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Economic structure and strategies for greenhouse gas mitigation

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  • Minihan, Erin S.
  • Wu, Ziping

Abstract

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission mitigation policy impacts the economic system directly in the short-term by altering relative prices and indirectly in the long-term by shifting the structure of the economy. There may also be adjustments to economic structure independent of policy intervention due to changes in population, consumption patterns, and global markets. The overall effectiveness of specific mitigation policy will partly depend on these indirect and exogenous changes to economic structure. This study develops a new measure linking economic development with its environmental effects. The technical cost of GHG mitigation under economic growth in an economy is calculated by combining traditional input-output (IO) analysis and a linear programming based sensitivity analysis. The approach is applied to Northern Ireland (NI), producing an isoemission matrix that maps emission-neutral expansion paths for the economy. The measurement provides an indicator of the demand for technical improvement to achieve GHG mitigation at a national or regional level. The flexibility and transparency of the approach make it useful for evaluating potential GHG mitigation strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Minihan, Erin S. & Wu, Ziping, 2012. "Economic structure and strategies for greenhouse gas mitigation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 350-357.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:34:y:2012:i:1:p:350-357
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2011.05.011
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    Cited by:

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    2. Wen Guo & Tao Sun & Hongjun Dai, 2017. "Efficiency Allocation of Provincial Carbon Reduction Target in China’s “13·5” Period: Based on Zero-Sum-Gains SBM Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-18, January.
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    5. Minihan, Erin S. & Wu, Ziping, 2011. "The Potential Economic and Environmental Costs of GHG Mitigation Measures for Cattle Sectors in Northern Ireland," 85th Annual Conference, April 18-20, 2011, Warwick University, Coventry, UK 108779, Agricultural Economics Society.
    6. Wang, Xipan & Song, Junnian & Duan, Haiyan & Wang, Xian'en, 2021. "Coupling between energy efficiency and industrial structure: An urban agglomeration case," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    7. Dai, Xiao-wen & Sun, Zhanli & Müller, Daniel, 2021. "Driving factors of direct greenhouse gas emissions from China’s pig industry from 1976 to 2016," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 20(1), pages 319-329.
    8. Zekai He & Xiuzhen Shi & Xinhao Wang & Yuwei Xu, 2017. "Urbanisation and the geographic concentration of industrial SO2 emissions in China," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 54(15), pages 3579-3596, November.
    9. He, Weijun & Wang, Bo & Danish, & Wang, Zhaohua, 2018. "Will regional economic integration influence carbon dioxide marginal abatement costs? Evidence from Chinese panel data," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 263-274.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    GHG mitigation; IO analysis; Linear programming; Isoemission matrix; Technical cost; Northern Ireland;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy
    • C61 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Optimization Techniques; Programming Models; Dynamic Analysis
    • C67 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Input-Output Models

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