The G8 and the food crisis

La tenue respuesta del G8 ante la crisis alimentaria

The non-response of the G8 to the food crisis

La Vanguardia

Juan Delgado and Indhira Santos argue that although the right issues are on the G8 table, what it is still lacking, after one year of continuously increasing prices, is comprehensive action: the G8 leaders‘ statement on food security lacks a clear plan in the first two policy areas -trade and aid- and remains vague in the field of biofuels.

The latent food crisis

The new food equation: do EU policies add up?, by Juan Delgado and Indhira Santos

Bruegel Policy Brief. www.bruegel.org. Issue 2008/06, 2008.

This policy brief looks at how EU policies should be adjusted to the higher food prices. The brief makes three policy recommendations: Innovation in biofuels should be encouraged but biofuels targets should be abandoned as they are expensive and distort agricultural and energy markets. Freer trade is needed for both efficiency and food security reasons. But more open markets will further increase the price of food for importing countries. An immediate and sustained aid increase should therefore be agreed.

An EU energy market?

European Energy Markets: Moving in a Common Direction?, by Juan Delgado

Published in Commodities, Energy and Finance. Morten Balling, Ernest Gnan and Mar Gudmundsson, eds., June 2008. SUERF Studies.

In this paper for SUERF / OeNB Workshop on “Commodities, Energy and Finance” Juan Delgado outlines the main obstacles to integration of EU energy markets and analyses the potential impact on market integration of the new legislation recently proposed by the European Commission in the fields of energy and climate change.

Environmental market failures

Fallos de Mercado y Regulación Medioambiental (Market Failures and Environmental Regulation), by Juan Delgado

Published in Tratado de Tributacion Medioambiental (F. Becker, L. M. Cazorla y J. Martínez Simancas, eds., 2008). Editorial Aranzadi. April 2008.

This chapter analyses different forms of market failures related to the environment. Apart from the classic examples related to the existence of externalities and public goods, the chapter focuses on the effect of uncertainty and asymmetric information on environmental policies and the interaction between environmental market failures and innovation-related market failures. Such overlap of market failures determines that the design of environmental policies is complex and cannot focus on the resolution of individual market failures in isolation.

Europe decides on its climate strategy

Europe’s arsenal to fight climate change

Las armas de Europa contra el cambio climático

Cinco Días

Juan Delgado argues that the most efficient way to tackle climate change is to focus on curtailing emissions and provide agents with the freedom to choose by what means to do so. Any complementary target should contribute in this direction and not add additional burdens.

Bali, the prelude to Copenhagen

EU has gone to Bali with objectives but without strategies, by Juan Delgado

EU Energy Policy Blog

Competitiveness concerns are high on the Bali negotiations. The European Union has put on the table an ambitious agenda committing to reduce emissions by 20 percent (with respect to 1990 levels), increase energy efficiency by 20 percent and increase the share of renewables in energy consumption to 20 percent by 2020. This agenda may however be in conflict with the low carbon competitiveness of EU exports.

Landing Airplanes in Green Europe

by Juan Delgado

The Globalist

Juan Delgado discusses the effects of including airlines within the European emissions scheme.

Climate change and the competitiveness of Europe

Why Europe is not carbon competitive, by Juan Delgado

Bruegel Policy Brief. www.bruegel.org. Issue 2007/04, 2007.

Contrary to what is generally pictured, this policy brief shows that when considering the export mix, Europe is more vulnerable to carbon pricing schemes than other countries and regions. Europe specialises more than its main global competitors in industries with relatively high carbon emissions, such as minerals and chemicals, rather than in high-tech industries and services. This would have a real effect on Europe’s competitiveness in a world regulated by carbon pricing schemes such as the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme – even if other blocs apply them as the EU does.

The cost of fighting climate change

EU Climate Policies: Dividing up the Commons, by Juan Delgado.

Note presented to the Economic Policy Committee of the ECOFIN on 30 August 2007 (published in Eyes on Europe, Issue 7, November – April 2008).

Juan Delgado discusses the economic impact of climate change polices. The EU has committed to an ambitious climate change agenda. The challenge facing Europe now is how to meet the targets at a minimum cost and how to allocate the cost in such a way that it has a neutral impact on competitiveness. This note was presented in August 2007 to the Economic Policy Committee of the EU.

What is it a common energy policy?

Objectives and Instruments of a Common Energy Policy

Objectifs et moyens d’une politique énergétique commune

La lettre des entretiens européens, June 2007

Juan Delgado claims that setting policy objectives on energy is not enough for the EU. To make progress, it is crucial that the union moves quickly to create a sound strategy on how to reach the targets. Otherwise the ambition of the new energy policy can end up being its own destruction.