Environmental Economics Fundamentals Quiz
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Questions and Answers

What concept emphasizes the importance of viewing environmental impacts from both local and global perspectives?

  • Resource extraction
  • Footprint approach (correct)
  • Life-cycle assessment
  • Pollution perspective

    • In the context of environmental economics, what does the term 'sink' refer to?

  • Minimizing resource consumption
  • Using the environment to absorb waste and pollutants (correct)
  • Extracting energy from natural resources
  • Managing resources sustainably

    • What framework is used to analyze the environmental and social impacts of economic activities?

  • DPSIR Framework (correct)
  • PEST Analysis
  • Cost-Benefit Analysis
  • SWOT Analysis

    • Which process requires both energy and materials while also resulting in waste generation?

    <p>Economic production</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a primary focus of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)?

    <p>Analyzing the impacts of goods and services throughout their life cycles</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What aspect is crucial when assessing the overall impact of consumption patterns?

    <p>Equity considerations</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is NOT a method to understand consumption impacts?

    <p>Environmental impact studies</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the DPSIR framework primarily help to evaluate?

    <p>Environmental pressures and responses</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What has historically driven global emissions reductions?

    <p>Global crises</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the main challenge presented in decoupling CO2 emissions from economic growth?

    <p>Improvement in emission intensity is not keeping pace with economic growth</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is indicated as necessary to stabilize temperatures?

    <p>Intentional and sustained global reductions in emissions</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the term 'ambiguous relative decoupling' refer to?

    <p>The complexity in measuring material use against CO2 emissions</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the term 'emission intensity' refer to?

    <p>The ratio of emissions produced to the economic output</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the target for reducing CO2 emissions by 2050 as indicated in the content?

    <p>90%</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the term 'global fossil CO2 emissions' imply regarding historical trends?

    <p>Emissions growth tends to recover rapidly post-crisis</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What ultimately challenges the economic machine in relation to energy?

    <p>Poor prospects without energy</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the IPAT identity represent in environmental science?

    <p>The relationship between impact, population, affluence, and technology</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is NOT one of the five stages in the life cycle analysis of a smartphone?

    <p>Digital marketing strategies</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the Kaya identity, what factors are multiplied to estimate CO2 emissions?

    <p>Population, GDP per capita, and energy intensity</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the term 'affluence' refer to in the context of the IPAT identity?

    <p>GDP per population</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which framework is referred to as 'the safe and just space for humanity'?

    <p>The Doughnut framework</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the purpose of mixing the Doughnut approach with life cycle analysis?

    <p>To analyze the environmental impact at various product stages</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which element is a driver of impacts at the macro level as described by the IPAT identity?

    <p>Affluence relative to resource availability</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the Kaya identity seek to explain concerning CO2 emissions?

    <p>Expected drivers of CO2 emissions from energy consumption until 2100</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary learning objective of the class workshop on transition scenarios?

    <p>To experiment with socioecological issues</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the context of the workshop, what is emphasized in the policy and actions scenario development?

    <p>Bridging the gap between ambition and current reality</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which factor should teams discuss regarding the limitations of the simulation tool used in the workshop?

    <p>The complexity and realism of the tool</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the expected teamwork structure during the workshop?

    <p>Each team can have a maximum of 6 members</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which is NOT a recommended step in the workshop's simulator activity?

    <p>Discuss answers before each individual exploration</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the workshop suggest regarding feedback loops in the simulation tool?

    <p>Neglected feedback loops can lead to oversimplifications</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a crucial aspect teams need to consider when proposing policies during the workshop?

    <p>The potential side effects and political difficulties</p> Signup and view all the answers

    During the workshop, what is expected when understanding transition/sustainability goals?

    <p>It is important to evaluate if the country is on track</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the direct rebound effect in energy usage?

    <p>Lower prices of energy services leading to increased consumption of that service.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following describes an indirect rebound effect?

    <p>Increased demand for other goods due to lower energy costs.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is true about eco-efficiency?

    <p>It aims for reductions in resource use to achieve higher productivity.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What consequence can arise from rebound effects at the household level?

