MA5700 – Environmental Economics

 

Credits: 3

Pre-requisites: None

Core / Optional: Optional

Aim(s):To provide an overview of integrating environmental management and economic theory within a sustainable development framework.

Intended Learning Outcomes:

  1. appreciate the environmental considerations in economic decision-making.
  2. analyse the total economic value of engineering projects and products.
  3. analyse investment and financing decisions of engineering projects and products.
  4. appreciate the climate change mitigation efforts through engineering projects and products.
  5. create a total economic value model for an engineering project.

Course Content (Only main topics & subtopics):

  1. Integration of Environmental Management and Economic theory:National income and environmental accounting; Utility and consumer demand; Production, supply, and costs; Externalities and market failure; Policies. Applications in manufacturing, production, transportation, and energy.
  2. Environmental valuation: Total economic value: Direct-use, indirect-use, and non-use values; Valuation methods: market-based, contingent valuation, travel cost, hedonic pricing, restoration and replacement cost, benefits transfer, off-trade. Applications in projects, products, ecosystem services, and conservation.
  3. Investment Decisions: Identifying alternatives; environmental costs and benefits; Lifecycle assessment and costing; tax and tariff; accounting for long-term ecological damage. Applications in infrastructure projects, green technology decision making.
  4. Climate change mitigation: Carbon abatement cost curves, emission taxes, cap and trade schemes, subsidies, carbon offsets and neutrality, feed-in tariff, carbon market and auditing. Applications in engineering projects and product development.
  5. Group Project: Investigate the total economic value of an engineering product or project.

Time Allocation:

Learning component Hours
Theory 32
Small group activities 8
Assignments 10
Practical –
Independent Learning 100

Marks Allocation:

Assessment Percentage Marks
Continuous Assessments 50%
Final Assessment 50%

Recommended Reading:

  • Daniel, P., Keen, M., McPherson, C. (2010). The Taxation of Petroleum and Minerals: Principles, Problems and Practice. Series: Routledge explorations in environmental economics. Routledge. ISBN: 0415569214,9780415569217,9780203851081,0203851080,0415781388,9780415781381
  • Mäler, K.G., Vincent, J.R. (2003). Handbook of Environmental Economics 1. North-Holland. ISBN: 978-0-444-50063-2Mäler, K.G., Vincent, J.R. (2003). Handbook of Environmental Economics 1. North-Holland. ISBN: 978-0-444-50063-2
  • Smith, J.B., Mendelsohn, R. O. (2007). New Horizons in Environmental Economics. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN: 9781845427474,1845427475