IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v142y2015icp229-239.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Is China’s carbon reduction target allocation reasonable? An analysis based on carbon intensity convergence

Author

Listed:
  • Hao, Yu
  • Liao, Hua
  • Wei, Yi-Ming

Abstract

To curb CO2 emissions, the Chinese government has announced ambitious goals to reduce the CO2 intensity of GDP, and the total target has been allocated to all Chinese provinces during the twelfth “Five-year Plan” period (2011–2015). Although setting the target allocation plan is an efficient way to achieve this goal, some key questions, including how the plan is designed, remained unanswered. From an economic perspective, this requires us to test for the existence of convergence in the CO2 intensity of GDP because the convergence is one of the most important intrinsic economic characteristics that policy makers should take into account: if the convergence exists, the provinces with a higher CO2 intensity of GDP tend to experience a more rapid reduction in the intensity and therefore could share a heavier burden of the intensity reduction. The existence of stochastic convergence and β-convergence is verified by employing different estimation methods and using various estimation specifications. As a result, the direct policy implication is that provinces with high CO2 intensity should be assigned tougher reduction targets to cut CO2 intensity at higher speeds, while the provinces with low carbon intensity should be allowed to reduce the CO2 intensity at a relatively lower speed. Because some social and economic indicators such as GDP per capita, industrial structure and population density may influence CO2 intensity, the policy makers should take all these factors into consideration to design reasonable reduction target allocation plan.

