Thematic Sessions

EAERE 2023 features ten high-level thematic sessions, also streamed online.

In-person and online registered are welcome to attend. 

Further details and the most updated status of thematic sessions are available in the conference full programme.

Thematic Session 1 - Wednesday 28 June 2023 (09.00-10.45 EEST Cyprus, UCT+3)

What the future holds: Dynamic considerations of climate policy

Current economic conditions may or may not be a strong predictor of the future or transitional costs of climate policy as they evolve dynamically in response to climate policy in the present. This thematic session presents papers that broaden our understanding of the importance of dynamic considerations for climate policy during the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Organised by Ara Jo (University of Bath). 

Papers:

• Firm Heterogeneity, Industry Dynamics and Climate Policy by Mr. Christos Karydas, Dr. Ara Jo
• Self-fulfilling Prophecies in the Transition to Clean Technology by Dr. Sophie Zhou, Sjak Smulders
• International Attitudes Toward Global Policies by Adrien Fabre, Thomas Douenne, Lunus Mattauch

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Thematic Session 2 - Wednesday 28 June 2023 (11.15-13.00 EEST Cyprus, UCT+3)

Energy Crisis and Market Design

The conflict in Ukraine disrupted supplies of gas, oil, and electricity in Europe, and revealed that the current market design is not resilient to such shocks of persistent nature. The current market design has allowed Europe to reap the economic benefits of a single energy market in the normal market circumstances and to support the decarbonisation process. However, after the current crisis, there is pressing demand to change the market design to (i) improve security of supply, (ii) prevent prices from skyrocketing, (iii) employ technologies that are both economically and environmentally sustainable. This thematic session includes three highly complementary papers that focus on these three reasons for new market designs.

Organised by Matti Liski (Aalto University). 

Papers:

• Rational rationing: A price-control mechanism for a persistent supply shock by Reyer Gerlagh, Matti Liski, Dr. Iivo Vehviläinen
• Redistribution through technology: Equilibrium impacts of mandated efficiency in three electricity markets by Matti Liski, Dr. Iivo Vehviläinen
• Electricity prices in times of multiple crisis by Dr. Mathias Mier

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Thematic Session 3 - Wednesday 28 June 2023 (14.30-16.15 EEST Cyprus, UCT+3)

Sustainability in a world with low natural capital substitutability – Theory, Empirics, and Practical Approaches

Measuring whether a country is growing sustainably remains among the more challenging and unresolved problems in Economics. Conventional approaches to tracking whether an economy is on a sustainable trajectory, employed by the World Bank, UNEP and others, are based on the weak sustainability framework pioneered by Hartwick (1978). As of 2021, over 90 national governments had compiled at least one National Capital Account using variants of this approach. A key assumption is that positive investment in any form of capital implies an increase in welfare over time, and is a necessary condition for sustainability. As these approaches add up investments in different assets, human-made as well as natural capital appear as substitutes, where positive investment in one can substitute for declining assets and prevent total income to fall.

The question that remains is whether the assumption of perfect (or high) substitutability is an apt simplification in a world of irreversible and material climate change and other environmental damages, tipping points, and planetary boundaries. With poor substitution, depletion of resources and threats of critical scarcity or tipping points in future would translate into giving a considerably higher weight on depletion of resources than in a world of abundance. Theoretically the shadow price is the proper weight for each (dis)investment in sustainability accounting: shadow prices reflect future scarcity and the impact of the associated capital stock -through substitution- on future welfare. The great challenge all these approaches face is determining the shadow prices for the various types of capital. Limited substitutability and the existence of critical planetary thresholds may not be fully accounted for, neither in market prices, nor in the outcomes of valuation exercises for natural capital.

The session will address this issue by exploring the theoretical, empirical and practical consequences of properly accounting for the imperfect substitutability between natural capital and other forms of capital. The papers in the session analyze the consequence of this neglect for estimating the “sustainability deficit” in the current economy. The papers propose adjustments to current valuation methods, identify empirically the degree of natural capital substitution, theorize on the role of substitution for the fragility of open resource-dependent economies. There is also an assessment of the take-up of natural capital by public and private institutions to align economic growth with sustainability objectives.

The session will bring together economists from both academia and policy practice to foster the development of theoretically sound and practically feasible methods for measuring sustainable development and using existing measures for decision-making.

Organised by Richard Damania (The World Bannk), Stefanie Onder (The World Bank). 

