Economic Growth, Energy demand and Atmospheric Pollution: Challenges and Opportunities for China in the future 30 years

Jie He and David Roland-Holst

Cahiers de recherche from Departement d'économique de l'École de gestion à l'Université de Sherbrooke

Abstract: This paper uses a dynamic CGE model, calibrated to detailed Chinese emissions data, to assess two important questions. What can we reasonably expect Chinese emissions trends to look like over the next three decades? Secondly, what would be the appropriate policy interventions to flatten Chinese emissions trajectories and reduce the risk of local, regional, and even global adversity? This research is original in its direct use of the new industrial sector-level emissions and energy using data from China to estimate the energy-specific emission effluent rate and its detailed treatment of policies taking account of the three main determinants of pollution intensity: growth, output composition, and technological change. Our results indicate that, without further effective emission control measures, China’s economic growth over the next two decades will contribute significantly to SO2 emission problems, in which the emission firstly increase from the rapid expansion of the transportation service sectors until 2018, then from the heavy industrialization process after 2018. With the potential technical progress, the emission burden will be centralized back to two energy sectors: electricity generation and petrol and coke refining during these two periods. Detailed examination of the structural and technological components of pollution shows that efficient pollution mitigation can be realized by focused abatement activities, cleaner production, and advances in cleaner fuel products and their use technologies.

Keywords: China; Global warming; CGE modeling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D58 Q53 Q54 Q58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32 pages
Date: 2010-04-26
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cmp, nep-ene, nep-env, nep-fdg and nep-tra
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http://gredi.recherche.usherbrooke.ca/wpapers/GREDI-1011.pdf First version, 2010 (application/pdf)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:shr:wpaper:10-11

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