Suggested Citation

  • Hao, Yu & Liao, Hua & Wei, Yi-Ming, 2015. "Is China’s carbon reduction target allocation reasonable? An analysis based on carbon intensity convergence," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 229-239.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:142:y:2015:i:c:p:229-239
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2014.12.056
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261914013130
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2014.12.056?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 look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stephen Bond & Anke Hoeffler & Jonathan Temple, 2001. "GMM Estimation of Empirical Growth Models," Economics Papers 2001-W21, Economics Group, Nuffield College, University of Oxford.
    2. Stern, David I., 2012. "Modeling international trends in energy efficiency," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 2200-2208.
    3. Camarero, Mariam & Picazo-Tadeo, Andrés J. & Tamarit, Cecilio, 2013. "Are the determinants of CO2 emissions converging among OECD countries?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 118(1), pages 159-162.
    4. Arellano, Manuel & Bover, Olympia, 1995. "Another look at the instrumental variable estimation of error-components models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 29-51, July.
    5. Melvyn Weeks & James Yudong Yao, 2003. "Provincial Conditional Income Convergence in China, 1953-1997: A Panel Data Approach," Econometric Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(1), pages 59-77, February.
    6. Wang, Juan & Zhang, Kezhong, 2014. "Convergence of carbon dioxide emissions in different sectors in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 605-611.
    7. Robert J. Barro, 1991. "Economic Growth in a Cross Section of Countries," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 106(2), pages 407-443.
    8. Mark Strazicich & John List, 2003. "Are CO 2 Emission Levels Converging Among Industrial Countries?," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 24(3), pages 263-271, March.
    9. Jobert, Thomas & Karanfil, Fatih & Tykhonenko, Anna, 2010. "Convergence of per capita carbon dioxide emissions in the EU: Legend or reality?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 1364-1373, November.
    10. Joakim Westerlund & Syed Basher, 2008. "Testing for Convergence in Carbon Dioxide Emissions Using a Century of Panel Data," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 40(1), pages 109-120, May.
    11. De Long, J Bradford, 1988. "Productivity Growth, Convergence, and Welfare: Comment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(5), pages 1138-1154, December.
    12. Yiming Wei & Lancui Liu & Gang Wu & Lele Zou (ed.), 2010. "Energy Economics: CO2 Emissions in China," CEEP-BIT Books, Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research (CEEP), Beijing Institute of Technology, number b1, december.
    13. G. S. Maddala, 1999. "On the Use of Panel Data Methods with Cross-Country Data," Annals of Economics and Statistics, GENES, issue 55-56, pages 429-448.
    14. Robert M. Solow, 1956. "A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 70(1), pages 65-94.
    15. Liddle, Brantley, 2009. "Electricity intensity convergence in IEA/OECD countries: Aggregate and sectoral analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 1470-1478, April.
    16. Romero-Ávila, Diego, 2008. "Convergence in carbon dioxide emissions among industrialised countries revisited," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 2265-2282, September.
    17. Pettersson, Fredrik & Maddison, David & Acar, Sevil & Söderholm, Patrik, 2014. "Convergence of Carbon Dioxide Emissions: A Review of the Literature," International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, now publishers, vol. 7(2), pages 141-178, July.
    18. repec:dau:papers:123456789/6801 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
    20. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, December.
    21. Ordás Criado, C. & Grether, J.-M., 2011. "Convergence in per capita CO2 emissions: A robust distributional approach," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 637-665, September.
    22. Le Pen, Yannick & Sévi, Benoît, 2010. "On the non-convergence of energy intensities: Evidence from a pair-wise econometric approach," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 641-650, January.
    23. Ezcurra, Roberto, 2007. "Is there cross-country convergence in carbon dioxide emissions?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 1363-1372, February.
    24. Cai, Fang & Wang, Dewen & Du, Yang, 2002. "Regional disparity and economic growth in China: The impact of labor market distortions," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 13(2-3), pages 197-212.
    25. Liddle, Brantley, 2010. "Revisiting world energy intensity convergence for regional differences," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(10), pages 3218-3225, October.
    26. Sheng, Yu & Shi, Xunpeng, 2013. "Energy market integration and equitable growth across countries," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 319-325.
    27. Herrerias, M.J., 2012. "World energy intensity convergence revisited: A weighted distribution dynamics approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 383-399.
    28. Halkos, George E. & Paizanos, Epameinondas Α., 2013. "The effect of government expenditure on the environment:An empirical investigation," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 48-56.
    29. Esfandiar Maasoumi & Le Wang, 2008. "Economic Reform, Growth and Convergence in China," Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 11(1), pages 128-154, March.
    30. Wang, Ke & Zhang, Xian & Wei, Yi-Ming & Yu, Shiwei, 2013. "Regional allocation of CO2 emissions allowance over provinces in China by 2020," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 214-229.
    31. Baumol, William J, 1986. "Productivity Growth, Convergence, and Welfare: What the Long-run Data Show," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(5), pages 1072-1085, December.
    32. Im, Kyung So & Pesaran, M. Hashem & Shin, Yongcheol, 2003. "Testing for unit roots in heterogeneous panels," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 115(1), pages 53-74, July.
    33. Wei, Chu & Ni, Jinlan & Du, Limin, 2012. "Regional allocation of carbon dioxide abatement in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 552-565.
    34. Wei Zou & Hao Zhou, 2007. "Classification of Growth Clubs and Convergence: Evidence from Panel Data in China, 1981–2004," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 15(5), pages 91-106, September.
