This paper examines the effects of extreme temperatures on mortality rates, using random year-to-year variation in temperature based on county-level panel data from China. The analysis finds a robust, U-shaped relationship between temperature and mortality rates, indicating that extremely cold or hot temperatures lead to excess deaths. The heat-related (cold-related) effect is 3.5 times (3.2 times) as large as previous findings that used U.S. data, and it is especially large for the elderly population, mainly due to excess deaths caused by cardiovascular diseases.

We present the design, implementation, and evaluation of a subsidy program to introduce cleaner and more efficient household wood combustion technologies.

Make wind and solar power even cheaper by opening up access to the electricity gridand ending fossil-fuel subsidies, urge Gernot Wagner and colleagues. Putting a price on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to curb emissions must be the centrepiece of any comprehensive climate-change policy. We know it works: pricing carbon creates broad incentives to cut emissions. Yet the current price of carbon remains much too low relative to the hidden environmental, health and societal costs of burning a tonne of coal or a barrel of oil.

Using three rounds of survey data that cover a decade, we analyze household preferences for energy types and energy choice in urban Ethiopia. We find that, during 2000-2009, households in major cities of Ethiopia used multiple fuels as their income increased. Increased fuelwood prices encourage consumption of cleaner fuels, such as electricity, while increased kerosene prices encourage solid fuel consumption. Better educated households are more likely to consume cleaner fuels.

Many cities worldwide have considered vehicle restriction policies to curb proliferating problems related to traffic and pollution.

At the beginning of 2011, Beijing became the first city to allocate vehicle license plates using a lottery. We provide a background on Beijing׳s lottery and analyze its short-term effects. We find that growth in new vehicle registrations has been sharply curtailed. However, this policy may not reduce fuel consumption as much as expected.

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Shale gas development in China can generate great potential economic benefits, but also poses serious environmental risks. In this paper, we offer a macro assessment of the environmental risks of shale gas development in China.

In this paper, we use the US shale gas experience to shed light on how China might overcome the innovation problem inherent in exploring and developing shale gas plays with complex geology.

Energy Policy is an international peer-reviewed journal addressing the policy implications of energy supply and use from their economic, social, planning and environmental aspects.

This research investigates the profitability of biofuels production in Africa, taking Ethiopia as a case in point, and suggests an oil price threshold beyond which biofuel may be profitable. Specifically, the study analyzes the viability of bioethanol from molasses and biodiesel from other feedstock in the context of Ethiopia, using data from a biofuels investment survey by EEPFE/EDRI in 2010, and makes estimates based on field visits.

In low-income countries, both nearby local villagers, “insiders”, and non-locals, “outsiders”, extract products from protected forests even though their actions are illegal.