What is The Impact of Chinas Entry into the WTO on CO2 Emissions?

This study investigates the impact of China’s entry into the WTO on carbon dioxide emissions from a global standpoint. A panel of production-based CO2 emissions and consumption-based CO2 emissions of 39 countries from 1995 to 2007 is constructed by integrating country-sector level data from WIOD. Using a triple difference design, I observe additions in production and consumption emissions after this specific trade openness event. The results vary according to the country’s income level. For example, this event has a more significant effect in developed countries than developing countries. The above results are due to the growth in both production and consumption emission intensities after the event. Notably, the magnitude of the increase in the production emissions is smaller than the consumption emissions, thus inferring that the CO2 emissions embodied in domestic production used for exports or final consumption partially decrease through the growing high emission intensity intermediate goods imported from China.