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The effects of direct trade within China on regional and national CO2 emissions

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  • Zhang, Zengkai
  • Guo, Ju'e
  • Hewings, Geoffrey J.D.

Abstract

Curbing national carbon emissions and clarifying regional carbon reduction responsibility are two challenges faced by China, both of which are influenced by interregional trade. To exclude the influence of trade balance, this paper proposes a methodology to parcel the pollution haven hypothesis into a multi-regional input–output model, applies it to a longer time gap, which is made up of two representative periods of Chinese economy (1997–2002 and 2002–2007), and clarifies the provincial and sectoral contributions to national emissions. We find that (1) embodied CO2 emissions first remain relatively stable and then increase sharply for the two periods, and the changing trends are mainly determined by the decreasing carbon intensity and the expanding trade scale, respectively. (2) With the secondary industry as the main contributor, regional carbon spillover is mainly concentrated in the coastal provinces but it contributes to an increase of CO2 emissions in the central and western regions. (3) The coastal and inland provinces contribute to the increase of national carbon emissions through interregional imports and exports, respectively; but the pollution haven hypothesis is not obvious and is only observed in 2002.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang, Zengkai & Guo, Ju'e & Hewings, Geoffrey J.D., 2014. "The effects of direct trade within China on regional and national CO2 emissions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 161-175.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:46:y:2014:i:c:p:161-175
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2014.09.011
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Embodied CO2 emissions; Multi-regional input–output analysis; Pollution haven hypothesis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C67 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Input-Output Models
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • R15 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Econometric and Input-Output Models; Other Methods

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