IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/eep/report/rr2013036.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Way to CO2 Emission Reduction and the Co-benefits of Local Air Pollution Control in China's Transportation Sector: A Policy and Economic Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Mao Xianqiang

    (Institute of Environmental Sciences, Beijing Normal University)

  • Yang Shuqian

    (Institute of Environmental Sciences, Beijing Normal University)

  • Liu Qin

    (Institute of Environmental Sciences, Beijing Normal University)

Abstract

The transportation sector in China has joined the power generation and the steel and iron industries as a major CO2emission contributor. To determine which policy instrument(s) would be effective in reducing CO2emissions, various policy instruments which have been or are likely to be implemented in the near future in China are examined and compared in this study. These instruments include carbon tax, energy tax, fuel tax, clean energy vehicle subsidy, and a reduction on ticket prices. The CIMS model system is employed as the simulation vehicle to predict the emission dynamics of CO2and local air pollutants under business-as-usual and policy scenarios for the transportation sector of China from 2008 to 2050. The 2020 CO2 reduction target is also set according to the national carbon intensity reduction pledge of China. The policy instruments proposed in this research study can all help mitigate the CO2emission intensity of the Chinese transportation industry to different extents and bring about the co- benefits of local air pollutant reduction. Among these policy instruments,energy and fuel taxes, with the tax rates set, are the two most promising instruments for CO2emission intensity reduction to reach the 2020 carbon intensity reduction targets while subsidies are the least promising options. CO2tax could be an effective policy tool, but with the low tax rate considered in China, there is no way that the transportation sector would significantly contribute to achieving a desirable carbon intensity reduction. The CIMS model is applied to simulate and determine how CO2, energy, and fuel taxation can stimulate technology competition and substitution in the transportation sector of China and to ascertain how these taxes will influence energy consumption and pollutant emissions reduction.

