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Determinants and impact of sustainable land management (SLM) investments: A systems evaluation in the Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia

Ongoing debate over water management along the Blue Nile and land degradation in Ethiopia emphasizes the need for efficiency gains in agricultural production through sustainable land management (SLM). However, previous SLM studies overlook the tradeoffs involved in maintaining SLM investments over time. We address this limitation by combining a household survey that evaluates the economic impacts of SLM investments and maintenance, with a hydrological model that explores location-specific infrastructure effects. We then use a multi-market model to evaluate the impacts of alternative SLM investments on agricultural production, prices, and incomes over time.

Analysis suggests SLM investments must be maintained for at least seven years to show significant increases in value of production, and that terraces on moderate and steep slopes are most effective in increasing agricultural yields. However, the benefits of terracing do not outweigh the cost of foregone off-farm labor opportunities, nor compensate for lower agricultural prices from increased supply. Thus, SLM investments must be paired with other input and infrastructure investments, as well as subsidies for initial labor costs, in order to incentivize adoption and long-term SLM maintenance.

With the nation’s borrowing limit looming, Washington is struggling to find a solution to America’s mounting debt. The Bi-Partisan Tax Commission laid out the harsh reality in a 2010 report: Closing the deficit would require both tax increases and cuts to social programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. But a new study out of MIT shows there may be another alternative to stave off some of what would be difficult tradeoffs.

Study: Carbon Tax a 'Win-Win-Win' for America's Future
A Win-Win Solution to Abate Aviation CO2 Emissions

We outline a benchmark carbon dioxide (CO2) intensity system with tradable permits for the aviation industry that will incent in-sector emission abatement opportunities that cost less than the social cost of carbon (SCC). The system sets benchmark emission intensities (CO2 emissions per revenue ton kilometer) by route group and facilitates flexibility in meeting the benchmarks by allowing airlines to sell permits if they operate more efficiently than the benchmarks, and buy permits if they do not meet the benchmarks. The CO2 benchmark system could operate concurrently with existing measures to mitigate aviation CO2 emissions, will reduce the number of offsets needed to achieve carbon-neutral growth, and provide another (optional) lever to address fairness issues in climate regulations. Moreover, by providing a blueprint for other industries to price marginal emissions at the SCC, a CO2 benchmark system could preserve the ‘carbon budget’ for use by high-cost abatement industries such as the aviation industry. 

Application of the Analogue Method to Modeling Heat Waves: A Case Study With Power Transformers

Large power transformers (LPTs) are critical yet increasingly vulnerable components of the power grid. More frequent and intense heat waves or high temperatures can degrade their operational lifetime and thereby increase the premature failure risk. Without adequate preparedness, a widespread situation would ultimately lead to prolonged grid disruption and incur excessive economic costs. In this study, we investigate the impact of climate warming and corresponding shifts in heat waves on a selected LPT located in the Northeast corridor of the United States. We apply an analogue method, which detects the occurrence of heat waves based on the salient, associated large-scale atmospheric conditions (“composites”), to assess the risk of future change in heat wave occurrence. Compared with the more conventional approach that relies on climate model-simulated daily maximum temperature, the analogue method produces model medians of late twentieth-century heat wave frequency that are more consistent with observation and have stronger inter-model consensus. Under the future climate warming scenarios, multi-model medians of both model daily maximum temperature and the analogue method indicate strong decadal increases in heat wave frequency by the end of the 21st century, but the analogue method improves model consensus considerably. We perform a preliminary assessment on the decrease of transformer lifetime with temperature increase. Future work will focus on using more advanced algorithms to quantify the impact of more frequent heat waves on the transformer’s expected lifetime and associated additional costs. The improved inter-model consensus of the analogue method is viewed as a promising step toward providing actionable information for a more stable, reliable, and environmentally responsible national grid.

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