The carbon case for going green is only half the story
Citizens appreciate green initiatives like electric buses that improve their quality of life. Governments should factor this in when they assess returns on such investments.
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Singaporeans value the quieter, cleaner experience of electric buses even more than the decarbonisation narrative, say the writers.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO FILE
Alberto Salvo, Timothy Wong and Zhihao Han
Stand at any bus stop as a diesel bus roars away, leaving a plume of hot exhaust fumes. Then watch an electric bus glide past, almost silently, with no tailpipe in sight. Most Singaporeans would say they prefer the second experience. But how much is that preference worth – and are governments systematically counting it?
In peer-reviewed research just accepted for publication by the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, we put a number on it – and the answer should change how governments evaluate green investments.