Suggested Citation

  • Mao Xianqiang & Yang Shuqian & Liu Qin, 2013. "The Way to CO2 Emission Reduction and the Co-benefits of Local Air Pollution Control in China's Transportation Sector: A Policy and Economic Analysis," EEPSEA Research Report rr2013036, Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA), revised Mar 2013.
    • Handle: RePEc:eep:report:rr2013036
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.eepsea.org/pub/rr/2013-RR13_Mao.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2013
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Naughten, Barry, 2003. "Economic assessment of combined cycle gas turbines in Australia: Some effects of microeconomic reform and technological change," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 225-245, February.
    2. ZhongXiang Zhang, 1998. "The Economics of Energy Policy in China," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1291.
    3. Horne, Matt & Jaccard, Mark & Tiedemann, Ken, 2005. "Improving behavioral realism in hybrid energy-economy models using discrete choice studies of personal transportation decisions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 59-77, January.
    4. Boyd Roy & Krutilla Kerry & Viscusi W. Kip, 1995. "Energy Taxation as a Policy Instrument to Reduce CO2 Emissions: A Net Benefit Analysis," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 1-24, July.
    5. Lin, Boqiang & Li, Aijun, 2011. "Impacts of carbon motivated border tax adjustments on competitiveness across regions in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 5111-5118.
    6. Zhang, Zhong Xiang, 1998. "Macroeconomic Effects of CO2 Emission Limits: A Computable General Equilibrium Analysis for China," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 213-250, April.
    7. Jaccard, Mark & Murphy, Rose & Rivers, Nic, 2004. "Energy-environment policy modeling of endogenous technological change with personal vehicles: combining top-down and bottom-up methods," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1-2), pages 31-46, November.
    8. Rivers, Nic & Jaccard, Mark, 2006. "Useful models for simulating policies to induce technological change," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(15), pages 2038-2047, October.
    9. Baranzini, Andrea & Goldemberg, Jose & Speck, Stefan, 2000. "A future for carbon taxes," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 395-412, March.
    10. R Boyd & N D Uri, 1991. "The Cost of Improving the Quality of the Environment," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 23(8), pages 1163-1182, August.
    11. Zuo LIU, 2006. "Taxation In China," World Scientific Books, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., number t010, February.
    12. Chris Bataille & Jianjun Tu & Mark Jaccard, 2008. "Permit sellers, permit buyers: China and Canada's roles in a global low-carbon society," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(sup1), pages 93-107, December.
    13. Ghalwash, Tarek, 2007. "Energy taxes as a signaling device: An empirical analysis of consumer preferences," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 29-38, January.
    14. Boyd, Royd & Uri, Noel D., 1991. "The cost of improving the quality of the environment," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 115-140.
    15. Nic Rivers & Mark Jaccard, 2005. "Canada's efforts towards greenhouse gas emission reduction: a case study on the limits of voluntary action and subsidies," International Journal of Global Energy Issues, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 23(4), pages 307-323.
    16. Jorgenson, Dale W. & Wilcoxen, Peter J., 1990. "Intertemporal general equilibrium modeling of U.S. environmental regulation," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 715-744.
    17. Mau, Paulus & Eyzaguirre, Jimena & Jaccard, Mark & Collins-Dodd, Colleen & Tiedemann, Kenneth, 2008. "The 'neighbor effect': Simulating dynamics in consumer preferences for new vehicle technologies," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1-2), pages 504-516, December.
    18. Ghalwash, Tarek, 2004. "Energy Taxes as a Signaling Device: An Empirical Analysis of Consumer Preferences," Umeå Economic Studies 646, Umeå University, Department of Economics.
    19. Floros, Nikolaos & Vlachou, Andriana, 2005. "Energy demand and energy-related CO2 emissions in Greek manufacturing: Assessing the impact of a carbon tax," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 387-413, May.
    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. Fox, Jacob & Axsen, Jonn & Jaccard, Mark, 2017. "Picking Winners: Modelling the Costs of Technology-specific Climate Policy in the U.S. Passenger Vehicle Sector," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 133-147.
    2. Ling Tang & Qin Bao & ZhongXiang Zhang & Shouyang Wang, 2015. "Carbon-based border tax adjustments and China’s international trade: analysis based on a dynamic computable general equilibrium model," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 17(2), pages 329-360, April.
    3. Berck, Peter & Hess, Peter, 2000. "Developing a methodology for assessing the economic impacts of large scale environmental regulations," Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley, Working Paper Series qt51v1b6wm, Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley.
    4. Xie, Jian & Saltzman, Sidney, 2000. "Environmental Policy Analysis: An Environmental Computable General-Equilibrium Approach for Developing Countries," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 453-489, July.
    5. Assaad Ghazouani & Wanjun Xia & Mehdi Ben Jebli & Umer Shahzad, 2020. "Exploring the Role of Carbon Taxation Policies on CO 2 Emissions: Contextual Evidence from Tax Implementation and Non-Implementation European Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-16, October.
    6. Nestor, Deborah Vaughn & Pasurka Jr, Carl A, 1995. "CGE model of pollution abatement processes for assessing the economic effects of environmental policy," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 53-59, January.
    7. Berck, Peter & Hess, Peter, 2000. "Developing a methodology for assessing the economic impacts of large scale environmental regulations," CUDARE Working Papers 43917, University of California, Berkeley, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
    8. Oikonomou, Vlasis & Jepma, Catrinus & Becchis, Franco & Russolillo, Daniele, 2008. "White Certificates for energy efficiency improvement with energy taxes: A theoretical economic model," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 3044-3062, November.
    9. Haixiao Huang, Walter C. Labys, 2002. "Environment and trade: a review of issues and methods," International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 2(1/2), pages 100-160.
    10. Yang, Mian & Fan, Ying & Yang, Fuxia & Hu, Hui, 2014. "Regional disparities in carbon dioxide reduction from China's uniform carbon tax: A perspective on interfactor/interfuel substitution," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 131-139.
    11. Vera, Sonia & Sauma, Enzo, 2015. "Does a carbon tax make sense in countries with still a high potential for energy efficiency? Comparison between the reducing-emissions effects of carbon tax and energy efficiency measures in the Chile," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 478-488.
    12. Kiuila, Olga & Peszko, Grzegorz, 2006. "Sectoral and macroeconomic impacts of the large combustion plants in Poland: A general equilibrium analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 288-307, May.
    13. Rhodes, Ekaterina & Hoyle, Aaron & McPherson, Madeleine & Craig, Kira, 2022. "Understanding climate policy projections: A scoping review of energy-economy models in Canada," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    14. Jaccard, Mark & Murphy, Rose & Zuehlke, Brett & Braglewicz, Morgan, 2019. "Cities and greenhouse gas reduction: Policy makers or policy takers?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    15. Lin, Boqiang & Li, Xuehui, 2011. "The effect of carbon tax on per capita CO2 emissions," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(9), pages 5137-5146, September.
    16. Yasushi Ito, 2012. "The effects of carbon/energy taxes on R&D expenditure in Sweden," Chapters, in: Larry Kreiser & Ana Yábar Sterling & Pedro Herrera & Janet E. Milne & Hope Ashiabor (ed.), Carbon Pricing, Growth and the Environment, chapter 14, pages 220-229, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    17. Axsen, Jonn & Mountain, Dean C. & Jaccard, Mark, 2009. "Combining stated and revealed choice research to simulate the neighbor effect: The case of hybrid-electric vehicles," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 221-238, August.
    18. Fullerton, Don & Ta, Chi L., 2019. "Environmental policy on the back of an envelope: A Cobb-Douglas model is not just a teaching tool," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(S1).
    19. Waidler, Jennifer, 2016. "On the fungibility of public and private transfers: A mental accounting approach," MERIT Working Papers 2016-060, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    20. Zhang, ZhongXiang, 1999. "Towards a sustainable development of the chinese economy: Accomplishments and challenges in limiting greenhouse gas emissions," MPRA Paper 14258, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    pollution; CO2 emission; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:eep:report:rr2013036. 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: Arief Anshory yusuf (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/eepsesg.html .

    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.