Abstract
This paper assesses the cost-effectiveness of a mixed policy in attempts to reduce the presence of three nitrogen pollutants: NO 3, N 2O, and NH 3. The policy under study combines a tax on nitrogen input and incentives promoting perennial crops assumed to require low input. We show that the mixed policy improves the cost-effectiveness of regulation with regard to nitrates, whereas no improvement occurs, except for a very low level of subsidy in some cases, for gas pollutants. A quantitative analysis provides an assessment of impacts in terms of land use, farmers’ income, and nitrogen losses throughout France and at river-basin scale.
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Notes
According to the latest greenhouse gas inventories by the European Environment Agency (2010), agricultural emissions represent about 10 % of the total EU emissions.
1074 for the EU-15 and 157 for France
Following [13], we assume in our central set of simulations that livestock numbers are allowed to vary within +/- 15 % of the values reported in the FADN database.
Miscanthus x giganteus is a sterile hybrid of Miscanthus sinensis and Miscanthus sacchariflorus.
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Acknowledgments
This paper is based on research activities funded by PIREN-Seine, an interdisciplinary research programme dedicated to the study of the environment in the Seine river basin in France. We also kindly thank Susan Becker for editorial advice on English language use.
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Appendix: Map of French River Basins
Appendix: Map of French River Basins
5.1 N-loss emission functions regarding crops in France
5.2 N-losses at the river-basin scale
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Bourgeois, C., Fradj, N.B. & Jayet, PA. How Cost-Effective is a Mixed Policy Targeting the Management of Three Agricultural N-pollutants?. Environ Model Assess 19, 389–405 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10666-014-9401-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10666-014-9401-y