Andrea M. Bassi

Stellenbosch University | SUN · School of Public Leadership

The green economy model for India is a system dynamics model that has been customized to the national context in the structure of the model and input data. It also takes into account the key priorities for the country, incorporating primary and allied sectors affecting climate change at the national level. The model has been developed jointly by Wo...

Despite the rapid acceleration of climate change, international climate negotiations have yet to implement effective mitigation action. This failure can be attributed to the phenomenon of free-riding behaviours and the adverse effects of unilateral abatement policies, such as carbon leakage. The introduction of a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism...

The paper specifically explores the corollary benefits for economic development and environmental sustainability of a low-carbon, climate-resilient, green pathway for Ethiopia—a pathway that is consistent with attaining the country’s medium- and long-term development goals. The analysis compares a net zero emissions (NZE) pathway with a business-as...

A Nova Economia para o Brasil (NEB) é uma iniciativa realizada pelo WRI Brasil em parceria com economistas e especialistas de diversas instituições – como Coppe-UFRJ, CPI, Ipea, Febraban, PUC-Rio, CEBDS e iniciativa New Climate Economy. O estudo “Uma Nova Economia para uma Nova Era: Elementos para a construção de uma economia mais eficiente e resil...

A Nova Economia da Amazônia é um estudo desenvolvido pelo WRI Brasil em parceria com 76 especialistas de instituições científicas de diversas regiões do país. O trabalho mostra que manter a floresta de pé não é uma ameaça para o desenvolvimento, muito pelo contrário, é uma oportunidade de crescimento qualificado e inclusivo para a região. Ao reconh...

In this paper, we present an approach and results of integrating climate impacts and climate adaptation measures in the energy and agriculture sectors in a macroeconomic top-down model. By integrating climate projections from dynamically downscaled regional climate models, we assess the impacts of changing precipitation patterns and rising temperat...

The COVID-19 pandemic and related social and economic emergencies induced massive public spending and increased global debt. Economic recovery is now an opportunity to rebuild natural capital alongside financial, physical, social and human capital, for long-term societal benefit. Yet, current decision-making is dominated by economic imperatives and...

Transportation is one of the main enablers of development. It connects communities, allows the trade of goods among territories, and provides equitable access to public services. However, it is also one of the main causes of climate change, impacting directly and indirectly on human health. This raises the need for transportation infrastructure to...

The green economy model for India is a system dynamics model that has been customized to the national context in the structure of the model and input data. It also takes into account the key priorities for the country, incorporating primary and allied sectors affecting climate change at the national level. The model has been developed jointly by Wo...

This report presents the results of the work carried out at ETC/WMGE on Green economy transition: Macroeconomic analytical framework in 2020 and 2021. The main aim was to provide the arguments for adopting a macro-level perspective to the green economy transition and to the European Green Deal.

The idea that European economies and societies need to develop within environmental limits is at the heart of EU policy. The EU's flagship strategic roadmap, the European Green Deal, sets out an ambitious agenda for transforming Europe’s systems of production and consumption so that they can deliver continued economic growth while protecting ecosys...

Assessment of gendered energy transition at an urban scale has emerged as a challenging issue for researchers, policy makers and practitioners. With municipalities becoming players in the energy markets, their involvement raises policy issues that need to be better assessed in supporting gendered energy transition. This paper, therefore, contribute...

The European Green Deal (EGD) is the most ambitious decarbonisation strategy currently envisaged, with a complex mix of different instruments aiming at improving the sustainability of the development patterns of the European Union in the next 30 years. The intrinsic complexity brings key open questions on the cost and effectiveness of the strategy....

Multiple sectors—health and non-health—can determine the health and well-being of people and the condition of the socio-ecological environment on which it depends. At the climate and human health nexus, a systems-based understanding of climate change and health should inform all stages of the policy process from problem conceptualization to design,...

The Orinoco river basin is the third largest river in the world by volume. Its catchment encompasses 27 major sub-basins including the Bita with a catchment area of about 825,000 ha, which originates in the Colombian high plains in the Llanos ecoregion. It has been recognized as a priority area for conservation through different gap analyses and ov...

This paper deals with the territorial dimension of a circular economy. We review the territorial factors shaping closed-loop systems, upon which a territorial definition of a circular economy is developed. We consider six categories of territorial factors: (1) Land-based factors emphasize the significance of physical endowment to satisfy the growin...

The water-energy-food nexus concept is criticized as not yet fit for deeply integrated and contested governance agendas. One problem is how to achieve equitable risk governance and management where there is low consensus on priorities, poor inclusion and coordination of risk assessment procedures, and a weak emphasis placed on cross-scale and secto...

The definition of Circular Economy (CE) has evolved over time. It includes intervention options for reducing consumption, improving the efficiency of production, introducing recycling and reuse for materials management, including new business models geared at waste prevention. With the use of Systems Thinking and the creation of Causal Loop Diagram...

