As early as 1990, economists proposed the establishment of a cap and share system: a global carbon market whose revenues would be allocated on an equal per capita basis. In a working paper, we show, with the help of surveys on 56,000 respondents, that acceptance of a cap and share is not only very strong in each of the 20 countries covered, but that it is also sincere. In accordance with these survey results, the hypothesis of this project is that a majority of the population (particularly in high-income countries) would accept a global redistribution policy such as cap and share. The project is divided into two parts. The first part will test our hypothesis using new opinion surveys. In the light of previous results, we expect this hypothesis to be confirmed. I will carry out additional surveys and semi-structured interviews to test alternative hypotheses that could temper the declared support by (1) warm glow, (2) other antagonistic concerns, or (3) concrete obstacles to the realization of a cap and share. The second part will seek to draw the consequences of this new perspective towards a cap and share, established by an alliance of countries within a “climate coalition”, by carrying out preparatory studies for its establishment. On the one hand, we will simulate the economic effects of a cap and share using an integrated economic-energy model, with different scenarios for participation in the climate coalition. On the other hand, we will study the dynamics linking carbon prices and oil (and gas) prices for different scenarios of geopolitical alliances (climate coalition, cartel of oil-exporting countries).

This project will explore how augmented reality (AR) systems can reduce the spatial and temporal distance between people’s choices and their environmental consequences, in order to reveal the impact of both individual habits and global policies. More concretely, we will design interactive visualizations that integrate concrete environmental consequences (e.g. waste accumulation, rare earth mining) directly into user's surroundings. This interdisciplinary research will be informed and validated by incentivized and controlled behavioral economics experiments based on game-theoretical models, and guided by real environmental scenarios

There is a growing scientific consensus around the need to significantly reduce the consumption of animal-based products. Springmann et al. (2016) estimate that food production could account for 52% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 if nothing is done, but could decrease to only 15% if humanity adopts plant-based diets. Regarding health, Tilman and Clark (2014) conclude the cessation of meat consumption would reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by 41%, cancer risk by 10%, and coronal diseases by 20%. The last few years have seen the emergence of a real social dynamic aimed at reducing meat consumption and engaging in animal welfare. A recent report by the CREDOC estimated that the consumption of meat products per capita fell by 12% between 2007 and 2016. This reduction in meat consumption has also been accompanied by increased consideration of citizens for animal welfare. The 2016 European Eurobarometer survey noted that 88% of French citizens declared that farm animals should be better protected than they are now. This strong concern for animal welfare has also entered the political game with the creation of an animalist party in 2016, which managed to pass the minimum threshold to obtain public fundings in 86 constituencies at the 2017 legislative elections. Surprisingly, until very recently, economics has shown little interest in the question of the consumption of animal-based products. This projects aims at developing an economic approach of the consumption of animal-based products. Works in psychology mainly developed a behavioral analysis of meat consumption based on the cognitive dissonance perspective considering the so-called meat paradox (the fact that many individuals care for animal welfare but keep consuming products that induce great damages to animals). They showed that the cognitive dissonance between one’s preferences for animal welfare and one’s dietary choices leads individuals to engage in motivated reasoning. Economists have also devoted a few works, but in a much more modest number, to the discrepancy between consumption choices and political preferences for meat consumption. Lusk and Nordwood illustrate this vote-buy gap with Proposition 2 passed in 2008 in California by referendum: although most of the eggs sold in this state originated from caged egg-laying hens, a vast majority of citizens voted in favor of the proposition which imposed free-range for egg-laying hens exploitation. The authors explain the discrepancy between collective and private choices as a free-riding problem: the marginal impact of consuming a free-range egg on animal welfare is very limited, but there would be a great gain in collectively improving animal welfare. This public good approach to animal-based products can also be generalized to environmental and health concerns. This research project contains three work packages mobilizing mostly experimental methods. The first package investigates the consumption of animal-based products as a private choice. Study 1.1 develops economic methods to disentangle cognitive dissonance from naive ignorance. Study 1.2 explores how cognitive dissonance impacts social learning regarding animal-based diets. Study 1.3 proposes a multidisciplinary approach to the vegetarian/vegan epiphanies, i.e., the sudden awareness of the necessity to adopt a plant-based diet. The second package analyzes animal-based diets as a collective choice. Study 2.1 looks at the effectiveness of NGOs' discourses to convince people to adopt plant-based diets. Study 2.2 analyzes how the creation of a French animalist party impacted political competition. The third work package investigates the gap between private and collective choices. Study 3.1 documents the vote-buy gap in the European Union, by combining survey data, consumption data, and experimental data. Study 3.2 explores the efficiency of legal tools to regulate the externalities associated with the consumption of animal-based products.

