Brighton Observatory of Environment & Economics Trust

Outputs

Find out more about our research focus, submissions, community technical assistance and formal research outputs.

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Our research focus

Beyond our community operations, BOEE undertakes significant research on environmental and economic adaptation, primarily within New Zealand. Our research aims to address complex issues where the costs and benefits of an activity are distributed unevenly among different parties.

Current projects

We are currently investigating several ‘wicked’ problems. These are challenges characterized by their complexity and the disparate distribution of costs and benefits.

Example: rental housing. In the rental housing market, there is often a disparity between landlords and tenants regarding the quality of housing and associated costs. Due to a housing shortage, some landlords charge high rents for low-quality housing that is cold, damp, or leaky. These landlords are reluctant to invest in efficient heating solutions like heat pumps or pellet burners, leading tenants to use less efficient heaters that are more expensive to run. The poor insulation and single glazing of such houses mean that most generated heat is lost, resulting in high heating costs and poor health outcomes for tenants, while landlords reap the rental income benefits.

Our current projects include:

  1. economic study on community benefits: assessing the economic advantages that well-supported communities can offer
  2. closing the loop on plastics: developing strategies to reduce plastic waste through improved recycling and reuse practices
  3. reuse of waste: exploring innovative methods to repurpose waste materials, thereby reducing environmental impact and promoting sustainability.

Impact and goals

Our research projects aim to identify practical solutions that can be implemented to mitigate these ‘wicked’ problems. By focusing on both environmental and economic aspects, we strive to create pathways for sustainable development and social equity.

Note: much of this work is subject to non-disclosure agreements and is only public after the projects are completed.

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Submissions

Submissions to local government

Submissions to central government

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Local community technical assistance

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Formal research outputs

This space is for our peer reviewed literature output. These include peer reviewed journal output, as well as feasibility studies etc. carried out under contract after confidentiality restraints have lapsed.

Pihl, E., Martin, M.A., Blome, T., Hebden, S., Jarzebski, M.P., Lambino, R.A., Köhler, C., Canadell, J.G., Ebi, K.L., Edenhofer, O., Gaffney, O., Rockström, J., Roy, J., Srivastava, L., Payne, D.R., Adler, C., Watts, S.F., Jacobsson, L., Sonntag, S. (2019) 10 New Insights in Climate Science 2019, Future Earth & The Earth League, Stockholm, 2019. https://www.dropbox.com/s/hzga2uc1m6ljh7q/10-New-Insights-in-Climate-Science-2019.pdf?dl=0