Empirical calibration of climate policy using corporate solvency: a case study of the UK’s carbon price support

Emission reductions improve the chances that dangerous anthropogenic climate change will be averted, but could also cause some firms financial distress. Corporate failures, especially if they are unnecessary, add to the social cost of abatement. Social value can be permanently destroyed by the dissolution of organizational capital, deadweight losses paid to liquidators, and unemployment. This article proposes using measures of corporate solvency as an objective tool for policy makers to calibrate the optimal stringency of climate change policies, so that they can deliver the least loss of corporate solvency for a given level of emission reductions. They could also be used to determine the generosity of any compensation to address losses to corporate solvency. We demonstrate this approach using a case study of the UK’s Carbon Price Support (a carbon tax).

Key policy insights

• Solvency metrics could be used to empirically calibrate the optimal stringency of climate policies.

• An idealized solvency trajectory for firms affected by climate change policy would cause corporate solvency to initially decline – approaching but not exceeding ‘distressed’ levels – and then gradually improve to a new ‘steady state’ once the low-carbon transition had been achieved.

• In terms of the UK’s Carbon Price Support, corporate solvency of energy-intensive industries was found to be stable subsequent to its introduction. Therefore, the available evidence does not support its later weakening.

     

基于滑体渗透性与库水变动的滑坡稳定性变化规律研究

在三峡工程试运行期间,库区滑坡因地质结构和渗透性的不同,其变形情况存在明显差异,因此,除研究滑坡地质结构外,还应加强不同渗透性滑坡在库水变动下的稳定性响应规律研究。以三峡水库库首区黄荆树滑坡实例为计算模型,分析库水位在175～145 m间以0.5～2.0 m/d变化时4种不同渗透性滑坡的渗流场特征;再以库水影响系数? 和稳定性变化率为评价指标,研究在滑体渗透性和库水变动条件下的滑坡稳定性变化规律。研究表明,当库水影响系数? 在-0.107～-0.322时,稳定性变化率? 最大,且随? 减小滑坡稳定性增加率? 减小;当? 在-0.644～-769.231时,随? 减小稳定性增加率? 变化不明显;当? 在576.923～769.231时,库水位上升时滑坡稳定性降低较少;当? 在0.107～384.615时,影响系数? 与稳定性变化率? 的相关性不明显。其结果对于库区滑坡的监测预警有较强的应用价值     

Fischer图解及其在旋回层序研究中的应用──以北京西山张夏组为例

Ｆｉｓｃｈｅｒ图解（又称为容纳空间图解）为人们研究沉积旋回在空间上的叠置规律、相对海平面变化、层序级次的划分以及地层层序对比等提供了一种客观实用的方法。本文较详细地讨论了该图解的绘制方法及应注意的问题。运用该图解，将北京西山下苇甸剖面张夏组划分为１个大的三级旋回层序和４个四级旋回层序，根据图解反映的相对海平面变化讨论了旋回层序与构造运动间的关系，提出华北板块晚寒武世之前的＂翘翘板运动＂应始于中寒武世张夏期之早期到中期。     

浅谈辽河群区域对比

辽河群广布于辽东地区,为一套古元古代层状中浅变质岩系.由于原岩存在沉积相变,加之后期变质变形的改造,各地岩性组合差异较大.经多年野外实地考察,将辽河群大致划分为两区、四相段,并进行较深入的建造与改造的研究,不仅解决了辽河群层序划分和区域对比问题,而且也解决了与邻区同时代地层对比的问题.     

A new approach for vegetation change detection in urban areas

IntroductionVegetation distribution and change is regardedas ani mportant sign of urban environment . Withcity expanding and population increasing, herecomes a series of problems on environment ,andmoreover ,greening ratio is regarded as a stand-ard of ci…     

中国公众对气候变化和气象灾害认知的社会性别差异

对2015年全国公众气象服务评价调查结果的分析显示,我国公众中男性对气候变化认识程度以及对气象灾害预警的认知水平和满意度都比女性高。城镇女性选择环保产品、环保出行及愿意对生活或工作方式做出改变来应对气候变化的比例高于城镇男性,而农村男性选择调整或改变种植或养殖方式、改变种植或养殖品种及转换谋生方式的比例高于女性。男性选择购买相关气象或气候保险、参加培训或辅导的比例比女性高,而女性选择学习气象灾害和气候变化相关的专业知识比例高于男性。女性对气象服务信息的需求比例比男性高。建议：1)积极推进气候变化及其灾害认知的社会性别研究,建立灾害认知性别数据库,将社会性别融入到气象灾害风险管理的整个过程;2)在气象服务中引入社会性别视角,加强针对女性的宣传和指导,开发适合女性的服务产品和信息传播渠道,提升她们应对灾害的意识和能力。     

