Benefits of a Reallocation of Nitrate Emission Reductions in the Rhine River Basin

In an attempt to improve ecological conditions of theRhine, emission reduction targets have been set fordifferent substances. For most substances targets havebeen met. However, nutrient emission reductions arebehind schedule. It may be clear from intuition, andhas also often been described in economic literature,that a flat reduction rate applied to all emittingsectors, though appealing because of equity reasons,may not be cost-effective. This paper explores theleast cost allocation of nitrate emission reductionsfor the Rhine river basin, analysing differentagricultural sectors and wastewater treatment plants.Results show that costs of meeting emission reductiontargets can be brought down by almost 20% through aclever allocation of these targets. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 2001