    <p>Cost savings being redirected to other goods and services.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does 'burden shifting' refer to in environmental economics?

    <p>Increased socio-environmental conflicts caused by high-income countries' resource consumption.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What do 'sufficiency measures' aim to achieve?

    <p>Reduce average internal temperatures for energy savings.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does eco-efficiency relate to 'Factor 4' or 'Factor 5'?

    <p>They are benchmarks for achieving resource productivity improvements.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a potential negative outcome of energy efficiency improvements?

    <p>Increased overall energy use due to rebound effects.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What observation is made regarding the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) in relation to carbon emissions?

    <p>The EKC model is inadequate for explaining emissions or concentrations.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the author suggest should be tested more rigorously regarding urban ambient concentrations?

    <p>The relationship between income and some pollutants.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is implied about the future prospects of the EKC according to the content?

    <p>The EKC may shift down over time, indicating a change in the emissions-income relationship.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    According to the content, what is a potential draw back of the EKC model?

    <p>It fails to provide a comprehensive explanation for all pollutants.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What alternative to traditional decoupling is discussed?

    <p>Finding the best intermediate means to reach ultimate ends.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What question about green growth are the authors posing?

    <p>Is green growth still feasible and desirable?</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What potential relationship is described between income and urban ambient concentrations of pollutants?

    <p>It may follow an inverted U-shaped relationship.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What do the authors anticipate regarding the relationship between emissions and income in the future?

    <p>The relationship will likely become more complex and may not follow the EKC.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Topics in Economics and Environment (Jour)

    • Course offered by IHEC Brussels Management School, 2024-2025, taught by Philippe Roman
    • Course covers topics relating to economics and environment
    • Chapter 2 focuses on economies and the environment

    Chapter 2: Economies and the Environment

    • Required reading list includes:
      • Miranda Cunha Tenorio and Gomez-Baggethun (2024)
      • The Economist, "Green Light," November 12th, 2022
      • Kuper,"The myth of green growth," Financial Times, 2019

    Topics from Chapter 1

    • How economics deals with the environment and ecological issues
    • Relationships between economic and socioecological systems
    • Economic policies for the environment

    Topics from Chapter 3: Concepts, Theories, Indicators and Assessment Tools

    • Sustainability as a key concept, principles, and metrics
    • Business models with high sustainability potential
    • Business models, theories, indicators and assessment tools

    Chapter 2.1 Impacts of the Economy on the Environment

    • 2.1.1. Multifaceted impacts:
      • Impacts and their indicators
    • 2.1.2. Assessing impacts
    • 2.1.3. Decoupling, the EKC, and green growth
    • 2.1.4. Unintended effects of eco-efficiency
    • 2.1.5. Efficiency vs sufficiency & supply-side vs demand-side solutions

    Resource Scarcity vs Toxic Abundance

    • Are we running out of natural resources?
    • The Simon-Ehrlich bet:
      • Ehrlich believed scarcity
      • Simon believed technological advances would increase efficiency
    • Problems of pollution and sinks are possibly more pressing than resource depletion
    • We should leave substantial amounts of oil, coal, and gas in the ground

    Fossil Fuel Resources

    • Fossil fuel resources include Oil, Gas and Coal/Lignite.
    • Fossil fuel reserves exist, although quantities are not discussed in the text.
    • Temperature increases relative to 1861-80 (°C)

    Climate Change

    • Go to climateactiontracker.org to research country emissions
    • Understand the meaning of "fair share target"
    • Research your chosen country's climate standing

    Resource Scarcity

    • Resource scarcity vs toxic abundance
    • Are we running out of natural resources?
    • The Simon-Ehrlich bet. who was correct?
    • Problems of pollution and sinks are probably more pressing issues than resource depletion

    Environmental Pressure Indicators

    • What unit? (e.g., kg of chemicals released)
    • Aggregation into a widely/easily-understandable indicator (e.g., ecological footprint)
    • Indices versus accounts (e.g., GHG inventories, ecological footprint, Living Planet Index, Material flows, SDG Index, Environmental Performance Index)
    • Territory-based or consumption-based emissions? (e.g., T-shirt production)
    • Carbon territorial emissions vs carbon footprint
    • Domestic material extraction vs material footprint
    • Domestic water withdrawal vs water footprint

