Impact and Acting Path of Carbon Emission Trading on Carbon Emission Intensity of Construction Land: Evidence from Pilot Areas in China

Abstract

Recently, the environmental and resource crisis caused by excessive energy consumption has aroused great concern worldwide. China is a major country of energy consumption and carbon emissions, and has attempted to build a carbon emission trading market to reduce carbon emissions. This practice helps to promote the carbon trading projects for both regional carbon emission reduction and sustainable development in the pilot areas, as well as having important theoretical and practical significance for the further improvement of carbon emission trading policies. In this study, we first used the difference-in-difference (DID) model to evaluate the impact of carbon emission trading on the carbon emission intensity of construction land (CEICL). The results showed that the carbon emission trading policy can significantly reduce CEICL in the pilot areas. Furthermore, we adopted the quantile regression model to explore the mechanism and acting path of carbon emission trading on CEICL. The results show that the increase in carbon trading volume (CTV) can effectively reduce the CEICL. However, a high carbon trading price (CTP) tends to reduce the suppressing effect of carbon emission trading on CEICL. Additionally, carbon emission trading also affects CEICL through the indirect acting paths of industrial structure and energy intensity. Finally, we propose to promote regional low-carbon development from the perspective of developing a carbon emission trading market nationwide, rationalizing the carbon quota and trading price mechanism, optimizing the regional industrial structure, and improving the energy consumption structure.

The Energy Saving and Emission Reduction Effect of Carbon Trading Pilot Policy in China: Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment

“…The research based on the “Porter Hypothesis” holds that environmental equity instruments can stimulate innovation, generate an innovation compensation effect and raise energy efficiency. Based on the panel data of 30 provinces in China, the empirical study found that environmental regulation and environmental innovation have a direct, positive effect on energy efficiency [ 35 ], which is consistent with the research results of Lin and Jia [ 36 ] through case analysis. Some other scholars believe that there is a nonlinear relationship between environmental regulation and energy efficiency, mainly due to the two natural attributes of “scarcity” and “externality” of energy, which makes the leading force affecting energy efficiency evolve from the “innovation compensation effect” to the “cost following effect” [ 37 ].…”

Can the SO2 emission trading system promote urban emission reduction?

“…They found that this policy restrains emission intensity by prompting industrial structure optimization and energy intensity reductions and that this effect is increasing year on year. Li et al (2020) also confirmed that the ETS reduces the proportion of the added value of the secondary industry in GDP, promotes regional industrial structure optimization, and reduces the intensity of regional carbon emission. From the perspective of the efficiency improvement mechanism, Feng et al (2020) investigated the impact of China's SO 2 ETS on total factor productivity at the enterprise level.…”

Virtual Power Plant Participates in the Two-Level Decision-Making Optimization of Internal Purchase and Sale of Electricity and External Multi-Market

“…In order to promote the sustainable development of wind and solar energy and other new energy industries, the government began to try out the Tradable green certificate (TGC) (hereinafter referred to as "green certificate") and carbon emission trading system [3]. Green certificate is a means to monetize the environmental value of renewable energy, and it is a negotiable and tradable securities [4]. Carbon emission rights trading treats excess carbon emissions as commodities, and while restricting carbon emissions through the quota system, it also uses market means to improve the competitiveness of low-carbon industries and promote the development of renewable energy power generation [5].…”