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Methane emissions associated with the production, transport, and use of oil and natural gas increase the climatic impacts of energy use; however, little is known about how emissions vary temporally and with commodity prices. We present airborne and ground-based data, supported by satellite observations, to measure weekly to monthly changes in total methane emissions in the United States' Permian Basin during a period of volatile oil prices associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. As oil prices declined from ∼ USD 60 to USD 20 per barrel, emissions changed concurrently from 3.3 % to 1.9 % of natural gas production; as prices partially recovered, emissions increased back to near initial values. Concurrently, total oil and natural gas production only declined by ∼ 10 % from the peak values seen in the months prior to the crash. Activity data indicate that a rapid decline in well development and subsequent effects on associated gas flaring and midstream infrastructure throughput are the likely drivers of temporary emission reductions. Our results, along with past satellite observations, suggest that under more typical price conditions, the Permian Basin is in a state of overcapacity in which rapidly growing associated gas production exceeds midstream capacity and leads to high methane emissions.

To stop global warming at well below 2° C, the bulk of the world’s fossil fuel reserves will have to be left in the ground. Coal is the fossil fuel with the greatest proportion that cannot be used, and various advocacy groups are campaigning for a ban on the opening of new coal mines. Recently, both China and the USA implemented temporary moratoria on the approval of new coal mining leases. This article examines whether these coal mining bans reflect the emergence of a global norm to keep coal under the ground. To that end, we review recent coal mining policies in the four largest coal producers and explain them comparatively with a framework based on interests, ideas and institutions. We find that the norm of keeping coal in the ground remains essentially contested. Even in those countries that have introduced some form of a coal mining moratorium, the ban can easily be, or has already been, reversed. To the extent that the norm of keeping coal in the ground has momentum, it is primarily due to non-climate reasons: the Chinese moratorium was mostly an instance of industrial policy (aiming to protect Chinese coal companies and their workers from the overcapacity and low prices that are hitting the industry), while the USA’s lease restrictions were mainly motivated by concerns over fiscal justice. We do not find evidence of norm internalisation, which means that the emerging norm fails to gain much traction amid relevant national actors and other (large) coal producing states. If proponents of a moratorium succeed in framing the issue in non-climate terms, they should have a greater chance of building domestic political coalitions in favour of the norm.

Overcapacity in China’s coal industry has serious negative impacts on the rational allocation of coal resources and stable operation of the national economy. Since 2016, the Chinese government has implemented a series of de-capacity policies to optimise coal production capacity. Timely policy effect assessment is of great significance to the government to guide high-quality development of the coal industry. This paper first reviews the dilemma encountered by China’s coal industry prior to 2016, and then analyses the progress and effect of coal industry de-capacity. The main results are as follows: (1) The capacity reduction is mainly distributed in the central and southwestern regions. Most of the coal mines are state-owned, and there is a prominent worker resettlement problem. (2) The capacity optimisation policy has accelerated the implementation of the overall spatial planning of China’s coal supply. China’s coal production centre has shifted from the central and eastern regions to the west, and the industry’s high-quality development pattern has taken shape. (3) China’s coal industrial profitability has constantly been improving, industry concentration has increased significantly, and coal mining has become safer. (4) Due to the regional heterogeneity, the de-capacity policy effect has significant differences in coal production capacity and employee reduction in various regions. Finally, regarding the optimisation of China’s coal production capacity, some policy implications are given.

This paper examines how the removal of excess coal production capacity has affected the air quality in China. A coal de-capacity policy, including a reduction in coal, downscaling of the pollution in mines, and strict regulation of coal production, was implemented in 2016. However, until now studies have paid little attention to the effects of coal de-capacity on air pollution. Using panel data from 294 cities covering from 2014 to 2020, we employed a continuous Differences-in-Differences (DID) method to show that coal de-capacity significantly reduces Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5). This finding is robust to using alternative indicators, Instruments Variable (IV) and the Propensity Score Matching with Differences-in-Differences (PSM-DID) method. The heterogeneity analysis suggests that the coal de-capacity policy has a larger effect on eastern, northern cities, and those with higher initial PM2.5 and a heavier industrial base. The PM2.5 deduction is caused by cleaning coal production under the coal de-capacity. These findings provide new knowledge on the environmental benefits of coal de-capacity and demonstrate the environmental benefits of Chinese supply-side reformation.

Despite its relevance, the economic contribution of small-scale fisheries to poverty alleviation is still poorly understood. This study investigates why some fishers perform economically better in fisheries than others under similar conditions and whether these variations in performance were due to individual adaptive strategies related to fishing technology and effort. A pairwise comparison between fishers’ income from the Brazilian equatorial region in 1994 and 2014 was performed while modeling individual changes related to the fishing activity (Generalized Linear Model, GLM) and the factors that would explain why fishers became richer or poorer over time (Proportional odds model). Fisher’s geographical region, the use of motorized boats and the adoption of hookah compressors explained income in 1994, whereas having larger boats and fishing with hook and line explained it in 2014. Fishers were slightly more likely to gain income if they changed their type of boat. Some fishers are trapped in poverty, and the changes they made were either not enough to leave this condition or made it worse. Escaping poverty traps in fisheries may require efforts beyond those available to the individuals, especially as stocks become increasingly overfished.

