The quantification of the embodied impacts of construction projects on energy, environment, and society based on I–O LCA

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030142151100557X
Abstract: With rapid social development and large-scale construction of infrastructure in China, construction projects have become one of the driving forces for the national economy, whose energy consumption, environmental emissions, and social impacts are significant. To completely understand the role of construction projects in Chinese society, this study developed input–output life-cycle assessment models based on 2002, 2005, and 2007 economic benchmarks. Inventory indicators included 10 types of energy, 7 kinds of environmental emissions, and 7 kinds of social impacts. Results show that embodied energy of construction projects in China accounts for 25–30% of total energy consumption; embodied SO2 emissions are being controlled, and the intensities of embodied NO_x and CO₂ have been reduced. However, given that the construction sector related employment is 17% of the total employment in China, the accidents and fatalities related to the construction sector are significant and represent approximately 50% of the national total. The embodied human and capital investments in science and technology (ST) increased from 2002 to 2007. The embodied full time equivalent (FTE) of each ST person also increased while the personal ST funding and intramural expenditures decreased. This might result from the time lag between RD activities and large-scale implementation.

by Yuan, Chang 1 , Robert J., Ries 1 , Yaowu, Wang 2
Energy Policy via Elsevier Science Direct www.ScienceDirect.com
In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 6 August 2011
1. M.E. Rinker Sr. School of Building Construction, University of Florida, 331 Rinker Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
2. School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, PR China
Keywords: Input–output life cycle assessment; Embodied impacts; Construction projects

Measuring the welfare effects of infrastructure: A simple spatial equilibrium evaluation of Dutch railway proposals

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0739885910001265
Abstract: We specify a spatial computable general equilibrium model for the Netherlands based on the so-called New Economic Geography. The model distinguishes 14 sectors, two modes of transportation and over 500 municipalities. Key parameters are estimated by fitting predicted interregional trade flows to bi-regional input-output data. The model is then calibrated to a baseline scenario for 2020. From there, the transport grid is modified in line with six proposals for changes in rail infrastructure. The effects of these changes on employment and welfare are computed. We find that the most ambitious project leads to a redistribution of around 8000 jobs from regions further out to regions along the line and especially at the end of it. The net national welfare effect is equivalent to a 250 million euro (0.016%) increase in GDP.

by Thijs Knaap^{a, ,} and Jan Oosterhaven^b,

^a Amsterdam School of Economics, Valckenierstraat 65-67, 1018 XE Amsterdam, The Netherlands
^b University of Groningen, Faculty of Economics and Business, Postbus 800, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands

Research in Transportation Economics
Volume 31, Issue 1, 2011, Pages 19-28; Available online 2 February 2011

Special Issue: The Economic Impact of Changing Accessibility
Keywords: Transport infrastructure; Computable General Equilibrium; New Economic Geography; Interregional input-output data

Quantification of interdependencies between economic systems and ecosystem services: An input–output model applied to the Seine estuary

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800911001625
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to assess the possible contribution of an input–output model towards two of the basic principles of the sustainability strategy of integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) and Post-Normal Science. According to these principles, decision-support tools should offer a holistic perspective and handle high uncertainty. The difficulties in reaching sustainability are due partly to the prevailing use of “narrow-system-boundary” tools that are non-holistic. Consequently, they fail to capture important ecosystem services and ignore interdependencies between them. To comply with the basic principles, our method allows environmental assets to be evaluated in multiple units and integrates results from recent researches in natural sciences. Both enable coverage of interdependencies between ecosystem services. Thereby, we enlarge input–output modelling from the two conventional ecosystem services of sink and provisioning to the most vital ones: the supporting services. An application to the Seine estuary addresses the impacts of maritime transportation infrastructures on nursery habitats for commercial fish. The ecosystem services covered are life support and resource provisioning. Our results show that the restoration of a total of 73.7 km2 of nursery areas over the period 2004–2015 would result in a stock of sole in 2015 that exceeds the “business as usual” scenario by 44.2% (uncertainty range: 35.9%–69.9%). In spite of high restoration costs, the negative macro-economic impact is very low. However, on the sector level, a trade-off results between nurseries and three economic sectors. The quantification of such trade-offs in our model is particularly useful to public participation in decision-making.

by Mateo Cordier 1 and 3, José A. Pérez Agúndez 2, Martin O'Connor 3, Sébastien Rochette 4 and Walter Hecq 1
1. Centre d'Etudes Economiques et Sociales de l'Environnement/Centre Emile Bernheim, Université Libre de Bruxelles (CEESE-ULB), Université d'Europe, 44 avenue Jeanne, CP. 124, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium; Tel.: + 32 2 650 35 88; fax: + 32 2 650 46 91.
2. Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (Ifremer)/UMR-Amure/Département d'économie maritime, Centre de Brest, Technopôle de Brest-Iroise, BP 70, 29280, Plouzané, France
3. Recherches en Economie-Ecologie, Eco-innovation et ingénierie du Développement Soutenable à l'Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (REEDS-UVSQ), 47 boulevard Vauban, Guyancourt 78047 cedex, France
4. Université Européenne de Bretagne, UMR 985 Agrocampus OUEST, INRA «Ecologie et Santé des Ecosystèmes», Ecologie halieutique, Agrocampus OUEST, 65 rue de St Brieuc, CS 84215, 35042 Rennes, France
Ecological Economics via Elsevier Science Direct www.ScienceDirect.com
Volume 70, Issue 9; 15 July 2011; Pages 1660-1671
Special Section - Governing the Commons: Learning from Field and Laboratory Experiments
Keywords: Input–output; Ecosystem services; Participative process; Integrated coastal zone management; Post-Normal Science; Decision-support