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Making China the transition to a low-carbon economy: Key challenges and responses

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  • ZhongXiang Zhang

    (College of Management and Economics, Tianjin University)

Abstract

China has realized that for its own sake and from the international community’s perspective, it cannot afford to continue along the conventional path of encouraging economic growth at the expense of the environment. Accordingly, the country has placed ecological goals at the same level of priority as policies on economic, political, cultural and social development. Specifically, to meet the grand goal involves not only capping China’s nationwide coal consumption to let it peak before 2020 and carbon emissions peak around 2030, but also putting in place a variety of flagship programs and initiatives, prices and policies. This paper argues that the 2030 carbon emissions peak goal is ambitious but achievable and concludes by arguing why China’s anti-pollution outcomes this time might be different from the previous ones.

Suggested Citation

  • ZhongXiang Zhang, 2015. "Making China the transition to a low-carbon economy: Key challenges and responses," CCEP Working Papers 1511, Centre for Climate & Energy Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    • Handle: RePEc:een:ccepwp:1511
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhang, Zhong-Xiang, 2007. "China is moving away the pattern of "develop first and then treat the pollution"," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 3547-3549, July.
    2. ZhongXiang Zhang, 2012. "Effective environmental protection in the context of government decentralization," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 53-82, March.
    3. ZhongXiang Zhang, 2014. "Energy Prices, Subsidies and Resource Tax Reform in China," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 1(3), pages 439-454, September.
    4. Can Wang & Jie Lin & Wenjia Cai & ZhongXiang Zhang, 2013. "Policies and Practices of Low Carbon City Development in China," Energy & Environment, , vol. 24(7-8), pages 1347-1372, December.
    5. Zhang, ZhongXiang, 2010. "China in the transition to a low-carbon economy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(11), pages 6638-6653, November.
    6. Kejun Jiang & Xing Zhuang & Ren Miao & Chenmin He, 2013. "China's role in attaining the global 2°C target," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(sup01), pages 55-69, March.
    7. G. Klaassen & J. Nill & T. Van Ierland & B. Saveyn & S. Vergote, 2012. "Costs and Benefits of Reducing the EU’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 30% in 2020," Review of Business and Economic Literature, Intersentia, vol. 57(2), pages 157-179, June.
    8. Zhang, ZhongXiang, 2014. "Programs, Prices and Policies Towards Energy Conservation and Environmental Quality in China," Working Papers 249427, Australian National University, Centre for Climate Economics & Policy.
    9. Fei Teng & Frank Jotzo, 2014. "Reaping the Economic Benefits of Decarbonization for China," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 22(5), pages 37-54, September.
    10. Zhang, ZhongXiang, 2000. "Can China afford to commit itself an emissions cap? An economic and political analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(6), pages 587-614, December.
    11. ZhongXiang Zhang, 2011. "Assessing China’s carbon intensity pledge for 2020: stringency and credibility issues and their implications," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 13(3), pages 219-235, September.
    12. G. Klaassen & J. Nill & T. Van Ierland & B. Saveyn & S. Vergote, 2012. "Costs and Benefits of Reducing the EU’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 30% in 2020," Review of Business and Economic Literature, Intersentia, vol. 57(2), pages 157-179, June.
    13. Can Wang & Yuan Yang & Junjie Zhang, 2015. "China's sectoral strategies in energy conservation and carbon mitigation," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(sup1), pages 60-80, December.
    14. Zhongxiang Zhang, 2011. "In what format and under what timeframe would China take on climate commitments? A roadmap to 2050," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 11(3), pages 245-259, September.
    15. Massimo Tavoni & Elmar Kriegler & Keywan Riahi & Detlef P. van Vuuren & Tino Aboumahboub & Alex Bowen & Katherine Calvin & Emanuele Campiglio & Tom Kober & Jessica Jewell & Gunnar Luderer & Giacomo Ma, 2015. "Post-2020 climate agreements in the major economies assessed in the light of global models," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 5(2), pages 119-126, February.
    16. ZhongXiang Zhang, 2011. "Energy and Environmental Policy in China," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 13559.
    17. Mingye Gao & Zhen Wang & Qianyu Wu & Yang Yang, 2013. "Natural Gas Pricing Mechanism Reform and its Impacts on Future Energy Options in China," Energy & Environment, , vol. 24(7-8), pages 1209-1227, December.
    18. Zhongxiang Zhang, 2015. "Climate mitigation policy in China," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(sup1), pages 1-6, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Wei Wu & Boqiang Lin, 2020. "Reducing Overcapacity in China’s Coal Industry: A Real Option Approach," Computational Economics, Springer;Society for Computational Economics, vol. 55(4), pages 1073-1093, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    low-carbon economy; carbon emissions peaks; coal consumption; carbon pricing; energy prices; resource tax reform; renewable energy; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • P28 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Natural Resources; Environment
    • Q42 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Alternative Energy Sources
    • Q43 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Energy and the Macroeconomy
    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

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