Background To increase bed capacity and resources, hospitals have postponed elective surgeries, although the financial impact of this decision is unknown. We sought to report elective surgical case distribution, associated gross hospital revenue and regional hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) bed capacity as elective surgical cases are cancelled and then resumed under simulated trends of COVID-19 incidence. Methods A retrospective, cohort analysis was performed using insurance claims from 161 million enrollees from the MarketScan database from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2017. COVID-19 cases were calculated using Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation models. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports on the number of hospitalized and intensive care patients by age estimated the number of cases seen in the ICU, the reduction in elective surgeries and the financial impact of this from historic claims data, using a denominator of all inpatient revenue and outpatient surgeries. Results Assuming 5% infection prevalence, cancelling all elective procedures decreases ICU overcapacity from 160 to 130%, but these elective surgical cases contribute 78% (IQR 74, 80) (1.1 trillion (T) US dollars) to inpatient hospital plus outpatient surgical gross revenue per year. Musculoskeletal, circulatory and digestive category elective surgical cases compose 33% ($447B) of total revenue. Conclusions Procedures involving the musculoskeletal, cardiovascular and digestive system account for the largest loss of hospital gross revenue when elective surgery is postponed. As hospital bed capacity increases following the COVID-19 pandemic, restoring volume of these elective cases will help maintain revenue. In these estimates, adopting universal masking would help to avoid overcapacity in all states.

The promotion of renewable energy cannot be separated from the support provided by government subsidies. However, the effect of government subsidies is controversial. Taking China’s listed renewable energy companies as examples, this paper analyzes the impact of government subsidies on the financial performance of these companies. The results show that government subsidies do not promote improvements in corporate financial performance, and renewable energy companies are less profitable than other companies. The negative effect of government subsidies on corporate financial performance can be explained mostly by the rent-seeking behavior of firms. The occurrence of subsidy-induced overcapacity and adverse selection and moral hazard created by asymmetric information also weaken the incentive effect of government subsidies to some extent.

In 2015 the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations stipulated that certain forms of subsidies that the fishing sector receive must be prohibited. However, the global fishing sector is complex and varied, and as such there remains a need for information on the distribution of subsidies between the different regions and their sub-sectors. This bottom-up study therefore provides up-dated and improved analyses of the financial support fishing sub-sectors receive from public entities. Estimates show that of the USD 35.4 billion of global fisheries subsidies provided in 2018, 19% went to the small-scale fishing sub-sector (SSF), including artisanal and subsistence fisheries. Whilst more than 80% went to the large-scale (industrial) fishing sub-sector (LSF). Analysis by subsidy category and type shows, for example, that the majority of the subsidies that the LSF receive are in the form of capacity-enhancing subsidies (USD 18.3 billion) with fuel subsidies being the highest overall subsidy type (USD 7.2 billion). Fuel subsidies are especially harmful as they perpetuate fuel inefficient technology. Since the last estimate of the global fisheries subsidies divide, the percentage of capacity-enhancing subsidies within the SSF has increased from 41% in 2009 to 59% in 2018. When assessing the level of subsidisation per active fisher at the global scale, a fisher involved in LSF receives disproportionally (3.5 times) more subsidies than a fisher involved in SSF and in terms of subsidies per landed value LSF receive twice as many subsidies per dollar landed than SSF. This unequal distribution of government support exacerbates the ongoing political and economic marginalization of SSF, globally. The Sustainable Development Goals and the supporting science are quite clear, we must remove all capacity-enhancing subsidies across all sub-sectors and regions which exacerbate overcapacity and overfishing, in order to ensure the sustainability of our fish stocks. Our recommendation is that capacity-enhancing subsidies be removed and instead used to support fishers through coastal fishing community projects that focus on fisheries sustainability, social justice and food security, rather than on reducing the cost of fishing or artificially enhancing profits through the provision of harmful subsidization.

The environmental pollution problem stimulates the photovoltaic industry’s vigorous development and further promotes the prosperity of the module manufacturing industry. After the cancellation of government subsidies, how the phenomenon of overcapacity that has always existed in the module manufacturing industry will develop is one of the essential issues that we need to consider. This paper constructs a systematic framework to analyze the driving mechanism of government subsidies on overcapacity. Then, a system dynamics model is established to predict the development trend of overcapacity after the cancellation of government subsidies. The result shows that: (i) By 2030, the production capacity will exceed 600 GW in China’s photovoltaic module industry, which is about two times that of 2021. Moreover, its price and cost will drop to 0.46 yuan/W and 0.41 yuan/W, which are down 67% and 60%, respectively, compared to 2021; (ii) After the cancellation of government subsidies, the phenomenon of overcapacity will not disappear soon, and it will continue until 2030. In 2030, the production capacity utilization rate will reach 80%, and the phenomenon of overcapacity will disappear; (iii) From the perspective of production factors, the impact of the labor factor on the production capacity is minimal. In the initial stage, technology and capital factors are vital. As the industry matures, the influence of the capital factor will gradually weaken. Finally, we have put forward corresponding policy implications.

Coal accounts for more than 60% of China’s primary energy consumption. Due to the demand decline since 2013, the coal industry was facing the dilemmas of falling prices, overcapacity, and high debt ratios. Reduction of overcapacity of the coal industry has become a crucial task in China’s supply-side structural reform. This paper attempts to explain several issues related to overcapacity reduction in the coal industry. First, we analyze the characteristics of China’s coal market and the causes of over-capacity in the coal industry. It is revealed that the aggregate coal demand of China is price inelastic, and the coal enterprises own market power. In addition, we illustrate that current overcapacity is the result of enterprises’ rational expansion in the context of rapid growth in demand in the previous period. Second, different capacity reduction schemes are compared. The results suggest that some of the inefficient production capacity should be temporarily withdrawn from the market, rather than ordering all coal mine to limit production capacity in the same proportion. Third, we conduct a regression model to describe the long-term price trend of coal and establish a mean-reverting model to simulate the motion path of the coal price. According to the Monte Carlo simulation, we estimate the value of the real option of coal capacity and find it is higher than the capacity replacement cost. This demonstrates that the real option is economically feasible in application.