Este estudo destaca políticas capazes de reduzir a pobreza e a desigualdade, contribuir para o cumprimento das metas econômicas e setoriais, estimular o crescimento econômico sustentável e tornar o Brasil mais resiliente a futuras pandemias e outros riscos, como as mudanças climáticas e a destruição de ecossistemas. O documento é primeiramente uma...

Environmental policies must be better integrated across all government work if Europe is to stay on target toward a sustainable, carbon-neutral future. This will be crucial amid the profound changes which are expected to happen as a result of an ageing European population, a widespread technological change, and the competing allocations of public b...

The Maastricht Manual on Measuring Eco-innovation offers guidance on the measurement of eco-innovation in order to provide high quality data for research and policies to support the green economy. The Maastricht Manual has been designed for researchers, policy makers and statisticians from National Statistical Offices (NSOs) and other organisation...

This paper published at Wirtschaftspolitische Blätter, written by experts of eco-innovation, offers guidance on the measurement of eco-innovation for a green economy. This is done through definitions, an explanation of important issues for understanding, a dis- cussion of the various ways in which eco-innovation (in its different forms) can be meas...

This report provides an overview of the main findings from the different research tasks in the CIRCTER project and delivers selected policy messages with European coverage. The report provides: (Sec. 2) a territorial definition of the circular economy; (Sec. 3) insights into the available statistics on material and waste patterns and flows and thei...

Chapter 2 makes the case for using systems thinking as a guiding perspective for TEEBAgriFood’s development of a comprehensive Evaluation Framework for the eco-agri-food system. Many dimensions of the eco-agri-food system create complex analytical and policy challenges. Systems thinking allows better understanding and forecasting of the outcomes of...

The paper reviews the literature, over the last three decades, to map out the existing body of knowledge of the themes associated with the concepts of ‘eco-innovation’ and ‘green economy’. The aim is to better understand the cohesion, integration, inter- relatedness, evolution and exposure in the scientific literature of the concepts. A bibliometri...

Infrastructure projects are being planned and implemented around the world. These projects lead to economic growth and social development, but often unexpected side effects emerge. The problem is that financial analyses for infrastructure projects do not incorporate quantified economic assessments of social and environmental impacts. Equally, socia...

The TEEBAgriFood ‘Scientific and Economic Foundations’ report addresses the core theoretical issues and controversies underpinning the evaluation of the nexus between the agri-food sector, biodiversity and ecosystem services and externalities including human health impacts from agriculture on a global scale. It argues the need for a ‘systems thinki...

Like many urban areas around the world, Durham and Orange counties in North Carolina, USA are experiencing population growth and sprawl that is putting stress on the transportation system. Light rail and denser transit-oriented development are being considered as possible solutions. However, local agencies and stakeholders are concerned the light r...

Our socio-economic systems continue to grow and evolve. We need to acknowledge that, consequently, our decisions often fail - they are ineffective and create unexpected side effects. The speed of execution is increasing constantly and markets and systems respond almost immediately, making decision-making challenging. There is little or no room for...

Cities worldwide face the challenges of accommodating a growing population, while reducing emissions to meet climate mitigation targets. Public transit investments are often proposed as a way to curb emissions while maintaining healthy urban economies. However, cities face a system-level challenge in that transportation systems have cascading effec...

An increasing global population and growing wealth are raising demand for energy and food, impacting on the environment and people living in river basins. Sectoral decision-making may not optimize socioeconomic benefits because of perverse impacts in other sectors for people and ecosystems. The hydropower–food supply nexus in the Mekong River basin...

This review of the study “Road to Dawei”, conducted by WWF Greater Mekong, seeks to assess economic, social and environmental impacts of road construction between Kanchanaburi, Thailand and Dawei, Myanmar. It also aims to identify relevant Green Economy policy interventions that would enhance the sustainable use and conservation of natural capital,...

As the global economy continues to grow and change, issues concerning sustainability practices have become more prevalent. The implementation of efficient sustainability procedures offers significant assistance in the development of modern economies. Economic Modeling, Analysis, and Policy for Sustainability focuses on interdisciplinary perspectiv...

Public expenditure on fossil fuel subsidies exceeds education, health or infrastructure spending in some Asian economies. Our estimates exceed official subsidy estimates, which may not capture “hidden” costs of low-priced public services, tax rebates, and cheap loans. Unsustainable budgetary cost of selling oil, gas, and coal at low prices has prop...

This article proposes a fundamental methodological shift in the modelling of policy interventions for sustainability transitions in order to account for complexity (e.g. self-reinforcing mechanisms, such as technology lock-ins, arising from multi-agent interactions) and agent heterogeneity (e.g. differences in consumer and investment behaviour aris...

Infrastructure projects are being planned and implemented around the world. These projects lead to economic growth and social development, but often unexpected side effects emerge. The problem is that financial analyses for infrastructure projects do not incorporate quantified economic assessments of social and environmental impacts. Equally, socia...

