What are the motivations of people's energy saving behaviors? How does the diffusion of energy efficient products take place? We explore these questions in this project, while taking into account the roles of social norm in energy saving behaviors.
Since the Paris Agreement entered into force climate change has become an even more important global issue. To achieve the goals of the Paris agreement, renewed attention is being given to carbon pricing (CP) tools, such as emissions trading scheme (ETS) and carbon taxes. In this project, we empirically examine the impacts of carbon pricing on emissions and economic activities. Further, we investigate the design of carbon pricing instruments appropriate for the Japanese economy. For example, the use of revenue recycling from a carbon tax that generates the double dividend.
In recent years, environmental pollution is becoming increasingly serious in developing countries. RIEEM is conducting several research projects related to environmental management in these countries. For example, one project focuses on the impact of clean fuel usage on the prevention of indoor air pollution and related diseases. Additional projects focus on forest resource management and the diffusion of energy efficient technologies in both developing and emerging countries.
The current environmental and energy challenges confronting society cannot be resolved in the absence of concrete efforts on the part of business enterprises. This research project applies a management perspective to understanding how specific environmental initiatives on the part of business fit into the broader scope of business activities in general and explores the resulting implications for improvement of environmental performance at the firm level.
This project builds on the results of other RIEEM projects to investigate the design of policy instruments that are both effective and acceptable in society today. We also collaborate with foreign universities and research institutes to conduct comparative studies of the process of the policy acceptance in Japan, the USA and Europe. In addition, we conduct research on the acceptance of new technologies for reducing environmental harm.