岱海的"中世纪暖期"

内蒙古岱海沉积物近2200a来Rb/Sr比值、CaCO3和有机碳含量的变化展现了包括中世纪暖期（MWP）及小冰期（LIA）等典型气候事件在内的环境演化过程,总体表现为暖期的沉积物Rb/Sr比值低,冷期的则高：CaCO3和有机碳含量则相反。这里,以单一流域化学风化记录表明我国北方存在明显的中世纪暖期,发生时间约900－1200aB.P..主要环境特征表现为流域化学风化的显著增强（低Rb/Sr比值）、生物生产力逐步提高（高有机碳）、湖泊水位大幅度抬升的湖泊沉积记录,其间经历的化学风化是近两千年内最强的,并且其发生时间与全球其他地区基本一致。     

基于海洋气候数据集的区域海平面变化非线性预测

本文基于中国首套长时间序列、高精度、高时空一致性的全球海洋气候数据集产品, 利用1993年1月至2015年12月的山东半岛近海海平面异常数据, 构建了基于集合经验模式分解(EEMD)和长短期记忆神经网络(LSTM)的海平面非线性变化组合预测模型。EEMD可以得到海平面异常的各周期项、线性趋势及残差部分, LSTM模型可对其进行逐个预测并重构得到最终的海平面异常预测结果。EEMD-LSTM组合模型海平面异常预测的均方根误差仅为25.87 mm, 取得了令人满意的效果。基于该组合模型预测2016-2025年山东半岛近海海平面上升速率将达到3.54 mm·a^-1。     

“Trends” and variations of global oceanic evaporation data sets from remote sensing

The variability in global oceanic evaporation data sets was examined for the period 1988-2000. These data sets are satellite estimates based on bulk aerodynamic formulations and include the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Satellite-based Surface Turbulent Flux version 2 （ GSSTF2）, the Japanese-ocean flux using remote sensing observations （J-OFURO）, and the Hamburg Ocean-Atmosphere Parameters and Fluxes from Satellite version 2 （HOAPS2）. The National Center for Environmental Prediction （NCEP） reanalysis is also included for comparison. An increase in global average surface latent heat flux （SLHF） can be observed in all the data sets. Empirical mode decomposition （EMD） shows long-term increases that started around 1990 for all remote sensing data sets. The effect of Mt. Pinatubo eruption in 1991 is clearly evident in HOAPS2 but is independent of the longterm increase. Linear regression analyses show increases of 9.4%, 13.0%, 7. 3%, and 3.9% for GSSTF2, J-OFURO, HOAPS2 and NCEP, for the periods of the data sets. Empirical orthogonal function （EOF） analyses show that the pattern of the first EOF of all data sets is consistent with a decadal variation associated with the enhancement of the tropical Hadley circulation, which is supported by other satellite observations. The second EOF of all four data sets is an ENSO mode, and the correlations between their time series and an SO1 are 0.74, 0.71,0.59, and 0.61 for GSSTF2, J-OFURO, HOAPS2, and NCEP in that order. When the Hadley modes are removed from the remote sensing data, the residue global increases are reduced to 2.2% , 7. 3%, and 〈 1% for GSSTF2, J-OFURO and HOAPS, respectively. If the ENSO mode is used as a calibration standard for the data sets, the Hadley mode is at least comparable to, if not larger than, the ENSO mode during our study period.     

内蒙古河套地区陈普海子湖泊沉积物粒度特征及其环境意义

对河套地区陈普海子湖泊及其流域不同类型表层沉积物的粒度特征进行了分析,并结合放射性同位素210Pb测年,探讨了湖泊的沉积演变过程。通过主成分分析,对沉积物剖面粒度不同粒级组分含量进行了研究,分析了湖泊沉积物的物质来源,得到两个主控因子F1和F2,它们控制了湖泊沉积物近98.68%的粒度变化特征。研究表明,F1代表了以6.18 μm为众数粒径的次总体,主要受流水作用控制;而F2为以42.75 μm为众数粒径的次总体,主要来源于地表风沙作用。通过粒径-标准偏差方法,提取了湖泊沉积物中不同时期的环境敏感粒度组分,结果表明:在1996AD之前,流水作用所携带的细颗粒(μm)决定了沉积物的粒级特征,在1960-1985AD期间表现出风沙活动强烈;1996AD以来,由于人类开展了大规模的沙荒土地开垦,流沙活动强烈,流域风沙活动所携带的粗颗粒(14.1~224.35 μm)控制了沉积物的粒度组成。