Workshop: "Integrating Economic and Financial Principles into Environmental Engineering Research and Education, January 2011, Washington DC Metropolitan Area

摘要项目负责人：Gregory W. characklis项目编号：1041730机构：university of North Carolina ？题目：将经济和金融原理融入环境工程研究和社会教育决策？美国最具挑战性的环境问题是在关注科学和经济论据的情况下提出的，经济标准起着越来越大的作用。经济术语和概念现在在环境政策辩论中无处不在，关于减缓气候变化的讨论经常围绕着？折现率?，而对股权的担忧？在考虑旨在促进可持续性的活动时经常发挥突出作用。即使在讨论更传统的管理主题（例如，饮用水标准）时，成本效益分析也已成为一种常见的方法，在某些情况下，是联邦政府规定的管理决策的一部分。经济原则在制定新的管理办法方面也发挥越来越大的作用，以市场或奖励为基础的办法受到更多的注意。同样，金融理论正越来越多地应用于发达国家（如项目融资）和发展中国家（如小额信贷）开发和部署应对环境挑战的创新解决方案。将经济和金融原则纳入其研究的能力，以及用经济术语描述研究成果的能力，将大大提高环境工程界更充分地参与这一不断扩大的环境活动范围的能力。社会对研究人员的需求日益增长，他们能够同时考虑特定行动过程的工程、经济和金融影响，但很少有研究和教育项目能够满足这一需求。这种跨学科研究的机会很多，每个学科都极大地促进了领域之间的交流。S依赖于逻辑框架和数学基础。这些领域还相互补充，因为工程知识在确定减轻环境影响的成本方面往往至关重要，而经济学提供了评估环境质量改善效益的方法。与此同时，金融理论往往可以有效地应用于增进对实现特定环境目标的最佳实施途径的理解。对经济和金融原理的更好理解将为环境工程师提供解决不断扩大的研究机会的工具，以及更有效地描述他们对政策制定者和整个社会的贡献价值的方法。提议的研讨会是将环境工程领域扩展到新领域的重要的第一步。它将涉及广泛和多样化的研究人员、专业人员和其他利益相关者（例如管理机构），并将为讨论涉及环境工程、经济和金融的跨学科研究提供一个论坛。讲习班的具体目标是：1。探索和评估环境工程界在提高对经济和金融原则的理解的情况下可以更有效地解决的机会范围；2. 确定对环境工程界利用这些机会最有用的原则和工具；3. 就如何调整环境工程和科学课程，向学生介绍经济和金融原理和工具提出建议；和4。考虑如何使用经济和金融概念来突出环境工程社区创造的知识和经济价值，同时增加其对社会的影响？S环境选择。将围绕这四个目标编写一份最后的项目报告，其中的其他部分将确定后续行动的建议，以促进新的研究机会，以及进入这些领域所需的工具和技能。最终报告将通过环境工程与科学教授协会（AEESP）的网站在网上发布，并在AEESP？2011年会议。

AbstractPI: Gregory W. CharacklisProposal Number: 1041730Institution: Univ. of North Carolina ? Chapel HillTitle: Integrating Economic and Financial Principles into Environmental Engineering Research and EducationDecisions regarding society?s most challenging environmental problems are made with attention to both scientific and economic arguments, with economic criteria playing an ever-larger role. Economic terms and concepts are now ubiquitous in environmental policy debates, with discussions over climate change mitigation often revolving around ?discount rates?, while concerns over ?equity? frequently play a prominent role when considering activities designed to promote sustainability. Even when discussing more traditional regulatory themes (e.g., drinking water standards), cost-benefit analysis has become a common and, in some cases, federally mandated part of regulatory decisions. Economic principles also play an increasing role in the development of new regulatory schemes, with market- or incentive-based approaches receiving more attention. Similarly, financial theory is being increasingly employed in the development and deployment of innovative solutions to environmental challenges in both the developed (e.g., project finance) and developing world (e.g., microfinance). The ability of the environmental engineering community to more fully engage in this expanding range of environmental activities will be greatly enhanced by the capacity to incorporate economic and financial principles into its research, as well as the ability to describe research outcomes in economic terms. There is a growing societal need for researchers that can simultaneously consider the engineering, economic and financial implications of a given course of action, yet few research and educational programs are set up to meet this demand. Many opportunities for such interdisciplinary research exist, with communication between the fields greatly facilitated by each discipline?s dependence on a logical framework and mathematical underpinnings. These fields also complement each other well in that engineering knowledge is often critical in determining the costs of mitigating environmental impacts, while economics provides methods of valuing the benefits of environmental quality improvements. Financial theory, meanwhile, can often be effectively applied to improve understanding of the best implementation paths by which a particular environmental objective might be realized. A better understanding of economic and financial principles will provide environmental engineers with the tools to address an expanding range of research opportunities, as well as the means to more effectively describe the value of their contributions to policymakers and society at large.The proposed workshop represents an important first step toward expanding the environmental engineering field into new areas. It will involve a broad and diverse set of researchers, professionals and other stakeholders (e.g., regulatory agencies), and will be designed to provide a forum for discussing interdisciplinary research involving environmental engineering, economics and finance. The specific objectives of the workshop will be to: 1. Explore and evaluate the range of opportunities that could be more effectively addressed by the environmental engineering community with an improved understanding of economic and financial principles; 2. Identify the principles and tools that would be most useful in allowing the environmental engineering community to take advantage of these opportunities; 3. Develop suggestions regarding how environmental engineering and science curricula might be adapted to introduce students to economic and financial principles and tools; and, 4. Consider how economic and financial concepts can be used to highlight the intellectual and economic value created by the environmental engineering community, while increasing its influence on society?s environmental choices. A final project report will be developed around these four objectives, with additional sections identifying recommendations for follow-up to promote new research opportunities, as well as the tools and skills necessary to move into these areas. The final report will be disseminated on-line through the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) website, and promoted during the AEESP?s 2011 meeting.