From Cancun to Nepal

The unsettled conflict between ‘science and politics’ initiated in Copenhagen during December, 2009 seem to have finally pacified with the recently concluded Cancun Climate Summit. But, it might be too fast to conclude that ‘science’ eventually won. Apart from striking an agreement on meaningful long term global action; the summit was an ideal opportunity for climate scientists to recover the credibility damage from the controversial IPCC claims on climate change. While the former motive was at least agreed in theory, the latter intellectual scar can take some more time to heal. The Cancun Summit was not touted as a successor to the soon-expiring Kyoto Protocol unlike the Copenhagen fiasco. So, expectations were quite low in the built-up to Cancun. An agreement thus became possible by compromising on several realistic expectations related with economic, developmental and national sovereignty concerns. Nepal was one of the notable participant in Cancun as the country belongs to a group of V11 (vulnerable 11) along with Bangladesh, Vietnam, Kiribati, Barbodas, Bhutan, Ghana, Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania. These countries are among the lowest carbon emitters but are the most vulnerable to climate change and in need of substantial funds to adapt to climate change with a long-term view of transition towards a low-carbon economy. The credibility of an accord reached devoid addressing the major concerns of the ‘vulnerable’ and many other less-developed countries may in itself be questionable and is a valid topic of discussion. Moreover, it is necessary to understand the milestones achieved in Cancun and accordingly draw perspectives on the possible social-benefits or enhancement in social welfare that a country like Nepal could realise from Cancun.
To read the rest of the article published in the Kathmandu Post,please follow the link below:
http://www.ekantipur.com/the-kathmandu-post/2010/12/26/oped/good-news-from-cancun/216519/

Infrastructure Reform in Nepal

''Infrastructure reforms is always entertained much more in practice than in theory''.
Reforming nationwide infrastructures has been the talking point as an aftermath of the recently unveiled national budget. The government’s motive to reform overall infrastructure undoubtedly grasps and reflects one of the important national priorities. Infrastructures are indeed the national capital stocks. So, well implemented infrastructure reform programs from an economic perspective can engender major macroeconomic consequences in terms of higher economic growth and in raising overall employment level. A World Bank paper by Antonio Estache et al. published in 2002 in the Latin American context indicated that a 10% increase in infrastructure stocks can lead to a 1.5% increase in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Using the concept of proportionality to the famous ‘’Okun’s law’’ implies that a 1.5% increase in GDP can thus decrease unemployment by 0.5%. Based on these numbers, it would be an overwhelming achievement for the economy if we can invest and raise the national
capital stocks by even 10% from the current level.
To, follow the rest of the article published in the 'Kathmandu Post'; the largest selling English Daily in Nepal, please follow the link below:
http://www.ekantipur.com/the-kathmandu-post/2010/12/19/oped/many-things-missing/216249/

Maoism and Electrification

Communism equals Soviet power plus the electrification of the whole country". This is what Vladimir Lenin declared in 1920 as Russia was modernizing into a twentieth-century economy. The prediction has largely come true as nationwide electrification no longer remains a major issue in the former Soviet Republics today.Lenin’s declaration also underscores the importance of the energy sector in shaping the outcomes of an economy that is undergoing a systemic change. Nepal is not an exception to it. The significant contribution of power sector toward the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the strategic aspect of supply security and the high politicization of the sector are some justifying factors to perceive the power sector as being inherent within the political framework rather than being independent from politics in Nepal.
The purpose of the article is to draw parallels between the performance of the power sector under the Maoists with that under Lenin's in the Former Soviet Union.To read the rest of the article, please follow the link below:
http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=25825

Waste Side Story

This is another article that was published in 'The Kathmandu Post' in February 2009. It sounds pretty funny when i read it now.Well, feel free to read it following the link below if you are interested.
http://www.ekantipur.com/the-kathmandu-post/2009/02/04/expression/waste-side-story/178605/

Lead Kindly Light

I just found this old article of mine published in 'The Kathmandu Post' in January 14, 2009. TKP is the largest selling English Daily in Nepal. This article basically summed up the performance of the Nepalese power sector during early 2009. You may follow the link below to read the article in full:
http://www.ekantipur.com/the-kathmandu-post/2009/01/15/expression/lead-kindly-light/175458/

Nepal-India Oil Pipeline

This is my new article titled 'The Hype on Pipe' concerning the proposal to construct a direct oil pipeline between Nepal and India. My view is that bigger economic opportunities also invite bigger economic challenges.So,the real benefits in the long run will seriously depend upon the extent to which economics will precede over vested interests and counter-productive politics. To read the article in full, please follow the link below:
http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=25177

