This paper examines the significance of the ownership of natural capital in the context of natural capital accounting, illustrated with regard to two ecosystem services – carbon sequestration and air pollution removal – and a range of ecosystem types and land ownership in Scotland. Read more
Examining the relationship between contemporaneous exposure to fine particulate matter and COVID-19 morbidity and mortality, this paper, using US data, finds that fluctuations in local air quality can almost immediately impact the rate of confirmed cases and deaths from the disease. Read more
BBC Newsnight piece considers the impact of COVID-19 on efforts to tackle climate and air pollution. Starts at 22:37. 14... Read more
Reports that the British Government will reveal plans to cut fuel duty in this week’s pre-Budget announcement are dismaying just four months after it committed to reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, says Josh Burke, especially when there is consensus on how to cut emissions from the transport sector. Read more
This analysis investigated three international agreements to mitigate cross-border environmental pollution and found them to have directly led to sizeable reductions in pollutants. The findings suggest that protocols of this kind can be an effective tool to induce countries to reduce their emissions. Read more
This study provides the first empirical evaluation of China’s 11th Five-Year Plan which set a goal to reduce the emission of sulphur dioxide (SO2) by 10% between 2006 and 2010. Read more
Using data for London, this research finds that elevated levels of air pollution have a positive and statistically significant impact on overall crime - and therefore that improving air quality in urban areas through tighter environmental policy may provide a cost-effective way to reduce crime. Read more
A new report by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change helps to dispel some of the gloomy arithmetic of climate change by providing evidence on the scale and range of ancillary benefits that derive from reducing emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Read more
This report assesses what is known about potential co-benefits across multiple domains: environmental, economy-wide, and sector-specific. It then reports on empirical results on co-benefits, in particular the application of integrated assessment models (IAMs) to simulate co-benefits over the course of the century. Read more
This research shows that when the monetary value people place on their health is measured by surveys, the type of institution sponsoring those surveys has an effect on that value. Read more