Natural Gas or Algal Reef: Survey-Based Valuations of Pro-Gas and Pro-Reef Groups Specifically for Policy Advising

Much energy-related construction causes environmental concern. Sometimes the environmental issue is so huge that it is difficult to make a policy decision even with the assistance of traditional valuation techniques. The third natural gas receiving station at Datan, Taiwan, is one example of this. T...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Energies (Basel) 2019-12, Vol.12 (24), p.4682
Main Authors: Chen, Yun-Ju, Hsu, Sheng Ming, Liao, Shu-Yi, Chen, Tsung-Chi, Tseng, Wei-Chun
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algae
Biodiversity
Construction
Coral reefs
Decision making
Economic development
Ecosystems
Endangered & extinct species
Endangered species
Energy
Environmental perception
Households
Liquefied natural gas
Natural gas
Particulate emissions
Particulate matter
Security
Service stations
Valuation
Willingness to pay
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Summary:Much energy-related construction causes environmental concern. Sometimes the environmental issue is so huge that it is difficult to make a policy decision even with the assistance of traditional valuation techniques. The third natural gas receiving station at Datan, Taiwan, is one example of this. The construction would be beneficial to energy security, economic development, and particulate matter (PM) 2.5 reduction. However, it would destroy a precious algal reef, which is a habitat for endangered species, biodiversity, and a unique ecological system. Thus, we used willingness-to-pay to show the strength of both pro-energy and pro-ecology opinions specifically to help with decision-making. First, respondents were asked to choose between the gas station and the reef. Then they were asked about their willingness to pay for that choice. We then estimated parametric/nonparametric models—traditional probit, structured probit, and Turnbull—to obtain reliable estimates. We found that the per-person value for pro-gas-station respondents was higher than that for pro-reef respondents, while the percentage of pro-reef respondents was higher than the percentage of pro-gas-station respondents. These results together form a clear policy implication for this case.
ISSN:1996-1073
1996-1073
DOI:10.3390/en12244682