Latest Documents

Green Talks LIVE - Mainstreaming Biodiversity into Renewable Power Infrastructure

These free webinars are open to the general public and participants are welcome to pose questions during the Q&A segment. Topics covers air pollution, biodiversity, chemicals, climate change, carbon pricing, finance and investment, waste, water and more. Register to attend the forthcoming webinar: Mainstreaming Biodiversity into Renewable Power Infrastructure on 30 January.

Behavioural and Experimental Economics for Environmental Policy

This project investigates how behavioural economics can inform the design of “norm-based” environmental policies and “behaviourally robust” markets for ecosystem services. This work is part of a broader effort of a project that seeks to identify areas where behavioural economics can have the greatest impact on environmental policy design.

Working Paper: Leveraging the Smart Grid: The Effect of Real-Time Information on Consumer Decisions

This report reviews the literature on the impact of real-time information provision on consumer decision-making. In addition, it describes the results of a study in which about 7000 households in Ontario, Canada were provided with in-home displays linked to smart meters that provided real-time feedback on electricity consumption.

Tackling Environmental Problems with the Help of Behavioural Insights

Environmental Policy Design, Innovation And Efficiency Gains In Electricity Generation - Environment Working Paper

This paper explores the relationship between environmental regulation, innovation, and competitiveness, drawing upon a unique dataset on environmental regulations directed at combustion plants, a global dataset of power plants, and a global dataset of ‘environmental’ patents. The analysis is conducted in two stages.

Firm Surveys relating Environmental Policies, Environmental Performance and Innovation: Design Challenges and insights from Empirical Application - Environment Working Paper

This report provides a review of recent firm-level and plant-level surveys containing questions on environmental policies, innovation practices or performance which are relevant for environmental policy analysis and assessment. We specifically focus on the core element that relates environmental policies to environmental and economic performance, namely the adoption of innovative practices and environmental innovations by firms.

"Ecological Footprint" leaving a trail at OECD

This project is unique in that it explores how national-level policies impact household behaviour. Topics include energy use, food consumption, personal transport choices, waste generation and recycling, and water consumption. Yet the project does not specifically discuss the term “ecological footprint,” and it retains a macro-policy focus, targeting governments interested in learning which policies to implement.

Measuring environmental innovation using patent data - Environment Working Paper

This paper refines indicators to measure innovation in environment-related technologies, drawing on recent methodological advances that allow a more accurate assessment of environment-related innovation in a broader range of countries. Three indicators are discussed: an indicator of technology development; an indicator of international collaboration in technology development and an indicator of technology diffusion.

Tender Instruments: Programme Participation and Impact in Australian Conservation Tenders, Grants and Volunteer Organisations - Environment Working Paper

A striking variety of policy instruments are used in Victoria, Australia to achieve conservation objectives. These include highly active voluntary programmes, a variety of conservation grants, and a reverse auction for the provision of ecosystem services, known as EcoTender. An open question regarding such payments for ecosystem services (i.e. grants and tenders) is whether they achieve ‘additionality.’

Sustainable Consumption Dilemmas - Environment Working Paper

Consumers only occasionally choose to buy sustainable products. At the same time these consumers say in surveys that sustainability is important to them, and that the government should promote sustainable consumption. This study takes a closer look at public support for sustainable consumption and the associated dilemmas, with the help of a behavioural economics experiment of group decisions.