The environmental and economic effects of the carbon emissions trading scheme in China: The role of alternative allowance allocation
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2021-10-01
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This paper examines the impact of China's carbon emission trading scheme (ETS) on carbon emissions reduction and economic performance with a focus on the role of alternative allowance allocation. Using the industry-by-province panel data during the 2008-2016 period, the empirical strategy employs a difference-in-difference-in-difference model. Some novel findings emerge. First, the ETS leads to a reduction in carbon emissions and emission intensity, in particular, for those adopting the benchmarking allowance allocation. Second, the reduction in carbon emissions arises from an increase in energy efficiency. Moreover, the adjustment of energy structure is more favorable to ETS regions adopting the benchmarking allocation rule compared with ETS regions using the grandfathering one. Third, the ETS has muted impacts on employment and returns on assets. A further comparison between the benchmarking and grandfathering rules reveals that the former is associated with a rise in employment, while the latter leads to an increase in returns on assets. In line with the findings, it is recommended that the government should further develop the benchmarking value of the sub-sectors, and gradually transform the allowance allocation methods into the benchmarking-dominated method for China ETS.
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Peng, H, S Qi and J Cui (2021). The environmental and economic effects of the carbon emissions trading scheme in China: The role of alternative allowance allocation. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 28. pp. 105–115. 10.1016/j.spc.2021.03.031 Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/24199.
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Jingbo Cui
Bio: Dr. Jingbo Cui is a tenured Associate Professor of Applied Economics at the Division of Social Sciences, Co-Director at the Environmental Research Center, and Director of Graduate Studies for the International Master of Environmental Policy (iMEP) program at Duke Kunshan University, Adjunct Professor and Ph.D. Supervisor at the School of Economics and Management at Wuhan University. Before the current position, he was a Chu-Tian Junior Scholar from the Department of Education in Hubei Province, an Associate Professor at the School of Economics and Management at Wuhan University, a Post-doctoral Research Associate, and a visiting scholar at Iowa State University. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from Iowa State University, an M.S. in economics from Wuhan University, and a B.S. in economics and mathematics from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China.
Dr. Cui’s research centers on Environmental Economics, the Economics of Innovation, and the Economics of Climate Change. His recent research has delved into intriguing topics such as the drivers and obstacles to low-carbon innovation, the economic and environmental impacts of China's climate policy and risk. His scholarly contributions have been published in top-tier academic journals, including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Environmental and Resource Economics, Journal of Regional Science, The World Economy, and Energy Economics. He has served as a referee for leading journals in Environmental Economics, Agricultural Economics, and Economics of Innovation (i.e., JEEM, AJAE, JAERE, Nature Climate Change, and Research Policy), as Associate Editor for the Environment and Development Economics, and a member of the editorial council in JAERE. His research projects have been funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (General Program, Junior Program, and Urgent Program) and the Jiangsu Qinglan Project.
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