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Refunded emission payments and diffusion of NOx abatement technologies in Sweden

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  • Bonilla, Jorge
  • Coria, Jessica
  • Mohlin, Kristina
  • Sterner, Thomas

Abstract

This paper studies how different NOx abatement technologies have diffused under the Swedish system of refunded emission payments (REP) and analyzes the determinants of the time to adoption. The policy, under which the charge revenues are refunded back to the regulated firms in proportion to energy output, was explicitly designed to affect investment in NOx-reducing technologies. The main finding is that REP had a significant effect on the adoption of post-combustion technologies. Moreover, we also find some indications that the effects of REP have been enhanced by the existing system of individual emission standards. In particular, the effect of REP speeding up the pace of adoption of post-combustion technologies is considerably larger in those counties where stringent standards are in place.

Suggested Citation

  • Bonilla, Jorge & Coria, Jessica & Mohlin, Kristina & Sterner, Thomas, 2015. "Refunded emission payments and diffusion of NOx abatement technologies in Sweden," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 132-145.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:116:y:2015:i:c:p:132-145
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2015.03.030
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    Cited by:

    1. Coria, Jessica & Hennlock, Magnus & Sterner, Thomas, 2021. "Interjurisdictional externalities, overlapping policies and NOx pollution control in Sweden," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    2. Coria, Jessica & Hennlock, Magnus & Sterner, Thomas, 2018. "Fiscal Federalism, Interjurisdictional Externalities and Overlapping Policies," Working Papers in Economics 742, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    3. Gren, Ing-Marie & Höglind, Lisa & Jansson, Torbjörn, 2021. "Refunding of a climate tax on food consumption in Sweden," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    4. Miria A. Pigato, 2019. "Fiscal Policies for Development and Climate Action," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 31051, December.
    5. Wang, M. & Zhou, P., 2022. "A two-step auction-refund allocation rule of CO2 emission permits," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    6. Bontems, Philippe, 2017. "Refunding Emissions Taxes: The Case For A Three-Part Policy," TSE Working Papers 17-832, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), revised Oct 2018.
    7. Heimvik, Arild, 2020. "Refunded emission payments scheme – a cost-efficient and politically acceptable instrument for reduction of NOx-emissions?," Working Papers in Economics 2/20, University of Bergen, Department of Economics.
    8. Xenophon, Aleksis Kazubiernis & Hill, David John, 2020. "Adaptive mechanisms to refund emissions payments," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).
    9. Ambec, Stefan & Coria, Jessica, 2018. "Policy spillovers in the regulation of multiple pollutants," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 114-134.
    10. Eirik S. Amundsen & Lars Gårn Hansen & Hans Jørgen Whitta-Jacobsen, 2022. "Regulation of Location-Specific Externalities from Small-Scale Polluters," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 82(3), pages 507-528, July.
    11. Ma, Teng & Takeuchi, Kenji, 2017. "Technology choice for reducing NOx emissions: An empirical study of Chinese power plants," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 362-376.
    12. Jessica Coria & Xiao-Bing Zhang, 2015. "State-Dependent Enforcement to Foster the Adoption of New Technologies," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 62(2), pages 359-381, October.
    13. Jorge Bonilla & Jessica Coria & Thomas Sterner, 2018. "Technical Synergies and Trade-Offs Between Abatement of Global and Local Air Pollution," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 70(1), pages 191-221, May.
    14. Xenophon, Aleksis Kazubiernis & Hill, David John, 2019. "Emissions reduction and wholesale electricity price targeting using an output-based mechanism," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C), pages 1050-1063.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Technology diffusion; NOx abatement technologies; Environmental regulations; Refunded emission payments;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy
    • Q52 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Pollution Control Adoption and Costs; Distributional Effects; Employment Effects

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