IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v156y2021ics0301421521002627.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Effects of electricity demand reductions under a carbon pricing regime on emissions: lessons from COVID-19

Author

Listed:
  • Haxhimusa, Adhurim
  • Liebensteiner, Mario

Abstract

The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has led to a massive collapse in economic activity and energy demand, with the result of significant emissions reductions at a global scale. However, the existing literature investigating abatement from COVID-19 mainly overlooked the overwhelming emissions reduction in Europe's power sector. We address this by assessing the intricate relationship between electricity demand shocks and heterogeneous generation technologies in the power sectors of 16 major European economies during January to March 2020. We apply an econometric model in an instrumental-variables framework. In a first step, we assess the impact of COVID-19 infections on electricity demand, and in a second step how this translates into emissions abatement. We find that, during full lockdown, COVID-19 reduced electricity demand by 19% and carbon emissions by an astonishing 34% per hour, whereas there is severe country heterogeneity depending on the electricity supply structure and demand shock intensity. From our estimates, we predict that power sector emissions fell by 18.4% in 2020. Our results reveal the importance of a carbon price, so that a demand reduction can offset large amounts of emissions by displacing coal at the margin. We derive several policy implications from our analysis to draw lessons from the pandemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Haxhimusa, Adhurim & Liebensteiner, Mario, 2021. "Effects of electricity demand reductions under a carbon pricing regime on emissions: lessons from COVID-19," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:156:y:2021:i:c:s0301421521002627
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112392
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421521002627
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112392?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kling, Jeffrey R, 2001. "Interpreting Instrumental Variables Estimates of the Returns to Schooling," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 19(3), pages 358-364, July.
    2. Martin S Eichenbaum & Sergio Rebelo & Mathias Trabandt, 2021. "The Macroeconomics of Epidemics [Economic activity and the spread of viral diseases: Evidence from high frequency data]," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 34(11), pages 5149-5187.
    3. I. A. Grant Wilson & Iain Staffell, 2018. "Rapid fuel switching from coal to natural gas through effective carbon pricing," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 3(5), pages 365-372, May.
    4. Dieter Helm, 2020. "The Environmental Impacts of the Coronavirus," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(1), pages 21-38, May.
    5. Gugler, Klaus & Haxhimusa, Adhurim & Liebensteiner, Mario, 2021. "Effectiveness of climate policies: Carbon pricing vs. subsidizing renewables," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    6. Tensay Hadush Meles & Lisa Ryan & Joe Wheatley, 2020. "COVID-19 and EU Climate Targets: Can We Now Go Further?," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(4), pages 779-787, August.
    7. Gugler, Klaus & Haxhimusa, Adhurim & Liebensteiner, Mario & Schindler, Nora, 2020. "Investment opportunities, uncertainty, and renewables in European electricity markets," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    8. Zhu Liu & Philippe Ciais & Zhu Deng & Ruixue Lei & Steven J. Davis & Sha Feng & Bo Zheng & Duo Cui & Xinyu Dou & Biqing Zhu & Rui Guo & Piyu Ke & Taochun Sun & Chenxi Lu & Pan He & Yuan Wang & Xu Yue , 2020. "Near-real-time monitoring of global CO2 emissions reveals the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    9. Candice Howarth & Peter Bryant & Adam Corner & Sam Fankhauser & Andy Gouldson & Lorraine Whitmarsh & Rebecca Willis, 2020. "Building a Social Mandate for Climate Action: Lessons from COVID-19," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(4), pages 1107-1115, August.
    10. Corinne Le Quéré & Robert B. Jackson & Matthew W. Jones & Adam J. P. Smith & Sam Abernethy & Robbie M. Andrew & Anthony J. De-Gol & David R. Willis & Yuli Shan & Josep G. Canadell & Pierre Friedlingst, 2020. "Temporary reduction in daily global CO2 emissions during the COVID-19 forced confinement," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 10(7), pages 647-653, July.
    11. Yasir Habib & Enjun Xia & Zeeshan Fareed & Shujahat Haider Hashmi, 2021. "Time–frequency co-movement between COVID-19, crude oil prices, and atmospheric CO2 emissions: Fresh global insights from partial and multiple coherence approach," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(6), pages 9397-9417, June.
    12. Santiago, I. & Moreno-Munoz, A. & Quintero-Jiménez, P. & Garcia-Torres, F. & Gonzalez-Redondo, M.J., 2021. "Electricity demand during pandemic times: The case of the COVID-19 in Spain," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 148(PA).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Salaheddin Malkawi & Suhil Kiwan & Sajedah Alzghoul, 2022. "Impact of COVID-19 Response Measures on Electricity Sector in Jordan," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-18, May.
    2. Liebensteiner, Mario & Naumann, Fabian, 2022. "Can carbon pricing counteract renewable energies’ cannibalization problem?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    3. Shah, Muhammad Ibrahim & Foglia, Matteo & Shahzad, Umer & Fareed, Zeeshan, 2022. "Green innovation, resource price and carbon emissions during the COVID-19 times: New findings from wavelet local multiple correlation analysis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    4. Carfora, Alfonso & Scandurra, Giuseppe & Thomas, Antonio, 2022. "Forecasting the COVID-19 effects on energy poverty across EU member states," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    5. Weijiang Liu & Min Liu & Tingting Liu & Yangyang Li & Yizhe Hao, 2022. "Does a Recycling Carbon Tax with Technological Progress in Clean Electricity Drive the Green Economy?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-18, February.
