This report analyses the taxation of energy use in 41 countries, covering 80% of global energy use. It appears at a juncture when many countries struggle to sustain orreconnect with economic growth and face formidable fiscal consolidation challenges. At the same time, concerns over the very highhuman costs of air pollution are mounting and the urgency of acting to limit greenhouse gases isnow abundantly clear.Energy use is an important source of greenhouse gas emissions and of air pollution. It also is acritical input into production and consumption in modern economies. If deployed effectively, taxes onenergy use are a powerful tool to balance the benefits and costs of energy use. Energy use taxes canalso play a useful role in fiscal consolidation. What this report tells us, however, is that with currentpolicies energy taxes fail to live up to their potential.Taxes on energy use influence the price and use of energy. Ideally, end-user energy prices wouldreflect their environmental impacts to ensure that resources are used most productively and that thenegative side-effects of energy use are contained. Taxes can help to achieve this, while also providingincentives to seek alternative, cleaner technologies.To employ energy taxes more effectively, it is necessary to understand the signals they providein respect of energy use. This report systematically analyses the structure and level of energy taxesacross 41 countries: the OECD countries and seven selected partner economies (Argentina, Brazil,China, India, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa). Effective tax rates, expressed per unit of carbonand per unit of energy, are situated within the energy market structures and other pricing policies ineach country, allowing the price signals they send to be better understood.Our analysis highlights vastly different levels of energy use and taxation among these41 countries, but also some common patterns. Transport energy is typically taxed at higher ratesthan other forms of energy use whereas fuels for heating and process use or electricity generationare more likely to be untaxed or taxed at lower rates. Fuels used for similar purposes are often taxeddifferently, with low rates applying to some of the fuels most harmful for human health and theenvironment. Tax rates on coal are particularly low.The picture is not, however, entirely bleak. The awareness about the need to curb negative sideeffectsof energy use is rising on governments political agendas, with many, including the selectedpartner economies, reconsidering price signals and taxes on harmful forms of energy use andinvesting in renewable sources of energy. This report can serve as a reference for policy makers andanalysts to identify reform options to ensure that energy taxes are best adapted to their economic,social and environmental goals - that is, to develop better tax policies for better lives.
Background: As Albanian agriculture began returning to the private sector in the late 1990s, it was evident that the infrastructure was weak, resulting in low production standards and inefficient use of resources. Despite efforts in the last two decades to restructure and strengthen the agriculture sector, it still remains underdeveloped, characterised by inadequate research, development, transfer of knowledge and modernisation. Farmers still rely on outdated, inefficient pesticide application equipment and often use highly toxic pesticides that are banned in the rest of Europe. Within the agricultural schools and universities, there is a weak capacity for agricultural research and knowledge transfer stemming from several infrastructure-related shortcomings, such as lack of resources and contact with the global scientific community. This constrains the international competitiveness of researchers as well as the training of students in modern pest management approaches. The limited capacity for technology transfer hinders the generation of science-based solutions for local agricultural problems and an ineffective advisory service means that farmers remain disconnected from agricultural research and technology development. Aim: This project aims to build the capacity of relevant institutions in research and knowledge transfer in integrated pest management (IPM); a sustainable pest management approach that reduces overreliance on chemical pesticides and alleviates the negative impacts of agriculture on human health and the environment. The project also aims to strengthen the infrastructure required to improve the quality of agricultural production and enable self-reliance in developing and implementing sustainable IPM solutions. Significance: Through the integration of effective theoretical and practical IPM training into higher education, this project will better prepare students for future employment in an agricultural profession and increase the overall IPM knowledge base within the agricultural sector. The provision of relevant resources and training will enhance capacity for conducting IPM-related research as well as foster integration into the international scientific community. Finally, strengthening the link between research and farmers will provide an effective channel through which to disseminate practical IPM solutions to farmers. In taking an institutional partnership approach, this project will consolidate the linkages between all key IPM stakeholders and create the infrastructure required to promote awareness, communication and institutionalisation of IPM along the whole chain of agricultural research, education, policy and practice.
Das Problem der Freizeitmobilitaet wird aus der Sicht der Wohnpsychologie gesehen. Das Zuhause fungiert als Traeger von Identitaet, und andererseits wird es fuer einen selbst wie auch fuer andere zu einem Traeger sozialer Information. Wo Menschen sich mit Hilfe des Gebauten ihre Identitaet sichern und ihre sozialen Kontakte regulieren koennen, vermoegen sie sich zu kultivieren. Wo Kultivation durch Umweltgestaltung nicht moeglich ist, binden sie sich an ihr Zuhause. Wer in seiner Freizeit mobil ist, sucht alternative Orte auf, um sich zu kultivieren. Diese These von der Kompensation von Kultivationsverlusten durch alternative Orte konnte durch eine empirische Studie, die in zwei Quartieren der Stadt Bern stattgefunden und an der 543 BewohnerInnen teilgenommen hatten, bestaetigt werden. Wem die Umwelt durch Eigengestaltung keine Kultivation erlaubt, ist folglich in seiner Freizeit mobiler als Personen, die ueber diese Moeglichkeit verfuegen. Freizeitmobilitaet, so die Quintessenz unserer Ergebnisse, widerspiegelt somit ein Wohnproblem.
Alpine Space cities face common urban mobility challenges which call for innovative and cost-effective mobility solutions. These challenges are: - limited public/ private budget for transport infrastructure; - excessive private car-based traffic in cities; - large amounts of fragmented goods delivery schemes contributing to congestion; - rising CO2 and noise, deteriorating air quality and adverse health impacts; - lack of/ inefficient institutional cooperation for long term solutions; - poor recognition of interdependencies between cities and neighbouring regions; - absence of an integrated planning approach to address mobility/ urban development/ land use planning. The Alpine Space is a region with continued growth, including increased passenger and freight transport. It suffers both from large volumes of cross-Alpine and seasonal traffic as well as sprawl from its cities to the countryside. It coordinates the development of the Sustainable regional-Urban Mobility Planning (SUMP) concept which the EC strongly promotes and, in its 2011 Transport White Paper, even suggests as a mandatory approach. Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning (SUMP) has the following characteristics: - active involvement of all stakeholders throughout the planning process; -commitment to sustainability, i.e. balancing social equity, environmental quality and economic development; - looking beyond the borders through an integrated approach between policy sectors, cooperation between authority levels and coordination across neighbouring authorities; - focus on achieving ambitious, measurable targets; - targeting cost internalisation i.e. reviewing transport costs and benefits for society; - comprehensive method including all steps of the life cycle of policy making and implementation. The PUMAS Project aims to: - advance SUMP, which focuses on participation, integration, evaluation and cost internalisation as a new paradigm in mobility planning; - develop, implement and evaluate 7 pilots using SUMP methods and tools; - generate best practice and lessons for others in the AS and beyond; - improve the awareness, exchange, coordination and development of regional-urban mobility plans (freight and passenger) through an innovative communication platform; - create the Alpine Space community and the National and Alpine Reference Point for SUMP in Slovenia, thus guaranteeing sustainability beyond the lifetime of the project. The Alpine Space Programme is the EU transnational cooperation programme for the Alps. Partners from the seven Alpine countries work together to promote regional development in a sustainable way. The programme is jointly financed by the European Union, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Partner States taking part in the activities. The contribution of the project partners coming from the EU are co-funded by ERDF up to a rate of 76%. The remaining costs have to be covered by other public funds, depending on rules at national level.