The impact of oil prices on air pollution
Date
2007-04-10
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Abstract
Unlike water, air has remained free for everybody. With the emergence of a number of drinking water purifying stations, it can be deduced that water that was once potable is now not directly consumable; whereas air is still a free and open-access good. It is by this reason that air quality is a concern on the global and local sense. Recently, a number of countries have signed the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement that restricts the countries' carbon (and other pollutants) emission.
Studies regarding the causes and effects of pollution abound in literature. Environmental laws (e.g. Clean Air Act) have also been passed. Scientists have also invented biofuels that have the potential to cause less pollution than fossil fuel. Essentially, it is because of the circumstances mentioned above that air pollution is tackled in this paper.
The central thesis of this paper is that there is a correlation between oil prices and air pollution. Two regression models are used to verify this. As a conclusion, the significant impact of oil prices to air pollution is clearly delineated. The paper ends with a number of policy recommendations that are based on the regression results.
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Keywords
Oil prices, Oil, Fuel industry, Air pollution, Fuel pricing, Environmental pollution