Did an Ultra-Low Emissions Policy on Coal-Fueled Thermal Power Reduce the Harmful Emissions? Evidence from Three Typical Air Pollutants Abatement in China

Abstract

Thermal power generation based on coal-fired power plants has the advantages of stability and controllability and has been the largest source of electricity supply in China. Coal-fired power plants, however, are also accompanied by high carbon emissions and the release of harmful substances (mainly including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and smoke dust), and are even regarded as the “chief criminal” in terms of air pollution. However, thermal power is also a pioneering industry involved in several environmental regulations and cleaner production techniques before other industries. Evidence of this is China’s ultra-low emissions (ULE) policy on coal-fired power plants, implemented in 2015. To verify this policy’s effect, this study treats ULE as an exogenous impact variable, examining its emissions reduction effect on SO2, NOx, and smoke dust in Eastern and Central China using the difference-in-difference method (DID). The results show that the total emissions of the three pollutants were abated by 0.133%, 0.057% and 0.036% in Eastern, and by 0.120%, 0.035% and 0.043% in Central China at every 1% rise of thermal power generated after ULE. In addition, several other factors can also argue for the promotion of thermal power. Other industries, such as steel or chemical, have proven that they can contribute significant SO2 and NOx emissions. Based on these results, we provide suggestions on synergistic emissions reduction among multiple industries, as well as a discussion on the necessity of implementing ULE in Western China.

Policy Effects of Ecological Red Lines on Industrial Upgrading and Health Promotion: Evidence From China Based on DID Model

“…H . Asset jt )], considering that these two components can affect the dependent variable but has no relationship with the policy implemented ( 41 , 43 ). The other coefficients and terms have the same meaning as those in model (4) or (5).…”

“…Where the dependent variable ln(Disease it ) in model ( 6) represents the logarithmic value of disease-infected people with their premarital examination at province i in year t, which is an indicator that delegates the residents' health. The controlled variables here are the number of health personnel [in logarithmic form as ln H.Personnel it ], and the total assets of medical and health organization [in logarithmic form as ln M.H.Asset jt ], considering that these two components can affect the dependent variable but has no relationship with the policy implemented (41,43). The other coefficients and terms have the same meaning as those in model ( 4) or (5).…”

Can the Natural Resources Capitalization Contribute to the Achievement of Carbon Neutrality? A Pilot Experiment Evidence From China

“…Wen et al (2020) argue that companies participating in the carbon market have higher carbon exposures when the conditions of the coefficient of carbon risk factor, a parameter of the DID model, is significantly positive. In recent years, DID is frequently utilized for the evaluation of environmental policy and action (Agüero and Beleche, 2014;Agüero and Beleche, 2017;He et al, 2020;Ye et al, 2020;Zhou et al, 2020). Therefore, the relationship between NRC and carbon emissions for this study was examined using DID.…”

Does a Recycling Carbon Tax with Technological Progress in Clean Electricity Drive the Green Economy?

“…China's coal reserves are relatively sufficient, and coal-fired power generation has the advantages of controllability and stability. Therefore, thermal power generation relies primarily on coal combustion [3]. It is undeniable that high carbon emissions accompany the combustion process.…”