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Altres ajuts: Acord transformatiu CRUE-CSIC ; Pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) have been linked in the literature to social norms, intrinsic motivation and external conditions. However, no study has jointly analyzed these factors on a cross-country dataset and given a holistic explanation of the variance observed in the adoption rates of PEBs across countries. Using a dataset measuring individual adoption of eight PEBs in the European Union's 28 member states (in 2018), we econometrically test these three groups of factors on a wider scale. We assess the importance of intrinsic motivation as a dominant factor and show how differing levels of intrinsic motivation influence the effectiveness of external conditions, such as monetary incentives and green infrastructures. The results suggest that two-pronged policies, which take into account intrinsic motivation and external conditions, are needed to reach a high observance rate in the population in the short and in the long term. The wider significance of these results for policy is discussed.

This research analyzes the importance of population, economic activity, transport volume and structural characteristics of transport activity-in terms of transport energy intensity, of transport modes' share and of energy sources' mix-as driving factors of greenhouse gas emissions in transport activity in the EU-28 during the period 1990-2014. The analysis is based on the STIRPAT model, which is broadened to investigate in depth the impact on transport emissions of changes in the transport activity and in the whole economy. Using panel data econometric techniques, the significance of each factor and the impact of its change on emissions are identified. A better knowledge of the key driving forces is crucial for implementing policies focused on successfully reducing emissions in transport activity. The results allow a preliminary assessment of the potential effectiveness of the 2011 Transport White Paper measures aimed at cutting transport emissions.

A key issue for ecological economics concerns the processes whereby people engage in ecologically responsible behavior and contribute to environmental quality even when they involve a personal cost for a shared benefit. This paper explores the relative impact of intrinsic motivation versus external conditions and economic incentives on eight pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs). Previous research has mostly focused on one of these two aspects or studied whether external incentives can crowd out moral motivation. More comprehensive accounts of the interplay of these factors are rare and mostly dated or report small-scale experiments and case studies. Using a data set measuring PEBs and environmental attitudes in the European Union's 28 member states, this paper tests both sets of variables on a wider scale. It assesses the importance of intrinsic motivation as a dominant factor and shows how differing levels of intrinsic motivation influence the effectiveness of external conditions, such as monetary incentives and green infrastructures. External incentives are found to interact positively with intrinsic motivation. The findings also suggest that the influence of external factors varies depending on whether the behavior examined is cost neutral or implies costs or rewards. We further show that other non-strictly-related factors can affect the salience of an environmental norm and consequently the adoption of the corresponding behavior. Pressing economic preoccupations can distract individuals from behaving pro-environmentally, and PEBs are more likely to arise in individuals who care about the future. The results suggest that two-pronged policies, which take into account intrinsic motivation and external conditions, are needed to reach a high observance rate in the population in the short and in the long term. The wider significance of these results for environmental policy and policy guidance for each of the eight PEBs is discussed.

This research identifies the driving factors of greenhouse gas emissions in transport activity in the EU-28 and the contribution of each of them to its changes during the period 1990-2014. The analysis is based on the STIRPAT model, which is broadened to investigate in depth the impact on transport emissions of changes in the transport activity and in the whole economy. In short, the study takes into account the population, economic activity, transport volume, transport energy intensity and structural composition of transport activity in terms of transport modes' share and of energy sources' mix. Using panel data econometric techniques, the significance of each factor and the impact of its change on emissions are identified. A better knowledge of the key driving forces is crucial for implementing policies focused on successfully reducing emissions in transport activity. The results allow a preliminary assessment of the potential effectiveness of the 2011 Transport White Paper measures aimed at cutting transport emissions.

We analyse the degree of polarisation in the international distribution of CO2 emissions per capita in the European Union. It is analytically relevant to examine the degree of instability inherent to a distribution and, in the analysed case, the likelihood that the distribution and its evolution will increase or decrease the chances of reaching an agreement on climate policy. Two approaches were used to measure polarisation: the endogenous approach, in which countries are grouped according to their similarity in terms of emissions, and the exogenous approach, in which countries are grouped geographically. Our findings indicate a clear decrease in polarisation since the mid-1990s, which can essentially be explained by the fact that the different groups have converged (i. e. antagonism among the CO2 emitters has decreased) as the contribution of energy intensity to between-group differences has decreased. This lower degree of polarisation in CO2 distribution suggests a situation more conducive to the possibility of reaching EU-wide agreements on the mitigation of CO2 emissions. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