    35. Ghosh, Sajal, 2010. "Examining carbon emissions economic growth nexus for India: A multivariate cointegration approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 3008-3014, June.
    36. Wang, Yiming & Zhang, Pei & Huang, Dake & Cai, Changda, 2014. "Convergence behavior of carbon dioxide emissions in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 75-80.
    37. Stephen Bond & Anke Hoeffler, 2001. "GMM Estimation of Empirical Growth Models," Economics Series Working Papers 2001-W21, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    38. Yi, Wen-Jing & Zou, Le-Le & Guo, Jie & Wang, Kai & Wei, Yi-Ming, 2011. "How can China reach its CO2 intensity reduction targets by 2020? A regional allocation based on equity and development," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 2407-2415, May.
    39. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Chang, Chun-Ping, 2008. "New evidence on the convergence of per capita carbon dioxide emissions from panel seemingly unrelated regressions augmented Dickey–Fuller tests," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 33(9), pages 1468-1475.
    40. Levin, Andrew & Lin, Chien-Fu & James Chu, Chia-Shang, 2002. "Unit root tests in panel data: asymptotic and finite-sample properties," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 108(1), pages 1-24, May.
    41. repec:adr:anecst:y:1999:i:55-56:p:17 is not listed on IDEAS
    42. Herrerias, M.J. & Liu, G., 2013. "Electricity intensity across Chinese provinces: New evidence on convergence and threshold effects," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 268-276.
    43. Markandya, Anil & Pedroso-Galinato, Suzette & Streimikiene, Dalia, 2006. "Energy intensity in transition economies: Is there convergence towards the EU average?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 121-145, January.
    44. Nazrul Islam, 1995. "Growth Empirics: A Panel Data Approach," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 110(4), pages 1127-1170.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Jianhuan Huang & Yantuan Yu & Chunbo Ma, 2018. "Energy Efficiency Convergence in China: Catch-Up, Lock-In and Regulatory Uniformity," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 70(1), pages 107-130, May.
    2. Kounetas, Konstantinos Elias, 2018. "Energy consumption and CO2 emissions convergence in European Union member countries. A tonneau des Danaides?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 111-127.
    3. Octavio Fernández-Amador & Doris A. Oberdabernig & Patrick Tomberger, 2019. "Testing for Convergence in Carbon Dioxide Emissions Using a Bayesian Robust Structural Model," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 73(4), pages 1265-1286, August.
    4. Liu, Tie-Ying & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2020. "Convergence of the world’s energy use," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    5. Jian-Xin Wu & Ling-Yun He, 2017. "The Distribution Dynamics of Carbon Dioxide Emissions Intensity across Chinese Provinces: A Weighted Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-19, January.
    6. Grafström, Jonas, 2017. "An Econometric Analysis of Divergence of Renewable Energy Invention Efforts in Europe," Ratio Working Papers 295, The Ratio Institute.
    7. Wesley Burnett, J. & Madariaga, Jessica, 2017. "The convergence of U.S. state-level energy intensity," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 357-370.
    8. Grafström, Jonas & Jaunky, Vishal, 2017. "Convergence of Incentive Capabilities within the European Union," Ratio Working Papers 301, The Ratio Institute.
    9. Hao, Yu & Peng, Hui, 2017. "On the convergence in China's provincial per capita energy consumption: New evidence from a spatial econometric analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 31-43.
    10. Berk, Istemi & Kasman, Adnan & Kılınç, Dilara, 2020. "Towards a common renewable future: The System-GMM approach to assess the convergence in renewable energy consumption of EU countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    11. Wu, Jianxin & Wu, Yanrui & Guo, Xiumei & Cheong, Tsun Se, 2016. "Convergence of carbon dioxide emissions in Chinese cities: A continuous dynamic distribution approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 207-219.
    12. Shiwei Yu & Xing Hu & Xuejiao Zhang & Zhenxi Li, 2019. "Convergence of per capita carbon emissions in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China," Energy & Environment, , vol. 30(5), pages 776-799, August.
    13. Celine Bonnefond, 2014. "Growth Dynamics And Conditional Convergence Among Chinese Provinces: A Panel Data Investigation Using System Gmm Estimator," Journal of Economic Development, Chung-Ang Unviersity, Department of Economics, vol. 39(4), pages 1-25, December.
    14. Jinzhao Chen, 2015. "Interprovincial Competitiveness and Economic Growth: Evidence from Chinese Provincial Data (1992–2008)," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(3), pages 388-414, August.
    15. Marrero, Ángel S. & Marrero, Gustavo A. & González, Rosa Marina & Rodríguez-López, Jesús, 2021. "Convergence in road transport CO2 emissions in Europe," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    16. Ahmed, Mumtaz & Khan, Atif Maqbool & Bibi, Salma & Zakaria, Muhammad, 2017. "Convergence of per capita CO2 emissions across the globe: Insights via wavelet analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 86-97.
    17. Jiang, Lei & Folmer, Henk & Ji, Minhe & Zhou, P., 2018. "Revisiting cross-province energy intensity convergence in China: A spatial panel analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 252-263.
    18. Meng, Ming & Payne, James E. & Lee, Junsoo, 2013. "Convergence in per capita energy use among OECD countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 536-545.
    19. E. Tsanana & X. Chapsa & C. Katrakilidis, 2016. "Is growth corrupted or bureaucratic? Panel evidence from the enlarged EU," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(33), pages 3131-3147, July.
    20. Acar, Sevil & Yeldan, A. Erinç, 2018. "Investigating patterns of carbon convergence in an uneven economy: The case of Turkey," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 96-106.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    CO2 intensity of GDP; Convergence; China; Panel data;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q47 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Energy Forecasting
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming

    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:appene:v:142:y:2015:i:c:p:229-239. 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/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    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.