Finance and Financial Management Commons^™

How Do Sustainability Stakeholders Seize Climate Risk Premia In The Private Cleantech Sector, Lingyu Li, Xianrong Zheng

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

This paper explores the strategies and practices of capturing climate risk premia for venture capital (VC) fund managers and entrepreneurs in the private cleantech sector. It also examines the impact of the feed-in tariffs (FITs) policy on the management of cleantech investments. It is shown that a longer investment period, less investment capital in cleantech investment management strategies, and optimistic climate risk management practices will help investors to better capture climate risk premia. In fact, the FITs policy will give rise to VC fund managers and entrepreneurs having a positive view regarding the prospects of the cleantech sector, motivating them …

Investing In The New Blue Economy: The Changing Role Of International Development Organizations In Catalyzing Private Sector Investment In Support Of Regional Strategic Action Programmes For The Sustainable Development Of Coasts And Oceans, Ryan Whisnant, Veerle Vandeweerd

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

Over the last 20 years, governments sharing common coastal and ocean ecosystems have developed and agreed on concrete regional action programs to stop and, in some cases, reverse a trend of deteriorating coastal and ocean resources. Implementation of these action programs requires significant investments by the public and private sectors alike, with the potential for substantial economic growth and enhanced social well-being. For this to happen, new institutional arrangements, technologies, and financial vehicles and asset classes are needed to mainstream innovative “blue economy” projects that have the potential to transition economies and communities to more sustainable development paths.

This paper …

2017 Costliest Year Ever For Weather-Related Disasters, Betsy Hnath

News Items

No abstract provided.

Can The Financialised Atmosphere Be Effectively Regulated And Accounted For?, Patty Mcnicholas, Carolyn Windsor

Carolyn Windsor

Purpose – This paper aims to carry out a critical analysis of the proposed Australian emissions trading scheme (ETS) as a complex market solution to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs). Specifically it seeks to examine the financial regulatory infrastructure that will more than likely oversee the Australian ETS, the same regulatory infrastructure which failed to prevent the global financial crisis.Design/methodology/approach – A critical examination of the financialisation of the atmosphere that follows the growth of the financialisation of capitalism when economic activity shifted from production and service sectors to finance. Financialisation of capitalism is supported by capitalist regulation influenced by neo-liberal …

Issue Brief: Asset Management For Stormwater, New England Environmental Finance Center, Sustainable Communities Learning Network

Sustainable Communities Capacity Building

Asset management is a strategic approach to maintaining and sustaining infrastructure in order to meet the needs of the community at the lowest overall life cycle cost. This approach helps communities know how and where to prioritize limited funds in order to achieve the greatest benefit. Often applied to drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, this method is well suited to managing any assets, including stormwater systems.

This issue brief is intended to introduce local governments to the asset management process and to show how it can be applied in managing stormwater assets. It was adapted from an appendix written by …

Issue Brief: Saving By Mitigating, University Of Louisville, New England Environmental Finance Center

Sustainable Communities Capacity Building

Natural disasters can cause loss of life, inflict damage to buildings and infrastructure, and have devastating consequences for a community’s economic, social, and environmental well-being. Hazard mitigation means reducing damages from disasters.

Local governments have the responsibility to protect the health, safety, and welfare of their citizens. Proactive mitigation policies and actions help reduce risk and create safer, more disaster-resilient communities. Mitigation is an investment in your community’s future safety, equity, and sustainability.

Drinking Water Resource Directory, New England Environmental Finance Center

Sustainable Communities Capacity Building

This document is intended to help local and regional planning agencies, and their constituent water utilities, integrate drinking water infrastructure planning and investments into plans for sustainable development. Resources listed here provide guidance on making land use decisions that protect water resources, setting adequate and sustainable drinking water rates, controlling water loss, funding water infrastructure projects, and managing water utilities.

