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SUNY Canton professor calls for environmental incentives in developing countries

Posted 1/5/16

CANTON -- Developing countries should be offered incentives to help address global environmental concerns, according to SUNY Canton Assistant Professor Umesh Kumar. Kumar recently released the paper …

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SUNY Canton professor calls for environmental incentives in developing countries

Posted

CANTON -- Developing countries should be offered incentives to help address global environmental concerns, according to SUNY Canton Assistant Professor Umesh Kumar.

Kumar recently released the paper "Market Based Incentives in Developing Countries: Geographical Dispersion, Antecedents and Implications of the Clean Development Mechanism," co-authored with Dr. John Fay, co-founder of the Social and Ecological Management Fund. Their research was selected for publication in Climate and Development, an international peer-reviewed journal.

Their research uses the Human Development Index (HDI), a statistic that helps rank countries by combining life expectancy, education and individual income levels.

"We've found that the HDI is a crucial factor for a country to take advantage of the financial incentives to reduce greenhouse gases offered by developed nations," Kumar said. "The findings of this article suggest that countries that have not achieved a minimum service level of basic needs, or have a low HDI, are unlikely to commit the resources for reducing emissions, even with economic incentives."

Funding through the Clean Development Mechanism for emission reduction project should be targeted toward developing countries, including Sub-Saharan Africa, to best inspire results on a global scale, according to the research.

Kumar teaches in the finance program and has previously won four awards through the Academy of Business Research for his economic studies with SUNY Canton Professor Brian K. Harte.