Groundwater depletion threatens the sustainability of agriculture in India, where subsidised electricity for irrigation has led to over-extraction and expensive well deepening. This study develops a distributed optimal control model to assess the efficiency and equity impacts of electricity subsidy reforms in Karnataka, calibrated with primary data from 67 groundwater-dependent farms. The model captures heterogeneity in farm size, crop types (seasonal and perennial), and investment in well infrastructure. Using Nonlinear Model Predictive Control, this study evaluates six policy scenarios, including full and partial subsidy removal, tiered pricing, and lump-sum transfers. The complete removal of subsidies reduces water extraction and increases discounted social welfare by 19.20% over a 30-year horizon, while reducing discounted farm profits by 7.23% over the same period. However, lump sum transfers and two-tier pricing curb aquifer depletion while raising farm profits, particularly for small and medium farms. By raising the effective cost of pumping, these policies limit over-extraction, reduce aquifer decline, and lower the need for costly well deepening. Intervals of subsidy reduction are identified where cost savings outweigh revenue losses, resulting in win-win outcomes for sustainability and farm profits. These findings highlight pathways for efficient, equitable, and politically feasible groundwater management that support farmer livelihoods and reduce the risk of social unrest.
How effective are Emission Trading Schemes (ETS) in reducing carbon emissions? This paper addresses this question using a meta-analysis of 80 primary studies and 732 effect sizes assessing the impact of China’s pilot ETS, introduced in seven provinces and cities in 2011. Our findings suggest that China’s pilot ETS led to small to medium-sized abatement in CO2 emissions, with estimated abatement ranging from 5.5% to 16.6% compared to a no-ETS counterfactual. Meta-regression and Bayesian Model Averaging analyses further show that the estimated impacts of the ETS vary with the empirical methods employed and the control variables used. The range of estimates we obtain from synthesizing the literature provide policy makers with an evidence-based expectation of the potential scale of emissions abatement in the initial phase of developing an ETS.
This study examined the effects of classifying waste power generation as a renewable energy source under policies aimed at expanding renewable energy use. It focuses on Japan’s renewable portfolio standards policy, which requires electricity utilities to supply a certain amount of electricity using renewable sources, including electricity generated by burning the biomass component of waste. The main results from the quasi-experimental design show that defining electricity generated by burning waste as renewable energy increased incineration rates by 2–4 percentage points and decreased recycling rates by a similar magnitude for relatively low-value recyclables that cannot be recycled without sophisticated treatment, such as mixed waste.
The rapid decline of the U.S. coal industry has triggered a wave of bankruptcies in which environmental liabilities such as mine reclamation and water treatment are often left unfunded. Bankruptcy courts frequently relieve firms of these legal obligations to facilitate mine transfers to new owners, aiming to preserve local operations and limit the economic impacts of closures. This study examines whether such transfers sustain mining activity. Using mine-level data from the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) on production and ownership turnover, we estimate the effect of ownership turnover on mine survival, distinguishing between court-supervised and private deals. We find that ownership turnover substantially increases the probability of closure within a few years, regardless of court involvement. Our findings indicate that even bankruptcy procedures do not reverse structural decline and may shift environmental costs to local communities.