The mainstreaming of concepts related to the Green Economy, an action-oriented approach to reach sustainable development, has increased demands for integrated models that can shed light on the complex relations existing across social, economic and environmental indicators. A gap exists, whereby our thinking is rapidly evolving, but the tools availa...

A system dynamics model has been developed for the power sector of Mauritius, which captures a range of complex interactions between the economic, social and environmental aspects of the national economy, with deeper emphasis on the role of energy in these interactions. The model has been validated by replicating the historical trends of key develo...

Since the publication of the Brundtland Commission’s report for the UN in 1987, Sustainable Development has lacked consensus on the economic design that would deliver the right economic direction and resource use to achieve its goals, and it has lacked a proper yardstick for measuring sustainable economic performance. The right economic design for...

Heavily dependent on imported energy sources, significant subsidies on fossil fuels present a heavy burden on public finances in Thailand. This study measures the size of fossil fuel subsidies such as tax breaks for diesel and natural gas, market price support for natural gas for vehicles, and free electricity for low-income consumers as well as th...

Subsidized energy is provided to all Indonesian citizens as a public service obligation. This study measures the size of fossil fuel subsidies such as underpricing of petroleum products and electricity, tax exemptions, and subsidized credit; examines the potential economic, energy, and environmental impacts of reducing them; and discusses options f...

Policy-makers currently face unprecedented challenges and uncertainty when taking decisions that simultaneously affect economic development, technology and the environment. It is not clear to policy-makers how to reconcile economic policy supporting growth with climate change mitigation, and it is not clear how effective policies are likely to be....

Background: Sustainable management of the municipal water supply is a priority issue in the policy agenda of Maui County, Hawaii. The Maui Economic Development Board launched the WaterStory initiative to educate residents about the determinants and history of Maui’s water resource development. A System Dynamics model was developed and coupled with...

This study about achievements and perspectives towards a Green Economy and Sustainable Growth in Serbia constitutes a first analysis on this topic. It is important to note that even at the global level there is still no uniform, generally accepted definition of the term green economy. UNEP defines a green economy as: “A n economy that results in i...

Policy makers worldwide are recently debating options to implement an effective climate policy that would put a cap on green house gas emissions. At the same time, investors are carefully evaluating the profitability of unconventional fossil fuels such as shale oil. To enhance the understanding of the impacts of a climate policy such as the America...

This paper aims to present the concept of Sustainable Futures, which grew out of global dialogues to more recently transfer into policy making. The paper seeks to discuss how foresight is used to understand the implications of global changes, focusing on the role of green economy strategies in fostering societal, economic progress and environmental...

The ISLANDS project is implemented by the Indian Ocean Commission using the European Development Fund of the European Union to support the implementation of the Mauritius Strategy in beneficiary countries. This paper shares the experiences of ISLANDS in deploying system dynamics modeling in five countries in the Eastern and Southern African and Ind...

In Ethiopia, repeated plowing, complete removal of crop residues at harvest and aftermath grazing of crop fi elds have reduced the biomass return to the soil and aggravated cropland degradation. Conservation Agriculture (CA)-based cropping systems may reduce runoff and soil erosion, and improve soil quality and crop productivity. Thus, a long-term...

Climate change has emerged as arguably the biggest threat facing human development in the twenty-first century. The current stock of atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) is large enough to cause climate change and climate variability. International efforts have been undertaken to stabilize atmospheric GHGs and to limit average global temperature rise t...

Background: Developing medium-to long-term energy scenarios is a key to achieve goals of energy security and greenhouse gas emission reduction through the implementation of effective public policies. Methods: Despite the availability of many tools and methods that focus on energy planning from an engineering perspective, only a few approaches have...

http://www.undp.org.rs/index.cfm?event=public.publicationsDetails&revid=0F47F5A0-B3F5-75BC-7FCE348F9A5A092E

To examine the prospects of creating a resource efficient, low-carbon economy, this paper focuses on the impacts of investing in energy, water and waste. The broader industrial sector, as well as six energy-intensive manufacturing industries is studied. A system dynamics model is developed for each selected sub-sector, which is embedded in a broade...

This chapter looks at the costs to the sector under a “business-as-usual” scenario and offers a number of strategic approaches to encourage green manufacturing investments in different technologies. It argues that investing in greening manufacturing can often be profitable to business and increase employment, while reducing pressure on the environm...

In response to the ongoing climate policy debates, this study examines the cost impacts of carbon-pricing legislation on selected US energy-intensive manufacturing industries. Specifically, it evaluates output-based rebate measures and the border adjustment provision specified in the bill, and tests the effectiveness of cost containment features of...

Observing the many and varied reactions to the Kyoto Protocol, it becomes clear that different governments find themselves in different contexts that eventually direct them toward taking dissimilar positions on energy issues. This paper, through five integrated studies, investigates whether contextualizing energy issues is (are) relevant to support...

To date there has been limited research on integrated water resource management, specifically regarding investments, from a global perspective, largely due to the complexity of the problem and to generally local water management practices. Water demand and supply are very often affected by international factors and with global climate change, popul...