Many countries have implemented policies to tackle climate change, with Emissions Trading Schemes (ETS) being one of the foremost attempts. Under such schemes, firms receive emission allowances. The firms that are covered by the rules are required to submit allowances for their emissions or, if they emit more than the allocated allowances, to purchase emission reduction from other firms. This imposes an emission price for carbon emissions and provides a cost-effective way for firms to comply.

Assessing progress on sustainability in fisheries presents an urgent need to evaluate how management reforms interact with fishing communities to not only assure the health of the fish stock, but also create social and economic benefits. A number of fisheries management reforms are undertaken every year in recognition of the important role fisheries play in providing employment and income to remote coastal communities, contributing to food security and poverty alleviation.

It is widely believed that forests help improve water quality by reducing soil erosion (and hence reducing silt) as well as filtering out nutrients and pollutants carried in water, which allows the municipal drinking water supply sector to simplify or expedite many costly water treatment procedures and thereby save on operating costs. This study statistically quantifies such cost savings in the contexts of China’s Sichuan province, by analyzing how drinking water treatment costs change in response to changes in upstream forest cover.

The household heating energy transition program in China has led to a sharp increase in household heating costs and has exacerbated energy poverty (high ratios of energy expenditure to income). This program is mandatory, with the goal of alleviating environmental problems and accelerating households’ transition to cleaner fuel. Specifically, it is intended to convert household heating fuel from coal to natural gas (coal to gas), electricity (coal to electricity), or cleaner coal (clean coal replacement), through mandates and subsidies.

As an industry intensively using fossil fuel, the power sector is naturally a focus of efforts to slow climate change. In March 2015, China started the third round of power sector reform with the announcement of “Opinions on Further Deepening Power Sector Reform” (referred as the No. 9 Document), trying to promote competition, strengthen regulation and, importantly, achieve green development. But did the reform really achieve its expected goals?

Energy prices (for fuel and electricity) and energy price volatility impact wine prices. In the long run, we find a clear link between fuel and wine prices, implying that the two markets positively influence each other to the extent that a change in fuel prices influences wine prices. In the short run, we find that past volatility from wine prices as well as shocks from other markets, i.e., fuel and electricity, influence the current wine prices.