Hello, dear friend, you can consult us at any time if you have any questions, add WeChat: daixieit

ECO313

Environmental Economics and Policies

Fall 2022

Writing Assignment

Rubric:

The main purpose of this research is finding real world cases or projects in the area of your topic,  which show how economic and market mechanisms are used to solve or reduce the negative impacts on the environment.  Please see below for the list of topics.  The cases should be selected such that you are able to analyse and compare them in terms how effective they have been in solving               environmental problems, who have been involved in the project (government/private sector …), and how financially sustainable these programs have been in achieving their environmental targets, … .

In order to help you, your paper should include, among other things, the following steps.  Please note that your final paper must have a complete article structure from introduction to conclusion and         references with an internal coherence.  These steps, as a rubric, are just to help you to organize your  paper, what you are expected to include, and their weights in the marking scheme.  Therefore, do not treated them like questions to be answered mechanically.

1)- Find a few actual real world implemented projects or programs in the area of your topic. (25 points) 2)- Discuss the environmental problem(s) that these projects or programs are supposed to deal with. (10 points)

3)- Very briefly review the economic theory underlying the solution(s) implemented in your cases to    solve the abovementioned environmental problem(s).   Please note that in this essay we are focusing on economic tools, policies, and market mechanisms to solve the environmental problems.  This part must be brief, a few paragraphs.  (10 points)

4)- You can discuss and review many projects, but you need to expand at least a few of them in more   details in order to compare them, in terms of the incentive structure (the role of private/government in  the project), managerial and implementation structures, geographical coverage, sectoral coverage, the  final outcomes and effectiveness of the programs to achieve the goals (whether they were successful or unsuccessful).  (40 points)

5)- General organization, quality of presentation, creativity and elaboration of the paper and also proper referencing.   (15 points)

Almost every day, you hear about different companies announcing their net-zero emission targets. So, this means there are increasing number of companies in the demand side and supply side of carbon     capture services.   There are at least 27 countries involved in payment schemes for carbon                   sequestration.  In fact, a majority of the schemes are at the global level, registered under the Kyoto     Protocol’s “Activities Implemented Jointly”, however, the roll of the private sector is increasing, and  the scale of trading schemes is rising.  Here are the topics related to supply, demand, and exchange     (market) sides, just to make sure your focus is narrow and manageable in your essay.

2)- Markets for carbon capture and sequestration

Recently, Elon Musk said he plans to set a $100 Million prize for the best carbon capture technology. Note that your essay should focus on the economic aspects not engineering and technological side of the cases.

3)- Carbon offsets and carbon credits

Carbon trade exchanges and carbon offset exchanges.

4)- Market for groundwater and surface water

In order to manage and allocate the scarce water resources more efficiently, markets for trading surface and ground water have been created in the US California (after Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, SGMA), Australia, and India, as an examples.

5)- Landscape services

Landscape services are associated with the aesthetic and cultural value of specific sites, and may          involve the protection of cultural sanctuaries or natural heritage sites.  There are currently at least 50    examples of payment schemes, mostly very small, short-term, site-specific, without any sophistication. With the emergence of “ecotourism”, many governments attempt to establish schemes in national level (like in EU, Canada, and Nepal).

6)- Biodiversity offsets

The concept of offsets goes back to the idea of “wetland banking” in the US, where “banks” are    established for anyone who wishes to drain a wetland can purchase credits from someone who has restored or created a wetland elsewhere and deposited it in the “wetland” .

Now, the concept is expanding to biodiversity offsets in many other countries, like Habitat Banking in Germany, or the Environment Bank in the UK.  Or schemes in developing countries, like the Business Offsets Program that has pilot projects in Africa (Ghana, Madagascar, and South Africa). Other           examples are including cases in the US and New Zealand, involved with mining companies.   Please   review the course notes and reading materials about biodiversity offset. 

For each of following topics, you can find, review, and compare programs in OECD countries (but not necessarily all of them), like Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan,       Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, and USA.

Administrative aspects:

- The project should be done by each student independently and alone.  You should let me know following information by email (to masoud.anjomshoa@utoronto.ca), by October 27, 2022:

- Your name and student ID Number.

- A list of six topics from the previous page, in order of your preference.  I will choose and let you know your topic.  You cannot change your topic after my approval.  You cannot start or finish the essay without my approval of the topic.

- The quality of analysis always matters more than quantity.  But your assignment should be around

2500 words (around 10 pages), excluding the references, graphs, and tables.

- You should report all ofyour references.  You can choose any citation format, but it should be used consistently along your essay. As you know plagiarism is a violation that is prosecuted based on the  university rules.  In order to find help for writing, referencing methods, avoiding plagiarism, please   consult with following website:      http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/using-sources

- The assignment must be submitted before November 27, at 9pm, sharp, through Quercus.  The     assignment must include your name and student ID Number, on the cover page, otherwise your marks may not be recorded correctly.

-The only acceptable submission format is ONE file in PDF format, including everything.  The name

of the file must be:                  ECO313_Topic#_lastname.pdf

For example, for topic#6, biodiversity offsets:    ECO313_06_Smith.pdf

- You must start the project early to avoid the last-minute rush, or last-minute technical issues or        sickness, …  The deadline will not be extended. No excuse like network failure, system interruption, or sickness … is acceptable.  If you miss this assessment, according to the outline, it cannot be          substituted by anything else.

- The file must be submitted only once.  If you submitted several versions or several times, one of them is selected, RANDOMLY, by the computer.