The synergistic effect of carbon emission trading on pollution and carbon reduction and the influence mechanism

doi:10.12006/j.issn.1673-1719.2023.092

Abstract

Abstract:

The synergistic management of atmospheric pollutant and carbon emission can alleviate the dual pressure of improving environmental quality and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in China. It is crucial to clarify the synergy of carbon emissions trading, which is a key market-based instrument for carbon reduction. This paper examines the synergistic reduction effects of carbon emissions trading pilot policies on CO₂, SO₂, dust and PM_2.5 using panel data of 30 provincial regions in China from 2006 to 2019 based on DID method, and explores the impact mechanism of the policies through mediating effects model. The results show that the policy has significant pollution and CO₂ synergistic reduction effects, among which the synergistic effect of CO₂ and SO₂ is the most significant, but the long-term effects of the policy need to be enhanced. The mechanism analysis shows that carbon market can reduce CO₂ and atmospheric pollutant by reducing energy consumption and adjusting energy structure, but the industrial structure does not have this transmission effect yet. In summary, this paper puts forward three suggestions: strengthen the supervision of carbon market and establish a sound long-term mechanism; insist on reducing energy consumption and optimizing energy structure; expand the range of industries covered by the national carbon market.

Key words: Carbon emissions trading, Difference-in-Differences (DID), Meditation effect model, Synergistic effect

DING Li-Yuan, WANG Yan-Hua, WANG Ke. The synergistic effect of carbon emission trading on pollution and carbon reduction and the influence mechanism[J]. Climate Change Research, 2023, 19(6): 786-798.

Figures/Tables 11

Fig. 1 The mechanism of carbon emission trading

Table 1 Definition and source of primary variables

Table 2 Descriptive summary

Table 3 DID model results

Table 4 Parallel trend test results

Fig. 2 Dynamic effects of carbon emission trading policies

Table 5 Robustness test results

Table 6 PSM-DID model results

Table 7 Analysis results of mediation effect: energy consumtion

Table 8 Analysis results of mediation effect: energy structure

Table 9 Analysis results of mediation effect: industry structure

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