Papers:

• Natural Capital Substitution: Implications for growth, shadow prices, and natural capital accounting by Sjak Smulders, Daan Van Soest
• Limited substitutability, relative price changes and the uplifting of public natural capital values by Moritz Drupp, Prof. Ben Groom, Dr. Zachary Turk, Mr. Jonas Heckenhahn
• Is natural capital a complement to human capital? Evidence from 46 countries by Mr. Diego Herrera, Dr. Richard Damania, Dr. Esha Zaveri, Dr. Hyungju Kim, Dr. Stefanie  Onder, Ms. Chrissie Vallejos, Mr. Leonardo Viotti
• Devising Natural Capital Finance by Dr. François Cohen, Mr. Jose Resendiz

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Thematic Session 4 - Thursday 29 June 2023 (14.30-16.15 EEST Cyprus, UCT+3)

Climate risks

The main focus of this session, titled “Climate risks,” are the risks, in particular of systemic nature, that are involved with climate change and a transition to a cleaner economy. In a well-known 2015speech, the former governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, highlighted such systemic risks, which he classified as “physical risks,” “liability risks,” and “transition risks.”

Physical risks are the risks that arise from damage to physical assets resulting from sea level rise or more extreme weather events, including droughts and storms, or other consequences of climate change. Liability risks are the risks to companies and insurers from litigation for compensatory damages by parties that suffer damage because of climate change.

Transition risks are the risks to the value of existing assets from a transition away from fossil fuels. Transition risks refer to the potential for climate policy, technological change, or investor and consumer preferences to sharply reduce the value of financial assets.

This session focuses on liability and transition risks.

Organised by Stefano Carattini (Georgia State University).

Papers:

• Carbon Taxes and Tariffs, Financial Frictions, and International Spillovers by Stefano Carattini, Aude Pommeret, Mr. Givi Melkadze, Mr. Giseong Kim
• Understanding Climate-Related Disclosures of UK Financial Institutions by Dr. Benjamin Guin, Dr. Jonathan Smith, Dr. Mauricio Salgado Moreno, Dr. Anh Vo
• Financial Market Response to Climate Litigation Against Corporations by Misato Sato, Mr. Glen Gostlow, Dr. Frank Venmans, Dr. Joana Setzer, Ms. Kathe Higham
• The Macroeconomic Effects of Green Capital Requirements by Dr. Francesco Giovanardi, Dr. Matthias Kaldorf

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Thematic Session 5 - Thursday 29 June 2023 (14.30-16.15 EEST Cyprus, UCT+3)

Inclusion and Diversity from different dimensions - Gender, Ethnicity, Geography and Sexual Orientation

Gender and diversity have been discussed and deliberated time and again in our modern and postmodern discourses but the idea of diversity and inclusiveness in our mainstream professional circles is still a distant dream. The DEI committee in order to break the ice and bring the burning issues on the front has taken an initiative and attempt to make our world more inclusive to build a better social order. In this session we will discuss the extensive literature on Inclusion and Diversity in the field of environmental and resource economics.

Organised by the Executive Committee of the EAERE Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiative. 

Presentations:

• Welcome by the EAERE President and DEI Introduction by Phoebe Koundouri (Athens University of Economics and Business and Denmark Technical University )
• Climate change, labour & gender inequality in South Africa by Soheil Shayegh (RFF-CMCC European Institute on Economics and the Environment)
• Women in Agriculture: the assessment of gender-specific normative and institutional barriers to Adaptation to climate change by Vijaya Gupta, National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Mumbai 

Open Disussion: How do we chart the way forward? Incorporating diversity and encouraging inclusion

• Moderator: Ebun Akinsete, Athena Research Center, ICRE8 / UN SDSN GREECE

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Thematic Session 6 - Thursday 29 June 2023 (16.45-18.30 EEST Cyprus, UCT+3)

Finance in energy transitions

There is increasing global concern about climate change, with governments accordingly aiming for a rapid transition of energy systems. Given the capital intensity of low-carbon technologies such as renewables, the availability and cost of capital is a key factor. This thematic session will serve as a platform for presenting and discussing new research on the role of finance in promoting a global energy transition, with a particular focus on public policy interventions for the redirection of finance flow towards innovative, low-carbon technologies.

Organised by Santos Bila (University of Johannesburg). 

Papers:

• Mobilizing credit for clean energy: De-risking and public loan provision under learning spillovers by Prof. Bjarne Steffen, Mr. Paul Waidelich, Mr. Joscha Krug
• The role of state investment banks for renewable energy technologies in OECD countries by Prof. Bjarne Steffen, Mr. Paul Waidelich

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Thematic Session 7 - Friday 30 June 2023 (11.15-13.00 EEST Cyprus, UCT+3)

The gender-energy nexus in developing countries

The world remains far from meeting Sustainable Development Goals 5 (gender equality) and 7 (universal access to modern energy). Energy access may empower women even as empowered women are more likely to adopt and use modern energy services. This session features papers from African settings that consider issues at the nexus of gender and energy, exploring how gender influences the success of energy interventions or the progress of energy transitions, as well as the gendered time burdens that come with lack of access to modern energy services.

Organised by Marc Jeuland (Duke University), Rebecca Klege (Environment for Development), Phindile Nkosi (University of Johannesburg). 