Understanding Power Sector Reforms

Although, the title of my published article did not pass the editorial sanction by one word; this is the title i would have liked. In this article, i have tried to explain the 'sequencing of power sector reforms' for countries like Nepal based on the generic model suggested by energy economists like Prof. David Newberry and Professor Tooraj Jamasb from the Electricity Policy Research Group (EPRG) at the University of Cambridge, UK. Please find the article in the following link:
http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=24174

Natural Gas Prices converging in Germany

This is the abstract of one the papers that i was happy to contribute as a co-author.The paper is being presented in the 3rd International Workshop in Empirical Method in Energy Economics, Surrey, UK. The paper has been co-authored with Dr. Christian Growitsch and Marcus Stronzik from WIK GmbH, Germany.
"In 2007, Germany changed network access regulation in the natural gas sector and introduced a so-called entry-exit system. The re-regulation’s effect on competitiveness remains to be examined. We use cointegration analysis and a state space model with time-varying coefficients to study the development of natural gas spot prices in the two major trading hubs in Germany. To analyse information efficiency in more detail, the state space model is extended to an error correction model. Furthermore, we compare prices in Germany to those at the nearby Dutch TTF, which thus serves as a competitive benchmark. Overall, our results suggest a reasonable degree of price convergence between the corresponding hubs; however, allowing for time-variant adjustment processes, the price differentials are only partly explained by transportation costs. Persistent price differences indicate capacity constraints; nonetheless, market efficiency in terms of information processing has increased considerably."
To read the preliminary version of the paper, you may visit the link:
http://www.seec.surrey.ac.uk/Events/EMEE2010Papers/EMEE2010PAPERGrowitschNepal&Stronzik.pdf

Proceedings of the ICE, Energy

This article has been co-authored with Prof. Tooraj Jamasb and Hande Kiamil.The article can be found online under the above journal heading. Here too, i am sharing the abstract of the paper.
"A sustainable waste management policy is necessary to manage the growing stream of municipal solid waste in ecologically sustainable ways. While landfill has been the dominant form of waste management in the UK there is a need to comply with the EU Landfill Directive. Waste to Energy (WtE) is a viable waste management option to reduce the reliance on landfills and reap the energy benefits of waste. Although the first waste-fired power plant was built in the UK in 1885, several barriers have constrained the use of WtE. This paper assesses the policy and institutional context for the development of the technology in the UK. We discuss how public opinion and choice of technology are important factors in achieving a wider acceptance of WtE in the UK. Thus, there is a need to devise coordinated policies at the regional and local levels concerning a sustainable waste management strategy. Furthermore, making all WtE technologies eligible for renewable obligation certificates (ROCs) could support the development of the technology while also diverting waste from landfills. The absence of efficient heat delivery networks is also identified as a barrier to fulfilling the potential for WtE in the UK."
This journal actually belongs to civil engineers but some economists have managed to sneak in though. For more information about the journal, please visit this site:
http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/content/serial/ener

Resources, Conservation and Recycling

This is one of the papers written with Prof. Tooraj Jamasb which has been accepted for publication in the journal of Resources, Conservation and Recycling. At this point, i am sharing the abstract of the paper here:
"The growing stream of municipal solid waste (MSW) requires a sustainable waste management strategy. At the same time, addressing climate change and security of energy supply concerns requires increased use of low-carbon and domestic sources of energy. This paper assesses the economic and environmental aspects of waste management options focusing on waste to energy (WtE) as a renewable resource. We discuss how WtE and recycling are compatible as waste treatment options. The paper then presents a social cost-benefit analysis of selected waste management scenarios for the UK focusing on specific waste management targets and carbon prices and compares them with coal fired electricity. The results indicate that meeting the waste management targets of the EU Directive are socially more cost -effective than the current practice. The cost effectiveness improves substantially with higher carbon prices. The findings show that WtE can be an important part of both waste management strategy and renewable energy policy although achieving the full potential of WtE requires development of heat delivery networks."
For more information about the journal, please spare some minutes here:
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/503358/description#description

Restructure the Power Sector

Two and a half decades have been forgone but the state-owned Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is still struggling ‘big time’ to deliver to its potential. This ‘wait and see’ principle in the power sector has accrued immense costs to the society throughout and is not forward looking at all. NEA’s performance is terribly low when gauged against basic energy indicators such as supply security and tariff rates given what can be achieved. High and persistent system losses, overstaffing, over-the roof- generation costs and high overheads are just some of the current problems facing NEA. Undoubtedly, the vertically-integrated power sector is a proven example of yet another failure story in the country. The ongoing planned power outages of 11 hours per day are certainly a wake-up call to restructure and remodel the electricity sector. Furthermore, the current model is not conducive towards a sustainable low carbon economy which every nation will have to eventually converge to in the future.

Rest of the article can be followed here: http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=14724