    Growing Extraction of Materials

    • Totaling domestic extraction of materials such as biomass, fossil fuels, metal ores and non-metallic minerals
    • Graphic showing increase in material extraction over time

    Domestic Extraction of Materials (2017)

    • Countries with the 10 highest material extraction amounts per capita
    • Chart showing values in million tonnes

    Material Footprint per capita (1970-2017)

    • Plot comparing Material Footprint by national income bands with world average

    Material Footprint per capita (1970-2017)

    • Plot comparing Material Footprint per capita by national income bands with world average

    Metal Production Amounts and Environmental Impacts

    • Amounts and environmental impacts of metal mining from 2000-2015 (10 metals)
    • Includes data on production amounts, climate change impacts, ecotoxicity and human health impact

    Global Water Withdrawal and Losses (1900-2010)

    • Global population and water withdrawal over time
    • Water withdrawal ratios by continent
    • Graphic illustrating water withdrawals, municipal, industrial, etc

    Water Stress (1981-2010)

    • Water withdrawals and availability across the world
    • Map showing water withdrawals and availability across the world

    The Ecological Footprint

    • Calculating consumption of resources and waste generation against nature's ability to absorb waste
    • Diagram illustrating Footprint concept
    • Includes metrics for a variety of factors

    Global Ecological Footprint vs Biocapacity

    • Plot illustrating global ecological footprint vs biocapacity over time
    • Graph highlighting the use of resources against nature's ability to regenerate
    • Includes carbon, fishing grounds, cropland, build-up land, forest products and grazing land

    Global Ecological Footprint/Biocapacity (1961-2012)

    • Graph highlighting how ecological footprint has exceeded biocapacity

    Global Footprint by Income (1970 - 2017)

    • Comparing national income bands (High, Upper-middle, Lower-middle and Low-income)
    • Illustrating how the material footprint changes with income

    CO2 emissions and atmospheric concentration

    • Plot of atmospheric CO2 parts per million versus year (1000-2000s)
    • Plot comparing global carbon emissions and fossil fuel burning emissions versus year

    Temperature, Deviation from Average (1750-2000)

    • Graph highlighting temperature deviations (1750-2000) versus year.

    Global Carbon Budget (2010-2019)

    • Total emissions and sinks for fossil fuels, land use change, land sink, and ocean sink

    Global Methane Budget (2008-2017)

    • Total emissions, atmospheric CH4 growth rate and total sinks from various sources

    Global Fossil CO2 Emissions (1990-2022)

    • Graph of Global Fossil CO2 Emissions showing overall increase over time
    • Points of interest include major events impacting emissions (e.g. dissolution of Soviet Union and COVID-19 pandemic)

    Total Global Emissions (1960-2022)

    • Graph plotting Total Global Emissions versus year
    • Land-use change highlighted as an important metric

    Global Carbon Budget (1850-2021)

    • Plot illustrating the cumulative contributions to the global carbon budget

    Emission Gap Report 2018 (UNEP)

    • Highlighted data on emissions pathways showing consistent paths to warming levels above 2°C and 1.5°C
    • Consumption-based indicators, showing extraction of materials over time
    • Territory-based indicators, showing domestic production of materials
    • Comparing the two metrics

    Decoupling through services

    • Examining how service sector growth relates to energy use and emissions
    • Statistical relationships between service sector growth and emissions
    • Data analysis of trends

    The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC)

    • Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis
    • Relationship between economic development, income and environmental degradation

    The EKC: Not Working for Carbon Emissions

    • Scatterplot showing lack of a clear relationship between CO2 and GDP/capita

    CO2 Emissions Per Capita v GDP Per Capita (2016)

    • Plot for various countries correlating CO2 emissions per individual versus GDP per individual
    • Shows relationship between wealth and emissions

    Carbon Dioxide Emissions per Capita vs GDP per capita

    • Plot for different countries comparing GDP per capita versus CO2 emissions

    Environmental Performance Index (2014)