    6. Xu, Xinkuo & Li, Jingsi, 2023. "Can green bonds reduce the carbon emissions of cities in China?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 226(C).
    7. Bigerna, Simona & Bollino, Carlo Andrea & D'Errico, Maria Chiara & Polinori, Paolo, 2022. "COVID-19 lockdown and market power in the Italian electricity market," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Liu, Li-Jing & Yao, Yun-Fei & Liang, Qiao-Mei & Qian, Xiang-Yan & Xu, Chun-Lei & Wei, Si-Yi & Creutzig, Felix & Wei, Yi-Ming, 2021. "Combining economic recovery with climate change mitigation: A global evaluation of financial instruments," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 438-453.
    2. Liebensteiner, Mario & Haxhimusa, Adhurim & Naumann, Fabian, 2023. "Subsidized renewables’ adverse effect on energy storage and carbon pricing as a potential remedy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    3. Fabra, Natalia & Lacuesta, Aitor & Souza, Mateus, 2022. "The implicit cost of carbon abatement during the COVID-19 pandemic," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    4. Shah, Muhammad Ibrahim & Foglia, Matteo & Shahzad, Umer & Fareed, Zeeshan, 2022. "Green innovation, resource price and carbon emissions during the COVID-19 times: New findings from wavelet local multiple correlation analysis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    5. Halbrügge, Stephanie & Buhl, Hans Ulrich & Fridgen, Gilbert & Schott, Paul & Weibelzahl, Martin & Weissflog, Jan, 2022. "How Germany achieved a record share of renewables during the COVID-19 pandemic while relying on the European interconnected power network," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).
    6. Hugo S. Gonçalves & Sérgio Moro, 2023. "On the economic impacts of COVID‐19: A text mining literature analysis," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(1), pages 375-394, February.
    7. Ionica Oncioiu & Ioana Duca & Mirela Anca Postole & Georgiana Camelia Georgescu (Crețan) & Rodica Gherghina & Robert-Adrian Grecu, 2021. "Transforming the COVID-19 Threat into an Opportunity: The Pandemic as a Stage to the Sustainable Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-18, February.
    8. Lyu, Chen & Liu, Xiaoman & Wang, Zhen & Yang, Lu & Liu, Hao & Yang, Nan & Xu, Shaodong & Cao, Libin & Zhang, Zhe & Pang, Lingyun & Zhang, Li & Cai, Bofeng, 2023. "An emissions inventory using flight information reveals the long-term changes of aviation CO2 emissions in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 262(PB).
    9. Shehabi, Manal, 2022. "Modeling long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and oil price declines on Gulf oil economies," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    10. Rolando Fuentes & Marzio Galeotti & Alessandro Lanza & Baltasar Manzano, 2020. "COVID-19 and Climate Change: A Tale of Two Global Problems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-14, October.
    11. Gugler, Klaus & Haxhimusa, Adhurim & Liebensteiner, Mario, 2023. "Carbon pricing and emissions: Causal effects of Britain's carbon tax," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    12. Leroutier, Marion, 2022. "Carbon pricing and power sector decarbonization: Evidence from the UK," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    13. Ze, Fu & Wong, Wing-Keung & Alhasan, Tariq kamal & Al Shraah, Ata & Ali, Anis & Muda, Iskandar, 2023. "Economic development, natural resource utilization, GHG emissions and sustainable development: A case study of China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    14. Micheli, Leonardo & Solas, Álvaro F. & Soria-Moya, Alberto & Almonacid, Florencia & Fernandez, Eduardo F., 2021. "Short-Term Impact of the COVID-19 Lockdown on the Energy and Economic Performance of Photovoltaics in the Spanish Electricity Sector," MPRA Paper 107969, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Muhammad, Shahbaz & Avik, Sinha & Muhammad Ibrahim, Shah, 2021. "Differential Impacts of US-China Trade War and Outbreak of COVID-19 on Chinese Air Quality," MPRA Paper 110040, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2021.
    16. Fatin Samara & Bassam A. Abu-Nabah & Waleed El-Damaty & Mayyada Al Bardan, 2022. "Assessment of the Impact of the Human Coronavirus (COVID-19) Lockdown on the Energy Sector: A Case Study of Sharjah, UAE," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-19, February.
    17. Samson Mukanjari & Thomas Sterner, 2020. "Charting a “Green Path” for Recovery from COVID-19," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(4), pages 825-853, August.
    18. Jia, Zhijie & Wen, Shiyan & Lin, Boqiang, 2021. "The effects and reacts of COVID-19 pandemic and international oil price on energy, economy, and environment in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 302(C).
    19. Costa, Vinicius B.F. & Pereira, Lígia C. & Andrade, Jorge V.B. & Bonatto, Benedito D., 2022. "Future assessment of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the electricity market based on a stochastic socioeconomic model," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 313(C).
    20. Rothengatter, Werner & Zhang, Junyi & Hayashi, Yoshitsugu & Nosach, Anastasiia & Wang, Kun & Oum, Tae Hoon, 2021. "Pandemic waves and the time after Covid-19 – Consequences for the transport sector," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 225-237.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Coronavirus; COVID-19; Electricity demand; Emissions; Carbon pricing;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q41 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Demand and Supply; Prices
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:156:y:2021:i:c:s0301421521002627. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.