The Kyoto Conundrums

The big show will be on this December. And, believe me I am not talking about Christmas here.Environmental delegates from 181 countries are meeting in Copenhagen to find a successor to the Kyoto Protocol. While an immediate consensus is very unlikely, the two week event is at least expected to lay out the political groundwork necessary in creating an international agreement on climate through meaningful cuts in emissions. Moreover, a current assessment on the success and failures of the Kyoto Protocol which is set to expire in 2012 can also be expected during this meet.Few points to note:
1) Having an international policy in place should not discourage the developing countries from meaningful capping of domestic emissions.
2) In the long run, climate change adaptation will hold no meanings if there is no mechanism for climate change abatement at a first place.
the link below should drag you for further information:
http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=10636

It's getting hot in here

The sad truth about modern day capitalism is ‘profits are just solo and private while losses are all shared’. Globalization has certainly led to higher economic growth and significantly increased the standard of living of the rich/industrialized nations but at greater costs of reduced ‘life quality’ for everyone. This is always a bitter pill to swallow especially when you are not made responsible and accountable for your own losses. ‘Climate change’ is a similar issue that clearly epitomizes the dark side of today’s global production and consumption patterns. The natural environment that we live in at the moment is probably toxic while the air that we respire is just getting warmer with each passing day.

To access the full article, please play around with this link:
http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=7077

Energy sector liberalisation is the key!!!

The country recently experienced one of the longest power outage ever and the people probably paid the highest energy tariff till date just to keep their lights on. Bravo! History has been created. This historic moment is certainly unique and will be remembered by generations to come given the timing of its occurrence. The country got evolved in a grave power crisis as it first ever glimpsed a Maoist-led government when the world economy in itself was worst performing. Thus, no one needs to be coaxed to completely scapegoat the Maoist-led government for today’s darkness in the country. But, let me reveal some wisdom here. All the previous governments like the Maoist-led one should share and indeed deserve an equal portion of this ‘blame’ cake.
This was the start that i actually wanted in one of mine recently published article published in MyRepublica. The following link should actually lead you to the article.
http://myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=6245

Thinking Beyond Energy!!!

I wrote this article with an intent to find the the real cause behind Nepal's economic growth in terms of exports and imports. The results suggest a export driven economy amidst a surging budget deficit over the years. On this note, three recent developments in the country's export side are worth mentioning:
a) The country's export currently went up by 21 percentage.
b) The country is seeking tariff concession for agro-based goods.
c) Nepal finally gets a patent right on Pashmina.
Rest is all below:
http://myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=5633

Efficiency of the German electricity wholesale market

One of the major challenges of liberalising European electricity markets is to create competitive and efficient power trading markets. In this paper, we assess the overall efficiency of the German electricity wholesale market using cointegration analysis and error correction modelling. Applying these techniques allows us to evaluate the wholesale market efficiency in terms of price adjustments and the rapidity towards the adjustment in the price discovery and adjustment process. We show that the wholesale market seems to be inefficient and not well functioning. The inability of European Energy Exchange spot market in providing an efficient price reference to the power market suggest that the power exchange still lacks liquidity. Second, our results indicate that bilateral contracts keep the wholesale electricity prices intact with the EEX prices and also stabilise the volatility in the German wholesale market. Also, the econometric results suggest that the existence of the OTC market along with power exchange is creating a competitive effect in the wholesale market in Germany.

To access the full version of this journal article, please click here:
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/121682451/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

Do not waste 'waste'. It is a resource.

MSW can be an important source of green energy for the developed as well as the developing countries. Incinerating one tonne of MSW can contribute to producing 2 MWh of heat and 2/3 MWh of electricity. However, increased rate of waste incineration should not come about at decreased rate of waste recyling. Nonethess, MSW recycling and incineration are compatible in the presence of an effective waste management policy. In developed countries like UK, energy generation from waste is not yet taken seriously although an effective waste management policy exisit. Thus, a lot of MSW is still being landfilled. In developing countries like Nepal, the lack of an effective waste management policy is resulting in a huge amount of MSW being landfilled. Although, the private costs of producing energy from MSW is high, the social benefits of such energy practice is much higher as compared to using coal as an energy source. Thus, MSW is indeed an alternative source of energy with a potential to adress the ongoing climate change and security of supply concerns to some extent.

It was a great pleasure to pursue a joint research on the energy and environmental implications of MSW with Dr. Tooraj Jamasb at the Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge, UK. The abstract from the research findings can be read below:

"The growing stream of municipal solid waste requires a sustainable waste management strategy. Meanwhile, addressing climate change and security of energy supply concerns require increased use of low-carbon and domestic sources of energy. This paper assesses the economic and policy aspects of waste management options focusing on waste to energy (WtE). We conclude that high levels of WtE and recycling are compatible as waste treatment options. We also present a social cost-benefit analysis of waste management scenarios for the UK focusing on specific waste management targets and carbon price. 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. However, achieving the full potential of WtE requires development of heat delivery networks."

If you are interested to read the whole paper please follow this link:
http://ideas.repec.org/p/cam/camdae/0801.html

Economic Revolution Under Energy Deprivation

While economists around the globe are working on rigorous causality studies between energy consumption and economic growth; the recent government announcement of attaining a double digit growth has raised the eyebrows of several domestic and international policy makers. No doubt, the concept of a “double digit” growth is a sweet surprise for a struggling economy. However, the timing of such an announcement appears to be overtly ambitious and rather spurious given the energy crisis the country is evolved in. Like the governments of the past, it also exposes the newly formed government’s negligence in understanding that energy security is an urgent necessity to move the economy in a forward gear.

The following link will guide you to the full version of this article:
http://telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=4188