Message-ID: <8525666C.007A7231.110@WBLN0014.worldbank.org> Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 18:18:24 -0400 From: mailto:Dshaman@WORLDBANK.ORG Subject: NIPR newsletter, August 1998 To: mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU
1 - NIPR research paper, "Estimating Industrial Pollution in Latvia" 2 - US-AEP paper, "Impact of Financial Crisis on Industrial Growth and Environmental Performance in Indonesia" 3 - The OECD's conference on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registry's 4 - Upcoming Bank conference on public-private sector collaborations for cost-effective pollution management 5 - "The Social and Environmental Consequences of Growth-Oriented Policies" working papers 6 - IPPS Frequently Asked Question section updatedDear Friends:
During the past month, we have updated the New Ideas in Pollution Regulation website (http://www.worldbank.org/nipr) with new research papers, as well as information on upcoming events. We hope you will find this information useful for your own research on industrial pollution control and regulation issues.
1 - NIPR research paper, "Estimating Industrial Pollution in Latvia"
Benoit Laplante and Karlis Smits applied the Industrial Pollution Projection System (IPPS) in a research exercise which estimated industrial pollution emissions in Latvia. IPPS is a modeling system which combines data from industrial activity (such as production and employment) with data on pollution emissions to calculate pollution intensity factors, i.e. the level of pollution emissions per unit of industrial activity. The exercise covered major criteria pollutants to air, water and land, and the researchers note much of the data is also new for Latvian regulators who, to date, have not collected information on many of these pollutants.
The authors have weighted the emissions of pollution by the relative risk each pollutant represents, compared the weighted rankings of industrial sectors (in terms of pollution load) with the unweighted rankings, and provided similar comparison at the regional level. Laplante and Smits showed the weighted and unweighted rankings to be significantly different, and they illustrate a prioritization of regulatory intervention based solely on analysis of pollution load may lead to an inefficient distribution of pollution control effort across industrial sectors and geographical areas.
Finally, the authors compared predicted air emissions with actual emissions reported by a selected number of firms, and found in most cases reported emissions were much larger than predicted emissions. The researcher believe this difference reflects the nature of the industrial technology currently in use in Latvia.
http://www.worldbank.org/nipr/work_paper/latvia/index.htm
2 - US-AEP paper, "Impact of Financial Crisis on Industrial Growth and Environmental Performance in Indonesia"
Using plant-level data on physical output and water pollution for the years 1995 to 1997, Shakeb Afsah of the U.S.-Asia Environmental Partnership (US-AEP) analyzed the impact of the current Asian financial crisis on Indonesia's production trends and environmental performance. The author noted factory plant output has declined approximately 18% because of the economic downturn, yet pollution intensity for organic waste in industrial effluents has increased by 15%. This finding contradicts assumptions that low, or even negative economic growth will reduce industrial pollution. To the contrary, the author found pollution may increase because industrial facilities adjust their abatement effort in response to more lax regulatory monitoring and enforcement, and to higher pollution control costs. Afsah's empirical results suggest that during the financial crisis, factories have increasingly dumped their waste without treatment.
http://www.worldbank.org/nipr/work_paper/shakeb/index.htm
3 - The OECD's conference on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registry's
On September 9th, the Environment Agency of Japan will host the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) International Conference on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registry's (PRTR) in Tokyo. A PRTR is a database or inventory or pollutant releases, usually from industrial facilities. It may also include wastes transported off site for treatment and disposal. Facilities releasing substances on a PRTR registry are to report periodically the quantity of pollutant emitted and to which environmental media. Data is then made available to interested parties, including the public. One example of a PRTR is the U.S. EPA's Toxic Release Inventory (TRI). Now available is information on PRTR's, the OECD guidance manual for implementation, and conference details.
http://www.worldbank.org/nipr/prtr.htm
4 - Upcoming Bank conference on public-private sector collaborations for cost-effective pollution management
Coming October 26th, the World Bank's Economic Development Institute will host a worldwide policy dialogue between the public and private sectors on "Collaborating for Cost-Effective Pollution Management" in Washington, D.C. Over the last decade, environmental regulators and policymakers have increasingly discovered that working with the industry representatives can be a more cost-effective alternative to pollution control than traditional monitoring and enforcement mechanisms. Industry has also learned that collaborative approaches with regulators can reduce their production costs, and both improved the quality of their product and their image to consumers. This dialogue will bring together government and private sector representatives to highlight successful approaches and lessons for managing pollution.
http://www.worldbank.org/edi/pubpriv/ni.htm
5 - "The Social and Environmental Consequences of Growth-Oriented Policies" working papers
The World Bank Development Research Group's research project "The Social and Environmental Consequences of Growth-Oriented Policies" has made available electronic versions of its working papers. In these intermediate outputs, researchers explore what conditions, and to what extent policies can simultaneously promote growth, poverty alleviation, and environmental improvement. More than twenty papers are now available in PDF and/or HTML versions.
http://www.worldbank.org/research/peg/
6 - IPPS Frequently Asked Question section updated
We have also updated the IPPS Frequently Asked Questions section. The FAQ addresses questions researchers and economists have asked us about the Industrial Pollution Projection System (IPPS).
http://www.worldbank.org/nipr/faq.htm
The above additions to the NIPR site reflect our ongoing commitment to provide you with timely and informative research and analysis of industrial pollution regulation and control issues in the developing world. As always, we welcome your comments and ideas. We would also like to extend a special thank you to the many NIPR readers who have been generous with their comments, suggestions, and support of our efforts.
If you wish to no longer receive our monthly mailings, please let us know by writing David Shaman at mailto:dshaman@worldbank.org. Best wishes.