Carbon pricing and its impacts on the productivity growth of Australian industries. This project seeks to investigate the effects of carbon pricing on the productivity of Australian industries. It will provide important insights into the issues of productivity growth and technical efficiency for Australian industries following the imposition of a price on carbon, implemented either through a carbon tax or a carbon trading scheme.
International coalitions for climate change mitigation: the role of carbon market linkages and trade restrictions. This project uses cooperative game theory, implementation theory and agent-based modelling to investigate how coalitions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions could be formed and maintained among countries. Applications include the role of carbon market linkage and trade policy, in countries of the Asia-Pacific region.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150100328
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$374,000.00
Summary
Minimising transaction costs in Murray-Darling Basin water reform. Transaction costs provide social, economic, environmental and political barriers to the effectiveness of water reallocation policy in Australia. These costs are often difficult to quantify, but potentially are subject to measurement. This project aims to develop a comprehensive transaction cost framework for the Murray-Darling Basin that can be used to capture and measure transaction costs related to water policy. Further, the sc ....Minimising transaction costs in Murray-Darling Basin water reform. Transaction costs provide social, economic, environmental and political barriers to the effectiveness of water reallocation policy in Australia. These costs are often difficult to quantify, but potentially are subject to measurement. This project aims to develop a comprehensive transaction cost framework for the Murray-Darling Basin that can be used to capture and measure transaction costs related to water policy. Further, the scope of the cost measurement will involve a variety of data collection approaches. Outcomes include better water policy and management from arrangements that will span the divide between the Basin Plan and its implementation.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130100996
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,000.00
Summary
Social learning: the diffusion of residential rooftop photovoltaic panels in Australia. Residential photovoltaic (PV) panels provide a sustainable solution to energy supply helping to address the climate change challenge. This project develops novel methodologies to study the diffusion mechanisms of PV panels. The outcomes will be useful for energy industries and the government for the effective formulation of their business strategies and policies.
Improving payments for ecosystem services efficacy. This project aims to improve the cost-effectiveness of payments for ecosystem services (PES) programs in settings where deforestation risk is high. The project introduces a field experiment in Uganda in order to determine effective methods for monitoring compliance and setting payment levels. The project intends to examine whether program impacts are undermined by displacement of deforestation and if there are poverty reduction trade-offs inher ....Improving payments for ecosystem services efficacy. This project aims to improve the cost-effectiveness of payments for ecosystem services (PES) programs in settings where deforestation risk is high. The project introduces a field experiment in Uganda in order to determine effective methods for monitoring compliance and setting payment levels. The project intends to examine whether program impacts are undermined by displacement of deforestation and if there are poverty reduction trade-offs inherent in program design. The project expects to establish the costs of foregone production from land enrolled in the program, which are largely unknown. The findings will support efforts to create low cost technologies to solve conservation challenges and assist with the efficient allocation of scarce resources for environmental protection in both Australian and international contexts.Read moreRead less
Estimating the potential supply of environmental services by landholders. Wilderness, natural habitats, biodiversity and other aspects of natural capital and their associated ecosystem services are in decline. Increasing scarcity is driving a surge in interest in these services and their value. It potentially provides opportunities for landholders to be generating income from environmental services provision, and lessens dependency on livestock, crop and fibre production. But how realistic are t ....Estimating the potential supply of environmental services by landholders. Wilderness, natural habitats, biodiversity and other aspects of natural capital and their associated ecosystem services are in decline. Increasing scarcity is driving a surge in interest in these services and their value. It potentially provides opportunities for landholders to be generating income from environmental services provision, and lessens dependency on livestock, crop and fibre production. But how realistic are these prospects? A critical aspect of potential markets for environmental services is their supply. This project examines the supply side of environmental services by exploring determinants of ability and willingness of landholders to provide these services.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160101306
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$373,848.00
Summary
Valuing the non-market benefits of mine site rehabilitation. This project aims to improve decisions about mine site rehabilitation. Mining causes environmental damage, which mine operators are legally required to rehabilitate. Although companies invest considerably in mine site restoration and biodiversity offsets, we don’t know whether their practices match public preferences for rehabilitation outcomes. Filling this knowledge gap is challenging because the benefits of rehabilitation (eg biodiv ....Valuing the non-market benefits of mine site rehabilitation. This project aims to improve decisions about mine site rehabilitation. Mining causes environmental damage, which mine operators are legally required to rehabilitate. Although companies invest considerably in mine site restoration and biodiversity offsets, we don’t know whether their practices match public preferences for rehabilitation outcomes. Filling this knowledge gap is challenging because the benefits of rehabilitation (eg biodiversity) are not traded in markets. This project aims to address these challenges by estimating, in monetary terms, the values provided by mine site restoration. By identifying these values, the project expects to contribute to improving the design of mine rehabilitation standards, and will enable future policy decisions to be more closely aligned with society’s preferences.Read moreRead less
Redesigning Landcare policy to better coordinate across landholders. This project aims to study how landscape-sensitive economic incentives and social norms can be leveraged to enhance the short- and long-term effectiveness of conservation programs. It will yield new knowledge for innovative designs in conservation contracting that is urgently needed to address worsening environmental threats in Australia and worldwide. In collaboration with Nobel laureate Vernon Smith’s team, new methods and pr ....Redesigning Landcare policy to better coordinate across landholders. This project aims to study how landscape-sensitive economic incentives and social norms can be leveraged to enhance the short- and long-term effectiveness of conservation programs. It will yield new knowledge for innovative designs in conservation contracting that is urgently needed to address worsening environmental threats in Australia and worldwide. In collaboration with Nobel laureate Vernon Smith’s team, new methods and protocols will improve our ability to generate better data and better understand how social and incentive mechanisms can constructively interact to facilitate collaborative environmental action. Results will help make the achievement of environmental targets and the use of public funds more cost-effective. Read moreRead less
Designing for uncertainty in conservation auctions. Economic theory and case study evidence show that tenders or auctions are more efficient than grant mechanisms for encouraging landholders to produce environmental outcomes on private land. These studies have ignored the effects of uncertainty of both bidders and administrators about factors such as landholder participation and the level of environmental benefits that will be delivered. This project will test whether distributing environmental ....Designing for uncertainty in conservation auctions. Economic theory and case study evidence show that tenders or auctions are more efficient than grant mechanisms for encouraging landholders to produce environmental outcomes on private land. These studies have ignored the effects of uncertainty of both bidders and administrators about factors such as landholder participation and the level of environmental benefits that will be delivered. This project will test whether distributing environmental funds via tenders is still efficient when uncertainty about various important factors is considered. Results from this research are expected to inform the cost effective design of systems to pay landholders for the provision of environmental benefits even when there is high uncertainty.Read moreRead less
An investigation of the impacts of increased power supply to the national grid by wind generators on the Australian electricity industry. The aim of this project is to discover the most economical and effective way to accommodate large increases in wind power into the national grid and to understand the effects on the national electricity market. This is crucial to ensure stability of electricity supply and affordable prices in the transition towards a low carbon economy.