Khadija Sherece Usher

This study examined the price risk of the Belize–Mexico interconnection using ARMA-ARCH models to assess electricity pricing volatility and autoregression to determine the influence of conditional volatilities and import consumption. The findings revealed that the volatility of both markets, especially spot price, showed rare high-impact shocks and prolonged periods of volatile clusters. Volatile pricing tendencies, and forward pricing to a lesser extent, had positive effects on premiums. Premiums were largely dependent on pricing properties and system conditions of the supplier’s (Mexico) side, with negligible influence from the buyer’s (Belize) side. However, significant effects were found during certain hours with the buyer’s loading and transmission loss patterns. Practical implications revealed the possibility of occasional losses caused mostly by information delays and misalignment of risk factors and premiums, which could affect Belize’s power cost affordability and scheduling of local generation. Further research can broaden this current scope to enhance planning on local power supply by integrating current findings on the importation market behavior with the buyer’s local power expansion plan.

Waste management policies introduced at regional levels can have a bearing effect on sustainable development goal (SDG) achievement at such levels, promoting certain SDG targets, while hindering other SDG targets. This work introduces an empirical methodology for estimating the synergies and trade‐offs for a city‐level waste management policy with SDG achievements, taking the case of Kyoto City's extensive waste management policy package and its interactions with renewable energy (RE) development (SDG 7), decent economic growth (SDG 9), reduced inequalities (SDG 10), and sustainable consumption (SDG 12). Similar interactions at the national‐level are also enumerated with the justified indicators at the city‐level being extended to the national‐level. Through pairwise correlation, multiple correlation, and regression, four hypotheses for circular economy compatibility with SDG achievement were tested. It was found that manufacturing value and small business growth is stunted by circular economy‐based waste policies, while resource efficiency is promoted. Cultural and social structures have trade‐offs with stringent waste management at city‐levels, but is neutral at aggregated levels. RE development is also synergetic with circular economy‐based waste management. This methodology shows a pathway as to how national‐ and city‐level policies can be integrated with each other in order to optimize waste management and overall sustainability.