Scrapping for clean air: Emissions savings from the BC SCRAP-IT program

Werner Antweiler and Sumeet Gulati

Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2015, vol. 71, issue C, 198-214

Abstract: British Columbia׳s innovative Accelerated Vehicle Retirement program (BC SCRAP-IT) offers a unique set of incentives which are aimed at achieving a high level of emissions reductions. The program supports alternative forms of transportation: public transit, membership in ride-share or car-share programs, and/or the purchase of a bicycle. However, it is not known whether the program constitutes an efficient allocation of government funding, or how the scheme compares to more basic programs offering only cash subsidies. Using a novel dataset combining data from BC SCRAP-IT with British Columbia׳s AirCare emissions testing program, we find that BC SCRAP-IT results in substantial emissions reductions and that this type of incentives scheme compares favourably with previous subsidy-only schemes. On average, emissions reductions per vehicle are equivalent to a benefit of C$566, whereas the average program payout is C$886 per participant. We discuss policy implications and suggest a number of options to improve the efficiency of AVRP programs.

Keywords: Accelerated Vehicle Retirement programs; Vehicle emissions; Voluntary environmental programs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q53 Q58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeeman:v:71:y:2015:i:c:p:198-214

DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2015.03.002

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