Think Talk: Collateral Impacts of Energy Transition and Effects on Food Prices and Agricultural Production
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Tue 21 Oct
- $5.00 incl. GST
Please note there is NO refund or transfer if you cancel less than 5 working days in advance of a class starting. Our refund policy can be read in full here.
Description
Think Talk: Collateral Impacts of the Energy Transition: Examining Its Effect on Food Prices and Agricultural Production in OECD Countries
Tuesday 21 October 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM
While most studies highlight the benefits of the energy transition, it is important to recognise that this process can also yield negative consequences. In this study, we delve into this aspect of the energy transition by examining its effects on food prices and agricultural production across 32 OECD countries from 2000 to 2021. Our findings reveal that the energy transition leads to increased food prices and decreased agricultural production. Causality analysis further confirms that the energy transition is responsible for these changes. Given the commodity boom of the 2000s, we divided the sample into two periods: 2000-2011 and 2012-2021. The estimates indicated that the commodity boom sustained higher agricultural production in the 2000s, while in the 2010s, when this effect was gone, the energy transition contributed to lower agricultural production. To deepen our understanding, we divided the countries into two subsamples: those in an advanced stage of the energy transition and those in a delayed stage. Our results show that the impact of the energy transition varies depending on the stage of transition. Countries further along in their energy transitions experience a greater effect. This investigation underscores a collateral effect of the energy transition, placing additional pressure on vulnerable populations. To address this social challenge, governments can implement programs and policies such as income transfers to support these groups.
About Emilson Silva, Chair in Energy Economics, Professor and Director of the Energy Centre, Faculty of Business and Economics, at the University of Auckland
A passion for solving economic, behavioural, puzzles is the motto that drives Professor Silva to strive for excellence in economics’ research, teaching and outreach activities. Professor Silva’s successful career, spanning thirty years of academic and administrative experience, is an important enabling asset for the challenges that the positions of Director of the Energy Centre and Chair in Energy Economics present in taking the Energy Centre to a dominant, central, position in energy economic policy in New Zealand. Professor Silva comes to the University of Auckland after spending nearly twelve years at the University of Alberta, where he held the Campus Alberta Innovation Program Chair in the areas of Energy and Environmental Economics at the Alberta School of Business from 2012 to 2019, and Department Head from 2018 to 2021, among other administrative positions.
Prior to working at the University of Alberta, Professor Silva was the Graduate Director at the School of Economics, Georgia Institute of Technology, where he effectively designed and implemented the PhD in Economics at the School of Economics, from 2006 to 2012. Previously, he worked at Tulane University, where he held the position of Department Head from 2005 to 2006, a challenging period characterized by the catastrophic Katrina hurricane, and the position of Graduate Director from 1999 to 2005.
Professor Silva started his career at the University of Oregon, where he worked from 1993 to 1999. His PhD in Economics is from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, obtained in 1993. Professor Silva has published in top journals in Economics, including the Journal of Political Economy, the Economic Journal, the European Economic Review, Journal of Public Economics, Journal of Urban Economics, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management and, more recently, the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy.
Please register for this talk so we can plan seating for the expected numbers. A small donation on arrival at the door is appreciated.
