Economic and Energy Security Co-Benefits: Assessment Methodologies for Application to the IES Program

Abstract:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Integrated Environmental Strategies (IES) program has traditionally focused on the co-benefits of reduced greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and avoided health impacts due to improved air quality resulting from technology and policy measures. It is also recognized that there are a broad range of other co-benefits that can be achieved through measures aimed at controlling emissions. Economic development and energy security are two areas that may be impacted by the strategies undertaken to abate emissions and may, in fact, become primary drivers for strategies due to the prominence of these topics in national priorities. Existing methodologies were explored for quantifying the impact of emission control measures on energy security and economic development. The review of economic benefits and methodologies included:
• Reviewing traditional indicators including GDP and employment
• Matching modeling frameworks with their ability to answer different policy questions
• Reviewing studies from the U.S. state and local and international contexts to explore replication opportunities
• Exploring potential for recontextualization of indicators from a U.S. to a developing country context

A review of energy security metrics revealed that basic indicators such as indices that quantify the diversity of a country’s primary fuel supply and import fractions of different fuel types are relatively easy to quantify from readily available statistics from the International Energy Agency (IEA) and others. A more complex analysis would also capture the import countries of different fuels and the political stability of those countries. These reviews of methodologies for both energy security and economic impacts revealed that there is potential to incorporate these additional co-benefits into the traditional IES framework, though with varying levels of investment of time and resources.