Papers:

• A Bayesian approach to understanding variation in the time use burden of fuel collection in low- and middle-income countries by Dr. Marc Jeuland, Ms Maya Chandrasekaran, Prof. Subhrendu Pattanayak
• Time-money tradeoffs and the value of the time that women spend obtaining firewood by Dr. Marc Jeuland, Ms. Ryan McCord

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Thematic Session 8 - Friday 30 June 2023 (11.15-13.00 EEST Cyprus, UCT+3)

Committee on Sustainability and EAERE Conferences

There is growing concern for sustainable development, and it is becoming more evident, that we as economists, must take immediate actions towards preserving our environment. As experts in the field, we are well aware of the challenges we face, particularly in the areas of climate change, energy, environment and resources. In this context, organizing sustainable conferences emerges as a necessity, not only to mitigate our emissions today but also to foster a culture of sustainability in our field. The stakes are high when it comes to organizing conferences, for all stakeholders. The carbon footprint of a conference can be significant through transportation, housing, waste generation and local energy consumption. Sustainable conferences are a challenge, as they require a holistic approach involving careful planning, coordination and monitoring to ensure that environmental and social impacts are minimized while maintaining the high quality of the event. As a professional community, we must strive to improve the sustainability of our practices. Being all practitioners and researchers, we can play a significant role in overcoming these challenges. Sharing experiences and knowledge, we can help promote sustainable practices, identify key challenges and find creative ways to address them. The aim of this session is therefore to bring together members of our association and the extended scientific community to benefit from our speakers’ experience, and collectively build a culture of sustainability in our professional activities. 

Organised by Committee on Sustainability and EAERE Conferences

Panelists:

• Xenia I. Loizidou (AKTI Project and Research Centre)
• Asa Lofgren (Gothenburg University)
• Romain Espinosa (CNRS)
• Moderator: Julie Metta (KU Leuven)

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Thematic Session 9 - Friday 30 June 2023 (14.30-16.15 EEST Cyprus, UCT+3)

Electricity sector issues in developing countries

Renewables provide an excellent opportunity to increase the electrification rate and decarbonize the energy sector, consequently decarbonizing the economy. However, there are many uncertainties in producing and deploying renewables. For instance, they depend on exogenous factors like the weather, are produced far away from consumption centers, and are nondispatchable.

These factors are more pronounced in developing countries, where the lack of infrastructure to produce electricity (particularly renewable electricity) in a reliable way plays a major role. In addition, adaptation to climate change via increases in electricity consumption exacerbates these problems.

How to overcome some of these infrastructure issues, and what happens when the production of renewables increases? In this session, we answer these questions with a particular focus on the context of developing countries.

Organised by Natalia D’Agosti (Rutgers University).

Papers:

• The Economic and Environmental Effects of Infrastructure Improvements: Evidence from Pakistan’s Electricity Sector by Zhenxuan Wang, Dr. Husnain Fateh, Prof. Robyn Meeks, Prof. JAved Younas, Prof. Ayesha Ali
• The Effects of Renewable Electricity Supply when Renewables Dominate: Evidence from Uruguay by Ms. Natalia D'Agosti
• The Cost of Electrifying sub-Saharan Africa by 2030 by Dr. Florian Egli, Prof. Tobias Schmidt, Prof. Bjarne Steffen, Mr. Churchill Agutu
• Residential Electricity Consumption and Adaptation to Climate Change by Colombian Households by Shaun McRae

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Thematic Session 10 - Friday 30 June 2023 (14.30-16.15 EEST Cyprus, UCT+3)

Water economics and policy in low- and middle-income countries

The researchers in this thematic session are members of a new collaborative research network formed within the Environment for Development (EfD) initiative. EfD, led from the University of Gothenburg, is a global network of environmental economics research centers solving the world’s most pressing environmental and development challenges in the Global South through policy-relevant research, capacity development and policy engagement. The session includes researchers who are part of a new collaborative on water systems and natural capital using surveys, experiments, and econometric analyses to explore facets of water policy in the Global South on urban water pricing, drought, water reliability, and household bill affordability.

Organised by Róger Madrigal and Joseph Cook.  

Papers:

• Exploring patterns of water bill payment behavior and debt in Nairobi, Kenya by Dr. Ana Espinola-Arredondo, Mr. Joseph Cook, Dr. David Fuente, Dr. Mary Tiana Randriamaro
• Quantifying the tradeoffs of rate-setting objectives in the residential water sector. A case study in Chile by Dr. Felipe  Vasquez Lavin, Roberto Ponce, Ms. alejandra Chovar
• Volumetric pricing in rural Central America: drivers of adoption and potential effects on water delivery  by Dr. Roger Madrigal
• A Distributional Analysis of Ghana’s COVID Free Water Programme by Mr. Joseph Cook, Dr. David Fuente, Dr. Anthony Amoah, Dr. Franklin Amuakwa-Mensah

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