This workshop on natural resource and environmental economics hosted Rémi Generoso, Senior Lecturer in Economics at Lille University, and Ekaterina Alekhanova, Ph.D. candidate at Carleton University.

• Rémi Generoso (Université Lille)
  The financial cost of stabilizing US farm income under climate change
  Abstract
  The paper assesses the financial cost of federal farm programs in mitigating income losses due to drier conditions expected from climate change. Our study encompasses agricultural-producing counties within the conterminous United States during the census years from 2002 to 2017. We quantify historical drought patterns and their projected trends for the near (2020-2049) and more distant (2030-2059) future, using climate reanalysis data and 20 downscaled Global Climate Models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5. We predict that, under the RCP 8.5 scenario, payments from federal farm programs should significantly increase to maintain their income– stabilization capacity, with a greater likelihood of much larger financial costs when accounting for statistical and climate uncertainties.
   
• Ekaterina Alekhanova (Carleton University)
  Realized Savings from Canada’s Building Energy Codes
  Abstract
  We assess realized energy and air leakage changes in homes constructed before and after new building energy code adoptions in three Canadian provinces: Ontario, New Brunswick, and Alberta. We find no energy or air leakage reductions attributable to more stringent code requirements. There is no evidence that natural gas consumption declined among houses built up to five years before or five years after a code change. Instead, a generalized improvement in residential electricity consumption and air leakage rates is observable at least three to five years before any new code adoptions, depending on the province. These preexisting trends in electricity consumption and air leakage may point to changes in building industry practice preceding new building code adoptions, though further investigation is required to assess the drivers of these changes. The estimated energy savings are also not in line with ex-ante engineering projections, which predicted natural gas savings of about 10% and little to no electricity savings.