Economic Impacts from the Boulder County, Colorado, ClimateSmart Loan Program


Book Description

This report examines the economic impacts (including job creation) from the Boulder County, Colorado, ClimateSmart Loan Program (CSLP), an example of Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing. The CSLP was the first test of PACE financing on a multi-jurisdictional level (involving individual cities as well as the county government). It was also the first PACE program to comprehensively address energy efficiency measures and renewable energy, and it was the first funded by a public offering of both taxable and tax-exempt bonds. The first phase of the residential CSLP financed about $9.8 million in residential energy retrofits, most of which were completed in 2009. This report focuses on 598 project invoices and $9.0 million in project spending. The report provides a program overview and economic impact analysis of program spending and energy savings using an input-output (I-O) model. The report also provides a qualitative assessment of factors that affected the resulting economic impacts, and profiles some program participants and contractors. The analysis focuses on Boulder County benefits but also includes an assessment of associated statewide economic benefits.







Spatial Synthesis


Book Description

This book describes how powerful computing technology, emerging big and open data sources, and theoretical perspectives on spatial synthesis have revolutionized the way in which we investigate social sciences and humanities. It summarizes the principles and applications of human-centered computing and spatial social science and humanities research, thereby providing fundamental information that will help shape future research. The book illustrates how big spatiotemporal socioeconomic data facilitate the modelling of individuals’ economic behavior in space and time and how the outcomes of such models can reveal information about economic trends across spatial scales. It describes how spatial social science and humanities research has shifted from a data-scarce to a data-rich environment. The chapters also describe how a powerful analytical framework for identifying space-time research gaps and frontiers is fundamental to comparative study of spatiotemporal phenomena, and how research topics have evolved from structure and function to dynamic and predictive. As such this book provides an interesting read for researchers, students and all those interested in computational and spatial social sciences and humanities.




Federal Register


Book Description




Uncharted Waters


Book Description

Uncharted Waters: The New Economics of Water Scarcity




Valuing Climate Damages


Book Description

The social cost of carbon (SC-CO2) is an economic metric intended to provide a comprehensive estimate of the net damages - that is, the monetized value of the net impacts, both negative and positive - from the global climate change that results from a small (1-metric ton) increase in carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions. Under Executive Orders regarding regulatory impact analysis and as required by a court ruling, the U.S. government has since 2008 used estimates of the SC-CO2 in federal rulemakings to value the costs and benefits associated with changes in CO2 emissions. In 2010, the Interagency Working Group on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases (IWG) developed a methodology for estimating the SC-CO2 across a range of assumptions about future socioeconomic and physical earth systems. Valuing Climate Changes examines potential approaches, along with their relative merits and challenges, for a comprehensive update to the current methodology. This publication also recommends near- and longer-term research priorities to ensure that the SC- CO2 estimates reflect the best available science.




Energy Audits and Improvements for Commercial Buildings


Book Description

The Intuitive Guide to Energy Efficiency and Building Improvements Energy Audits and Improvements for Commercial Buildings provides a comprehensive guide to delivering deep and measurable energy savings and carbon emission reductions in buildings. Author Ian M. Shapiro has prepared, supervised, and reviewed over 1,000 energy audits in all types of commercial facilities, and led energy improvement projects for many more. In this book, he merges real-world experience with the latest standards and practices to help energy managers and energy auditors transform energy use in the buildings they serve, and indeed to transform their buildings. Set and reach energy reduction goals, carbon reduction goals, and sustainability goals Dramatically improve efficiency of heating, cooling, lighting, ventilation, water and other building systems Include the building envelope as a major factor in energy use and improvements Use the latest tools for more thorough analysis and reporting, while avoiding common mistakes Get up to date on current improvements and best practices, including management of energy improvements, from single buildings to large building portfolios, as well as government and utility programs Photographs and drawings throughout illustrate essential procedures and improvement opportunities. For any professional interested in efficient commercial buildings large and small, Energy Audits and Improvements for Commercial Buildings provides an accessible, complete, improvement-focused reference.




Transforming REDD+


Book Description

Constructive critique. This book provides a critical, evidence-based analysis of REDD+ implementation so far, without losing sight of the urgent need to reduce forest-based emissions to prevent catastrophic climate change. REDD+ as envisioned




Measuring and Analyzing the Impact of GVCs on Economic Development


Book Description

This report is about a huge contribution to our deepening understanding of what the global economy really means and how it is changing. The report helpfully distinguishes elements of an economy that are tradable and the large set that are non-tradable. Clearly the tradables set is expanding with the support of enabling technology. The report argues that connectivity in the networks that define the evolving architecture of GVCs is important. This Global Value Chain Development Report is the result of intensive and detailed work in assembling and analyzing data on the structure of economies and on how they are linked. It creates a much clearer picture of evolving patterns of independence. It also presents a much clearer picture of comparative advantage. --Publisher description.




Impacts of climate change on fisheries and aquaculture


Book Description

This report indicates that climate change will significantly affect the availability and trade of fish products, especially for those countries most dependent on the sector, and calls for effective adaptation and mitigation actions encompassing food production.