10 October 2007

Today:

• Long discussion(s) with Heidi about public investment. Had been starting with perspective that public investment in RE was the right way to go, and needed to show why it was good for economy and jobs. Now considering an analysis of whether public investment is best way to promote renewable energy. Talked about what public investment in RE meant - decided on a bid process similar to highway construction. Seems to me that role of economist here is to figure out how to meet GHG reduction targets most equitably and efficiently. May be through government regulation, incentives, direct investment.
• Made outline of "Comparative Study Ideas - 10.10.07" with categories that I think report should include. Should outline the goals of renewable energy policy: emissions reduction, job creation, equity and efficiency. Use decided-upon measures to show how the comparison countries are doing in these areas. Discuss policies that have been used to get countries to where they are now. Which ones succeeded? Which ones failed?
• Copied the Mallon book and returned to library.
• Began looking at http://cait.wri.org/ the Climate Analysis Indicators Tool from WRI to see, based on emissions, which other country/countries should be included in report. Poor countries, obviously, have the lowest emissions per capita. But the countries I'm planning to include in the report don't have the lowest emissions per capita among developed countries. They've simply made bigger strides in new renewables than other countries.
• Began a spreadsheet "Comparative Study Data 10 10 07" with data relevant to study. Spent a bit too much time looking at CO2 emission data.
  
• Read a report from CEPR on four economic issues that environmentalists should consider. Fourth one was the cost of carbon emissions. Made the point that no one has done an analysis of how much foregone GDP has resulted from military spending. All the debate on the cost of carbon abatement, given the commitment to military spending, seems silly.
  

Next time:

• Begin with looking for/filling in information on job creation in the new spreadsheet.
• If possible, research cost and distribution too.
• Stats on energy usage and RE are relatively readily available. Can fill this in last.