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Towards an Ecological Economics of Sustainability: From the Perspective of Environmental Regulation Policies and Pollutant Emissions Governance

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 August 2023) | Viewed by 23760

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Zhangqi Zhong

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Guest Editor

School of Economics and Trade, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou 510006, China
Interests: environmental regulation; technological innovation; environmental governance; environmental pollution; accounting for greenhouse gas emissions; water resource economics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Wei Shao

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Guest Editor

School of Economics, Zhejiang University of Finance & Economics, Hangzhou 310018, China.
Interests: industry policy; digital economy; sustainable development; environmental impact; energy efficiency; environmental sustainability; energy and climate policy analysis

Dr. An Pan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

School of Economics, Zhongnan University of Economics & Law, Wuhan 430073, China
Interests: global value chain; embodied carbon transfer; climate policy; low-carbon innovation; industrial robot application; climate aid

Dr. Zongke Bao

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Guest Editor

School of Accounting, Zhejiang University of Finance & Economics, Hangzhou 310018, China
Interests: environmental regulation; technological innovation; environmental governance; carbon market; innovation policy; survival management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The aim of this Special Issue is to provide recent advances in the field of environmental regulation policies and pollutant emissions governance. Global climate change caused by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fossil fuel combustion and anthropogenic activities has already become one of the most significant ecological and environmental issues. To actively respond to global climate change and reduce pollutant emissions, a legally binding global climate change agreement (i.e., the Paris Protocol) on reducing GHG emissions was implemented in November 2016, which is one of the most important and unprecedented conventions in human history. From the perspective of pollutant emissions governance, this agreement primarily determined the shared targets of emissions reduction. However, the implementation of reduction targets led to a traded value for emissions permits due to the economic costs of reducing GHG emissions. As a result, some policies, such as carbon markets centered in GHG emissions reduction, including allowance-based trade and project-based trade, were set up. Notably, GHGs primarily are carbon dioxide, so these markets are also called carbon markets. In fact, since this agreement was implemented, the relevant economic activities relevant to carbon markets had already become very active in recent years.

During the process of reducing pollutant emissions, some typical environmental regulation policies, such as carbon markets, were favored by many countries and regions in the world owing to their higher flexibility and lower reduction cost. Therefore, the European Union, some states in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, China, Republic of Korea and Japan all established national or regional carbon markets. In fact, for policy makers, establishing a carbon market is recognized as an effective measure to lessen polluant emissions, so as to improve regional air quality and, more importantly, it is also a significant policy tool to achieve a more sustainable ecological environment. Investigating its reason, through formulating targeted environmental regulation policies, such as imposing carbon taxes and carbon tariffs on carbon markets, various industries and related enterprises would accelerate the green and low-carbon transformation. As a result, they would actively adopt low-carbon technologies and produce more products with low-carbon emissions, so as to effectively respond to global climate change and curtail pollutant emissions

Therefore, in this context, regarding issues related to environmental regulation policies and pollutant emissions governance, the topics for the Special Issue include but are not limited to the following. First, how can we accurately estimate and forecast the current situation and future trend in energy consumption, resulting in carbon emissions or other pollutant emissions in some countries or regions? Second, what are the impacts of environmental regulation policies on pollutant emissions governance? Third, how can we accurately estimate the potential and cost of pollutant emissions reduction in each region on the basis of clarifying the imputation of responsibilities for reducing pollutant emissions? Finally, for relevant stakeholders, how can they make full use of environmental regulation policies to lessen pollutant emissions in order to achieve regional emissions reduction targets?