The design of European mitigation policies requires a detailed examination of the factors explaining the unequal emissions in the different countries. This research analyzes the evolution of inequality in CO2 emissions per capita in the European Union (EU-27) in the period 1990-2009 and its explanatory factors. For this purpose, we decompose the Theil index of inequality into the contributions of the different Kaya factors. The decomposition is also applied to the inequality between and within groups of countries (North Europe, South Europe, and East Europe). The analysis shows an important reduction in inequality, to a large extent due to the smaller differences between groups and because of the lower contribution of the energy intensity factor. The importance of the GDP per capita factor increases and becomes the main explanatory factor. However, within the different groups of countries the carbonization index appears to be the most relevant factor in explaining inequalities. The policy implications of the results are discussed.

Altres ajuts: SEJ2005-06357 ; Altres ajuts: SEJ2006-4444 ; The concept of polarization is linked to the extent that a given distribution leads to the formation of homogeneous groups with opposing interests. This concept, which is basically different from the traditional one of inequality, is related to the level of inherent potential conflict in a distribution. The polarization approach has been widely applied in the analysis of income distribution. The extension of this approach to the analysis of international distribution of CO2 emissions is quite useful as it gives a potent informative instrument for characterizing the state and evolution of the international distribution of emissions and its possible political consequences in terms of tensions and the probability of achieving agreements. In this paper we analyze the international distribution of per capita CO2 emissions between 1971 and 2001 through the adaptation of the polarization concept and measures. We find that the most interesting grouped description deriving from the analysis is a two groups' one, whichbroadly coincide with Annex B and non-Annex B countries of the Kyoto Protocol, which shows the power of polarization analysis for explaining the generation of groups in the real world. The analysis also shows a significant reduction in international polarization in per capita CO2 emissions between 1971 and 1995, but not much change since 1995, which might indicate that polarized distribution of emission is still one of the important factors leading to difficulties in achieving agreements for reducing global emissions.

En el presente artículo analizamos los potenciales efectos distributivos de las políticas ambientales, centrándonos en el caso de la imposición sobre el dióxido de carbono y las energías no renovables. Se estudian las consecuencias de un impuesto sobre las emisiones de CO2 aplicado en el ámbito de la Unión Europea analizando los efectos distributivos entre países. Se contemplan tres posibles modelos de impuesto: un modelo puro sobre las emisiones, un modelo mixto energía no renovable-CO2 y un modelo sobre el CO2 y la energía nuclear. El ámbito de análisis son los 25 países miembros de la UE y se mide el nivel de progresividad- regresividad de los diferentes modelos incorporando también los efectos de un retorno de los ingresos recaudados proporcionalmente a la población de cada país. El análisis es estático, pero concluye con algunas consideraciones sobre los posibles efectos dinámicos de este tipo de impuesto. ; In this article we analyse the potential distributive effects of environmental policies, focussing on the case of taxes on carbon dioxide and non-renewable energies. We study the potential consequences of a tax on CO2 emissions applied at the European Union level, and we analyse the distributive effects across countries. We study three possible models of tax: a pure model of tax on emissions, a mixed model of tax on non-renewable energy and CO2, and a model of a tax on CO2 and nuclear power energy. The analysis considers the 25 European Union member countries. We measure the degree of progressivity-regressivity of the different models, and we also take into account the effects of returning the collected income in proportion to each country population. The analysis is basically a static one, but we conclude with some considerations about the possible dynamic effects of this type of tax.

This paper analyzes the advantages and implications of the implementation of a European tax on carbon dioxide emissions as an own resource of the EU and it focuses on its effects on intercountry distribution. In contrast to a harmonized tax, which would only have distributive effects within each member state, a tax collected at European scale would also have important distributive effects among different countries. These effects would also depend on the use of tax revenues. The paper investigates through a simple empirical analysis the distributive effects among the member states of three tax models: a pure CO 2 model; a 50%/50% energy-CO2 model and a CO2 model with a burden on nuclear power.

We analyse the NOx gas emissions of different productive sectors in Spain. Using input–output analysis, we study all sectors as subsystems of the economy and classify them according to the explanatory factors of their total (direct and indirect) emissions. This classification provides guidance on the type of policies that hould be developed in the different sectors with the aim of mitigating NOx emissions. Some sectors that seem less important when looking at their direct emissions turn out to be highly relevant in terms of their total emissions. The results indicate that demand policies can be effective in these sectors, especially in construction, but also in some service sectors that do not appear to be important polluters at first sight. These policies can complement technical improvements and best practice measures applied to directly polluting sectors.