In the building sector, the organisation of retrofit markets heavily draws on information and standard-setting devices developed by the public authorities to shape the action of companies and customers. The PREMOCLASSE project questions the role of one of them: the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). While EPC is now mainly used, by legal obligation, on the real estate transaction market, its role is increasing in governmental efforts at steering energy renovation of buildings. The PREMOCLASSE project proposes an alliance between disciplines and approaches to analyse the different roles of EPC in the renovation sector. It particularly seeks to understand the relationship between two aspects that are only partially related in current practices: on the one hand, the measurement of energy performance by the EPC, and on the other hand, the implementation of specific retrofit works to improve it. The projects intends to make three different contributions. 1. In the field of social sciences, the project will develop research on the role of EPC in shaping energy renovation policies and, more generally, on the mobilisation of valuation instruments and processes in socio-political and economic change. The contribution will be both conceptual (development of the links between the sociology of public action and markets and the sociology of energy and building) and empirical (the case study of the EPC will be fully documented from the socio-historical angle and from the angle of socio-professional practices in the fields concerned). 2. In the field of modelling, the project will contribute to enriching and improving an integrated energy-economy modelling tool for the housing stock: the “Res-IRF” model. The aim will be to improve the descriptive capabilities of the tool by including the types of renovation work that can be done. It will also seek to improve its robustness by integrating sociological data that can increase the realism of the modelling. 3. In the field of energy assessment; the project will build scenarios for the composition of the residential housing stock by 2050 based on close cooperation between sociological, technical and economic approaches. Interdisciplinarity will be exercised upstream in the definition of hypotheses and downstream in the analysis of results leading to original scenarios of building stock evolution. By combining disciplines that are often specialised in analysing specific sub-segments of energy policy (engineering sciences, sociology, economics), the PREMOCLASSE project takes an original position in the still fragmented field of studies on buildings, energy systems and renovation. However, it goes beyond what these approaches usually propose. First, it includes both fundamental dimensions (modelling, social sciences) and application dimensions (prospective scenarios). Second, it makes both a positive (optimisation of modelling, knowledge of the practices of professionals in the field, development of scenarios) and reflexive (feedback between measurement and what is measured) contribution to addressing the challenges of energy renovation in housing. Finally, and this is one of the distinctive characteristics of the project, it brings knowledge specific to EDF R&D (technical-economic approach to buildings, knowledge of the types of works and prices for energy renovation) toward more open academic research. The fact that EDF R&D, Armines and CIRED are combining their expertise on the subject of the economic efficiency of energy renovation has a scope that goes far beyond these organizations. Indeed, Premoclasse results will form a knowledge base and proposals that can be mobilized for future developments of EPCs (enforceability, environmental performance, etc.). Also an appropriation of the Premoclasse results by public and private actors in the energy renovation sector could allow an optimization of the economic instruments to encourage and make the renovation more reliable.

We are an international consortium formed by six leading research institutes in the field of green economy. Our GOAL is to develop robust evidence on green growth in both EU and Chinese cities and to draw lessons to facilitate a transition towards sustainable development in EU and Chinese cities. Our team has brought strong and multi-disciplinary expertise into this project from aspects of urban development, environmental economics, economy-energy-environmental modelling,carbon accounting and policy analysis for technology transfers. Green growth means shifting to a development model where environmental protection and economic growth complement each other, rather than being contradictory. Generating 85% of Europe's GDP, 80% of energy consumption and 75% of carbon emissions, cities have a central role to play in this process. European cities are striving for green growth. They are adapting local regulation and raising citizen awareness. Recently, the EU has launched the Europe 2020 strategy that sets out sustainable growth as one of its priorities, alongside smart and inclusive growth: 'making our production more resource efficient while boosting our competitiveness' . On the other hand, China will play a pivotal role in the fight against climate change given due to its immense size and need to develop. Shifting Chinese cities to a green growth path is a critical part of the fight. Chinese cities home 46% of the population and contribute 75% of the Chinese national economy and nearly 85% of CO2 emissions. The nexus between urban evolution and emission mitigation is the key in China's green growth. While the green-growth debate is becoming more prominent at the international level, understanding how to operationalise green-growth strategies is still lacking at more local levels. The key challenges remain: Challenge 1: What are the dynamics of emission trends in Chinese cities at different urbanisation and industrialisation stages? Energy and greenhouse gases (GHGs) emission inventories are usually built at national level. But no such international framework exists requiring measurements of city emissions or providing detailed methodological guidance for conducting an urban emissions inventory. We will construct city level emission inventories. Challenge 2: What factors are driving emission growth in cities? Quantification of emission driving forces has been extensively studies at the national level. Few studies have found at the city level. Understanding the key factors in driving the emission growth, one can target the problem more specific to reduce emissions in cities. Challenge 3: What are the sources of green growth in cities and how can we support green growth? Green growth can open up new sources of growth through increasing resource efficiencies and economic productivities, supporting technology innovations, creation of new market, boosting business confidence in green growth and enhance economic stability. Institutional arrangements and economic incentives are the key to sustain the sources of growth in cities. New institutional arrangements will need to be established to guide the development of green growth strategies and to overcome the institutional inertia and silos that exist around economic and environmental policy making. Challenge 4: How to use interventions to transform cities to green growth? Cities are the centre of transitioning towards green economy. Green growth is already underway in both European and Chinese cities. We identify available interventions for green growth and examine the effectiveness of those interventions.