification," 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 26-28, San Francisco, California 205192, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    8. Gaëlle Balineau & Ivan Dufeu, 2010. "Are Fair Trade Goods Credence Goods? A New Proposal, with French Illustrations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 92(2), pages 331-345, April.
    9. Cole, Anne & Harris, Jane, 2005. "Rising interest in credence qualities in agricultural products and the role for government," 2005 Conference (49th), February 9-11, 2005, Coff's Harbour, Australia 137828, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    10. Lupton, Sylvie, 2006. "Il était une fois la qualité," MPRA Paper 5, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Vincze, János, 2010. "Miért és mitől védjük a fogyasztókat?. Aszimmetrikus információ és/vagy korlátozott racionalitás [Asymmetric information and/or bounded rationality: why are consumers protected and from what?]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(9), pages 725-752.
    12. Steve Holland, 2016. "Lending credence: motivation, trust, and organic certification," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-18, December.
    13. Feser, Daniel & Runst, Petrik, 2016. "Energy efficiency consultants as change agents? Examining the reasons for EECs’ limited success," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 309-317.
    14. Yokessa, Maïmouna & Marette, Stéphan, 2019. "A Review of Eco-labels and their Economic Impact," International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, now publishers, vol. 13(1-2), pages 119-163, April.
    15. Yuji Tamura, 2013. "Migrant smuggling when exploitation is private information," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 46(4), pages 1463-1479, November.
    16. Steinrücken, Torsten, 2001. "Der Markt für politische Zitronen," Ilmenau Economics Discussion Papers 20, Ilmenau University of Technology, Institute of Economics.
    17. Schneider, Tim & Bizer, Kilian, 2017. "Building trust by qualification in a market for expert services," University of Göttingen Working Papers in Economics 309, University of Goettingen, Department of Economics.
    18. Oranuch Wongpiyabovorn & Alejandro Plastina & John M. Crespi, 2021. "US Agriculture as a Carbon Sink: From International Agreements to Farm Incentives," Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) Publications 21-wp627, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at Iowa State University.
    19. Sergey Belev & Olga Boldareva & Ilya Sokolov & Anna Zolotareva, 2013. "Features of the Public Procurements of Innovation Products in Russian and the World," Published Papers 166, Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy, revised 2013.
    20. Kubitzki, Sabine & Krischik-Bautz, Stephanie, 2011. "Weiß der Verbraucher wirklich, welche Qualität er kauft? Eine Studie zur Qualitätserwartung an Prüfzeichen," Journal of International Agricultural Trade and Development, Journal of International Agricultural Trade and Development, vol. 60(1).
    21. Nick Feltovich & Rick Harbaugh & Ted To, 1998. "Too Cool for School? A Theory of Countersignaling," Game Theory and Information 9811002, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bioenergy Sustainability Standards;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:38:y:2010:i:6:p:2797-2805. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.