Scholars@Duke
Tibor Vegh

Tibor Vegh

Senior Policy Associate
Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability
tibor.vegh@duke.edu
90335, Durham, NC 27708-0335
2117 Campus Dr., Durham, NC 27708

Selected Publications

Opportunities, tradeoffs, and caveats for private sector involvement in US floodplain buyout programs

Journal Article Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change · December 1, 2023 For several decades, the USA has increasingly relied on government-administered floodplain buyout programs to reduce flood risk and remove flood-damaged dwellings from floodplains. However, high transaction costs and long administrative timelines dramatica ... Full text Cite

2023 Annual Trends in Plastics Policy: A Brief

Report · August 31, 2023 In the first annual update of Annual Trends in Plastics Policy, Nicholas Institute researchers find that plastics policy enactment continues to surge and was not negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, researchers found more than 300 additio ... Open Access Link to item Cite

Voluntary commitments made by the world's largest companies focus on recycling and packaging over other actions to address the plastics crisis.

Journal Article One earth (Cambridge, Mass.) · November 2022 Plastic pollution has caused significant environmental and health challenges. Corporations that contribute to the make, use, and distribution of plastics can play a vital role in addressing global plastic pollution and many are committing to voluntary pled ... Full text Cite

A snapshot of the economic benefits from foreign bottom trawling in coastal West Africa: A mutually-beneficial trade in services, no winners or extractivism?

Journal Article Fish and Fisheries · September 1, 2022 Large-scale fishing effort in the waters of tropical and lower income countries is predominantly driven by ‘distant water fishing fleets’ often owned by companies based in a small number of countries and has been associated with a range of negative environ ... Full text Cite

The evolving global plastics policy landscape: An inventory and effectiveness review

Journal Article Environmental Science and Policy · August 1, 2022 Governments worldwide are increasingly adopting public policies, laws, and ordinances to reduce plastic pollution. To date, studies have not analyzed the content of, and trends in, these policies. Employing a content analysis and literature search, we set ... Full text Open Access Cite

The Ocean 100: Transnational corporations in the ocean economy.

Journal Article Science advances · January 2021 The ocean economy is growing as commercial use of the ocean accelerates, while progress toward achieving international goals for ocean conservation and sustainability is lagging. In this context, the private sector is increasingly recognized as having the ... Full text Cite

20 Years of Government Responses to the Global Plastic Pollution Problem: The Plastics Policy Inventory

Report · May 15, 2020 Plastic pollution in the ocean is a global problem that requires cooperation from a wide range of groups (e.g., governments, producers, consumers, researchers, civil society). This study aims to synthesize the policy response of governments to the global p ... Open Access Link to item Cite

Incentivizing the reduction of pollution at U.S. dairies: Addressing additionality when multiple environmental credit payments are combined

Journal Article Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development · March 9, 2020 This article examines the intricacies of environmental credit generation from concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) farm systems. Livestock production generates large amounts of manure (solid and liquid waste) and consumes a high volume of water tha ... Full text Cite

Blue carbon conservation in West Africa: a first assessment of feasibility

Journal Article Journal of Coastal Conservation · February 1, 2020 The loss of blue carbon ecosystems results in significant levels of carbon emissions and decreased supply of other ecosystem services. West Africa contains approximately 14% of the world’s mangrove area but despite 25% of coverage loss between 1980 and 200 ... Full text Cite

Analysis of Policies Related to the Protection of Coral Reefs

Report · August 15, 2019 This analysis identifies at least four potential pathways by which international policy responses can help coral reef states address local drivers of reef loss and enhance coral reef resilience (and potential for survival) in the face of climate change: Ma ... Link to item Cite

Toward a Blue Economy: A Pathway for Sustainable Growth in Bangladesh

Report · June 14, 2018 This report aims to synthesize current theory and practice of the blue economy concept to govern economic activity linked to the ocean, and to provide a framework for the Government of Bangladesh to analyze its potential. ... Link to item Cite

Modeling Energy Efficiency as a Supply Resource

Report · August 22, 2017 Energy efficiency may be an inexpensive way to meet future demand and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, yet little work has been attempted to estimate annual energy efficiency supply functions for electricity planning. The main advantage of using a supply f ... Open Access Link to item Cite

Biogas in the United States: estimating future production and learning from international experiences

Journal Article Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change · March 1, 2017 The substitution of biogas, an energy source derived from biological feedstock, for fossil natural gas (NG) can mitigate the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, making it an attractive renewable energy source in a carbon-constrained future. Alt ... Full text Cite

HOW MANY ARIZONA WALNUT TREES INHABIT WALNUT CANYON NATIONAL MONUMENT?

Journal Article SOUTHWESTERN NATURALIST · 2017 Cite

Effect of Existing and Novel Policy Options on the Sustainable Development of Regional Bioenergy Systems: Lessons and Future Directions

Report · August 1, 2016 What are the most appropriate policies to facilitate regional bioenergy systems in furtherance of environmental, social, and economic objectives? A multi-year research project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Ag ... Open Access Link to item Cite

The environmental and economic effects of regional bioenergy policy in the southeastern U.S

Journal Article Energy Policy · October 1, 2015 The unique generation, landownership, and resource attributes of the southeastern United States make the region an important test bed for implementation of novel renewable energy policy interventions. This study evaluates the environmental and economic imp ... Full text Cite

Environmental and Economic Implications of Regional Bioenergy Policy

Report · March 15, 2015 The unique generation, landownership, and resource attributes of the southeastern United States make the region a ripe and important test bed for implementation of novel renewable energy policy. This policy brief describes the environmental and economic im ... Open Access Link to item Cite

Environmental and Economic Effects of a Regional Renewable Portfolio Standard with Biomass Carve-outs

Report · November 25, 2014 The unique generation, landownership, and resource attributes of the southeastern United States make the region a ripe and important test bed for implementation of novel renewable energy policy interventions. This study evaluates the environmental and econ ... Open Access Link to item Cite

Harnessing the financial value of coastal ‘blue’ carbon

Chapter · January 1, 2014 Coastal habitats worldwide are under increasing threat of destruction from human activities including farming, aquaculture, wood harvest, fishing, tourism, marine operations and real estate development. This loss of habitat carries with it the loss of crit ... Full text Cite

Carbon credit possibilities and economic implications of fuel reduction treatments

Journal Article Western Journal of Applied Forestry · April 1, 2013 We determined the difference in carbon (C) stocks and C emissions between treated and untreated ponderosa pine stands over 100 years on the Apache and Sitgreaves National Forests, Arizona, USA, under assumed treatment scenarios, wildfire frequency, and ann ... Full text Cite