    • Scatterplot illustrating how Environmental Performance correlates to GDP per capita

    Per capita plastic waste versus GDP per capita (2010)

    • Scatterplot illustrating the relationship between per capita plastic waste production vs GDP per capita

    Poor Prospects for the EKC

    • Discussion on EKC not being a robust model for emissions reduction

    Decoupling Ends from Means

    • Intermediate ends (needs and wants) vs ultimate ends (end goal of life)
    • Intermediate means (human-made capital) vs ultimate means (low-entropy matter-energy)

    From Planetary Processes to Human Well-Being

    • Framework linking planetary processes with human well-being
    • Illustrates relationship between biophysical resource use and social outcomes using a diagram

    Social Thresholds vs Biophysical Boundaries

    • Relationships of social and biophysical boundaries, showing how social thresholds relate to biophysical boundaries transgressed

    Ecological Footprint per person and Human Development Index (HDI) of Countries (2013)

    • Graph relating countries' ecological footprints per person against their Human Development Index (HDI)
    • Shows relationship between sustainability and development

    Is Green Growth (Still) Possible? and Desirable?

    • Question of the viability and desirability of Green Economic Growth

    What if Recycling Takes Off?

    • High material degradation and energy consumption despite recycling rates
    • Assessment of recycling as a complete societal solution

    Demand-Side Decarbonization vs Supply-Side Decarbonization

    • Cost comparison of demand and supply side decarbonization solutions

    Zero Waste Hierarchy

    • Hierarchy of waste management options, from refuse and redesign to residual management

    Sufficiency Actions and Rebound Effects

    • Table including author, region, categories, measures, metric, and estimates of the rebound effect relating to various sufficiency actions

    Constraints of the Environment on the Economy

    • From cornucopian utopias to limits to growth and collapse

    The Drivers of Impacts (Macro-level)

    • Introducing the IPAT Identity (Impact = Population x Affluence x Technology).

    The Drivers of CO2 emissions

    • Application of the IPAT identity to CO2 emissions

    Fossil CO2 Emissions and Intensity

    • Understanding past and projected future fossil CO2 emission levels and intensities
    • Trends in CO2 emissions relative to economic activity (GDP) and energy consumption, including specific periods (e.g., Great Depression, World Wars, oil crises, COVID-19 Pandemic)

    Decoupling through Services

    • Examining the relationship between energy use and emissions from service sector activities

    The Limits to Growth Model

    • Overview of the 1972 "Limits to Growth" model and its projections

    Peak Fossil Fuels

    • Estimated periods for peak production of various fossil fuels

    When It Takes Increasing Amounts of Energy to Get Energy

    • Introduction of the EROI concept and its application to energy extraction

    Published EROI Values for Oil and Gas Production in the US (1920 - 2010)

    • Diagram presenting EROI values for oil and gas production in the US over time, accompanied by notable historical events
    • Trends in EROI over time with context of certain historical events.
    • Graph showing Canada's oil and gas EROI figures from 1989 to 2010.

    New Assessments of EROI for Oil and Gas from Various Countries (1990 - 2010)

    • Range of EROI values for oil and gas (from different countries and different studies) plotted over time

    The Net Energy Cliff

    • Graph illustrating how net energy produced declines over time as the cost of energy increases

    Peak Era Model of Economic Growth

    • Diagram of various factors influencing economic growth (e.g., increasing demand and lower oil prices)

    Class Workshop

    • Learning objectives for a climate policy simulator workshop

    Workshop Guidelines

    • Instructions for organizing and conducting a class workshop using a climate policy simulation tool

    Climate Scenarios

    • Exploration of climate scenarios using Climact 2050 Pathways Explorer, including specific examples on how energy choices influence emissions for the future
    • List of recommended videos (on YouTube) with links providing further information on the various topics.

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    Topics In Economics And Environment (Jour) PDF

    Description

    Test your knowledge on key concepts in environmental economics and life cycle assessment. This quiz covers important topics such as environmental impacts, frameworks like DPSIR, and the challenges of decoupling emissions from economic growth. Dive in and see how well you understand these critical issues.

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