The directory was developed by the Environmental Finance Center Network through the Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities program funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection Agency. Through this program, EFCN is providing capacity …

Green Infrastructure Resource Directory, New England Environmental Finance Center

Sustainable Communities Capacity Building

Green infrastructure is an approach for managing stormwater that uses vegetation and soils to capture and treat rainwater where it falls. Unlike single-purpose gray infrastructure, green infrastructure realizes multiple benefits at once, including flood mitigation, improved water and air quality, community beautification, provision of recreational opportunities, and energy and cost savings. This resource directory is intended to help communities design, implement, fund, and monitor green infrastructure practices and programs. It was compiled by the Environmental Finance Center Network through the Capacity Building for Sustainable Communities program funded by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. …

A Financial Impact Assessment Of Ld 1725: Stream Crossings Presentation, New England Environmental Finance Center

Economics and Finance

This report looks at the potential financial impact of LD 1725 on the estimated 30,000 stream crossings in the State of Maine that would be affected by the law. Our research for this report included the analysis of nearly 2000 stream crossings and the data collection necessary for the development of extensive stream crossing replacement cost models. We found that the 1.2 bankfull requirements in LD 1725 would result in a 75% ‐ 250% increase in structure widths for stream crossing projects across the state. An upsize of this magnitude would increase the cost of replacing stream crossings statewide by …

Agenda: 2010 World Energy Justice Conference: Emerging Solutions For The Energy Poor: Technological, Entrepreneurial And Institutional Challenges, University Of Colorado Boulder. Center For Energy & Environmental Security, Colorado Journal Of International Environmental Law And Policy

2010 World Energy Justice Conference (November 5)

This conference is a sequel to the 2009 World Energy Justice Conference (WEJC 2009) which began examining ways of mainstreaming safe, clean, and efficient energy for the world's Energy Poor (EP). The EP number two and a half billion people living on less than $1-2 a day who have no access to modern energy services. WEJC 2010 more fully develops these themes. WEJC 2010 will explore how the next round of global warming meetings in Cancun could design new flexibility mechanisms that give credits, for example, for the reduction of black carbon by the adoption of cookstoves, and embrace small …

Culvert Material Cost Comparison, New England Environmental Finance Center

Economics and Finance

The following tables provide a detailed look at the role that culvert material and culvert diameter play in the overall cost of a culvert replacement project. Table 1 displays the cost per foot purchase price arranged by diameter size for the various culvert materials that are currently available. Table 2 displays the average additional culvert pipe material cost (increased cost to upsize minus original in-kind replacement cost) that would be incurred when upsizing a given diameter of culvert with a 50 foot length by factors of: 200%, 250% and 300%.

Preserving Assets In At-Risk Municipalities: Financial Strategies For Climate Change Adaptation, New England Environmental Finance Center

Climate Change

A large share of America's population, businesses and economic activity now occurs in coastal areas. At the same time, during this century many coastal communities are likely to be severely impacted by sea level rise and increased storm surge and tidal flooding.

“What to do” about this vulnerability is the subject of this brief. It is intended to help municipalities identify courses of action and steps they might take toward increasing their resilience, especially regarding financial resources that will need to be allocated toward the various strategies identified.

Allagash Wilderness Waterway Working Group On Structure, Management And Oversight: Choosing Common Ground And Moving Ahead, Allagash Wilderness Waterway Working Group

Maine History & Policy Development

In his June 19, 2006, Executive Order, Governor John E. Baldacci directed the Working Group to “offer its best guidance and advice to the Governor respecting the long-term governance, management, and oversight structure for the Allagash Wilderness Waterway” (AWW). In the intervening six months the members of the Working Group have engaged in an examination of the forty-year history of the Waterway and an analysis of the conditions and circumstance that led to the Governor’s Executive Order. We have reviewed documentation of the AWW history, taken testimony at numerous public meetings and hearings, conducted correspondence with members of the several …

Allagash Wilderness Waterway Working Group On Structure, Management And Oversight: Choosing Common Ground And Moving Ahead (Executive Summary), Allagash Wilderness Waterway Working Group

Maine History & Policy Development

In his June 19, 2006, Executive Order, Governor John E. Baldacci directed the Working Group to “offer its best guidance and advice to the Governor respecting the long-term governance, management, and oversight structure for the Allagash Wilderness Waterway” (AWW). In the intervening six months the members of the Working Group have engaged in an examination of the forty-year history of the Waterway and an analysis of the conditions and circumstance that led to the Governor’s Executive Order. We have reviewed documentation of the AWW history, taken testimony at numerous public meetings and hearings, conducted correspondence with members of the several …

