The search for economically effcient policy instruments designed to promote the diffusion of renewable energy technologies in liberalized markets has led to the introduction of quota-based tradable `green' certifcate (TGC) schemes for renewable power. However, there is a debate about the pros...

The expansion of a given land use may affect deforestation directly if forests are cleared to free land for this use, or indirectly, via the displacement of other land-use activities from non-forest areas towards the forest frontier. Unlike direct land conversion, indirect land-use changes...

This paper examines the determinants of credit allocation to renewable energy firms in developing and transition countries. Using a simple en- dogenous growth model, we show that the development of the renewable energy sector, i.e. the diversification of renewable energy resources used in...

We study residential demand for electricity and gas, working with nationwide household-level data that cover recent years, namely 1997-2007. Our dataset is a mixed panel/multi-year cross-sections of dwellings/households in the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the United States as of 2008. To our...

In May 2010, we surveyed 473 Swiss homeowners about their preferences for energy efficiency renovations in their homes. We used conjoint choice experiments that asked respondents to choose among hypothetical energy efficiency renovation projects. We find that homeowners are responsive to the...

To correct market failures due to the presence of negative externalities associated with energy consumption, governments have adopted a variety of policies, including taxes, subsidies, regulations and standards, and information-based policies. For example, labels that clearly convey energy...

The paper investigates the long-run consequences of a phase-out of nuclear energy for the Swiss economy. We apply the CITE model, a CGE model with fully endogenous growth, and complement it with a bottom-up model. We find that the nuclear phase-out can be achieved at relatively low costs, even...

This study examines the relation of stock returns and the announcements on verified emissions in the European Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS). In a first step we employ event study methods to detect possibly abnormal returns on the respective announcement dates using a sample of quoted stock...

We evaluate incentives for residential energy upgrades in Italy using data from an original survey of Italian homeowners. In this paper, attention is restricted to heating system replacements, and to the effect of monetary and non-monetary incentives on the propensity to replace the heating...

This paper examines the relationship between corporate activities to address climate change and stock performance. By separately analyzing the US and European stock markets for different sub-periods, we highlight the impact of the underlying climate policy regime. Methodologically, we compare...