Stormwater Utility Fees: Considerations & Options For Interlocal Stormwater Working Group (Iswg), New England Environmental Finance Center

Economics and Finance

Stormwater utilities are a concept whose time seems to have arrived. Established by relatively few communities in the 1970s as a method of funding flood control measures, stormwater utilities now exist in over 400 municipalities and counties throughout the United States. During the next 10 years, their numbers are expected to swell dramatically – by one estimate to over 2,000 by the year 2014.

The reasons for this growth are multifold. Federal stormwater regulations passed in the 1980s (Phase I of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Program, or NPDES), motivated many larger communities to seek alternative funding sources and …

The New Certificates Of Financial Responsibility: Environmental Progress Or National Economic Disaster?, Paul R. Younes

Marine Affairs Theses and Major Papers

The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) is the first comprehensive oil spill legislation passed in the United States. Included in the law were new provisions governing the liability and financial responsibility of both the company responsible for the spill and the insurer. These provisions, while well-intentioned, have created a dangerous situation for both the environment and the economy of the United States. This paper will examine the financial responsibility and liability regime that was in place prior to the passage of OPA 90, and the provisions of OPA 90 that establish new requirements shipowners must meet to qualify …

Achieving Total Compensation For Injuries To Coastal And Marine Resources: The Evolution Of Current Valuation And Compensation Methodologies, Marian Toon Mcphaul-Chester

Marine Affairs Theses and Major Papers

Economists have developed numerous theories to calculate the total value of natural resources. These methods have been developed and applied over the last two decades. They continue to be refined through application and critique. Resource economists monetarily quantify the values which humans attach to coastal and marine resources. These valuation theories are the subject of much controversy in natural resource damage litigation. An understanding of the evolution of these damage provisions from the early common law actions to the current statutory remedies is essential those involved in coastal planning, management and litigation. This paper reviews these economic theories and the …

Mitigation Banking: A Potential Tool For Port Planners, Laura Kelley

Marine Affairs Theses and Major Papers

Mitigation banking has been used as a means of facilitating the permit process by removing the negotiation of appropriate mitigation for development from the confines of the permit process. A developer with frequent needs to mitigate for losses associated with Section 404 and Section 10 requirements may, using a mitigation bank, consolidate mitigation and in so doing, potentially reduce mitigation costs. As a result of route maintenance, as well as expansion requirements, ports were considered to be good candidates for sponsoring mitigation bank efforts. Port use of mitigation banking has not been as expected due to a lack of available …

The Seasonal Pattern Of Shipping Freight Rates, Wathanachai Raunglerdpanyagul

Marine Affairs Theses and Major Papers

This paper reviews the behavior of shipping freight rate by using the freight index as an proxy variable. A proxy variable is the one that is a substitute to the intended one because it is difficult to obtain. It was found that a seasonal pattern in the freight rate exists, but no specific estimated pattern of the seasonal variation was found. Generally, tramp freight rates rise above average level from February or March to June or July, and from September or October to December or January. The tanker freight rate, which differs from the tramp freight rate, has only one …

Farm Debt In The Wheatbelt : 1984 Survey Results, R S. Kingwell

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

In recent years many farms in Western Australia's wheat-growing areas have experienced adverse seasons. For example, the 1983-84 season was characterised by a late start, dry spring and wet harvest which resulted in many farms suffering a combination of low yields and the downgrading or dockage of their grain.

Poor seasons and poor profitability prospects for wheat-growing caused some concern about farm indebtedness in these areas.

In late 1983, a Parlimentary select committee was appointed to inquire into rural hardship. The State Minister for Agriculture also announced that the Department of Agriculture would conduct a farm survey to determine the …

Optimum Yield And The Fcma: A Case For Economic Discrimination, Herrick J. Johnson

Marine Affairs Theses and Major Papers

Marine Affairs thesis from the University of Rhode Island.