Dr. Zhangqi Zhong
Prof. Dr. Wei Shao
Dr. An Pan
Dr. Zongke Bao
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

technological innovation
carbon emission accounting
inter-regional trade
environmental regulation
carbon market
environmental governance
environmental quality
emission trading system
energy and environmental policy
global value chain
supply chain carbon emissions
low-carbon innovation
industrial robot application

Published Papers (14 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 1095 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Pollution Transfer under Intergovernmental Competition: Suppression or Opportunity

by Hongmin Zhang and Jinghua Zhang

Sustainability 2023, 15(21), 15363; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152115363 - 27 Oct 2023

Viewed by 678

Abstract

In recent years, the Sustainable Development Goals have introduced a “race to the top” mechanism to complement the “race to the bottom” in local governance and have an impact on pollution. This study utilizes the environmentally oriented accreditation of National Civilized Cities as a policy shock and applies the PSM-DID method to identify the pollution-relocation effects among cities triggered by the competition in local governance. The results indicate that environmentally oriented intergovernmental competition leads to the transfer of industrial enterprises to non-accredited cities, resulting in a significant increase in their pollution emissions and industrial pollution intensity. This indicates that the competition in asymmetric local governance will lead to the transfer of pollution to backward regions, which hampers the overall implementation efficiency of national environmental policies. Furthermore, heterogeneity analysis reveals that the impact is more significant for cities in the central and western regions. Being nominated for the National Civilized City accreditation helps to inhibit the influx of polluting enterprises. Cities that are not part of integrated environmental regulatory regions show a more pronounced increase in pollution emissions compared to other cities, indicating that symmetric local government environmental regulations and environmental collaborative governance contribute to restraining pollution transfer. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards an Ecological Economics of Sustainability: From the Perspective of Environmental Regulation Policies and Pollutant Emissions Governance)

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17 pages, 1114 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of Environmental Regulations on Enterprise Pollution Emission from the Perspective of “Overseeing the Government”

by Bo Chen, Gegentana and Yongsheng Wang

Sustainability 2023, 15(14), 11311; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151411311 - 20 Jul 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1153

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the impact of “overseeing the government” on corporate pollution control and emission reduction behavior and the choice of corporate emission reduction paths. The central government in China persistently reinforces its environmental oversight of local governments. The effectiveness of environmental protection is closely tied to the performance of local officials and the implementation of the “one vote veto” system in the realm of environmental conservation. In this study, we use the evolutionary game model theory and the DID model to test the impact of “overseeing the government” on the environmental behavior of enterprises. Specifically, this study establishes an evolutionary game model between local government and enterprises, exploring how the local government and the enterprise make decisions. The theoretical findings are validated using pollution data from industrial enterprises in China. The study reveals that enterprises are influenced by local governments primarily when the costs of environmental abatement are relatively low, and the costs of noncompliance are high. Strengthening government oversight leads to a reduction in the intensity and overall emissions of both water and air pollutants. Enterprises respond by increasing their utilization of clean energy sources, reducing their reliance on fossil fuels, and enhancing their pollution control infrastructure to mitigate emissions. Notably, there is no evidence suggesting that enterprises curtail production levels to reduce emissions. Therefore, it is crucial to develop a rational understanding of the relationship between environmental protection and economic performance. In addition, tailored policies should be formulated to enable precise pollution control measures and facilitate the pursuit of high-quality development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards an Ecological Economics of Sustainability: From the Perspective of Environmental Regulation Policies and Pollutant Emissions Governance)

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26 pages, 321 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of Environmental Regulations on Enterprises’ Green Innovation: The Mediating Effect of Managers’ Environmental Awareness

by Deqin Lin and Yuetong Zhao

Sustainability 2023, 15(14), 10906; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151410906 - 12 Jul 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1313

Abstract

It is of great significance to clarify the impact and mechanism of environmental regulations on enterprises’ green innovation. This paper empirically studies the impact of command-and-control environmental regulation (CCER) and market-incentive-based environmental regulation (MBER) on enterprises’ green innovation and tests the mediating effect of managers’ environmental awareness by using the data of Chinese A-share companies listed in the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchange from 2011 to 2020. The results show the following: 1. the CCER has a significant promoting effect on both the quantity and quality of green innovation, but the impact of the MBER is significantly negative; 2. managers’ environmental awareness has a mediating effect on the impact of the CCER, but there is no such mediating effect on the impact of the MBER; 3. The CCER has a strong promoting effect on the quantity and quality of the green innovation of heavily polluting state-owned enterprises with a high innovation capacity in central cities, while the MBER has a significant negative impact on the green innovation capacity of heavily polluting non-state-owned enterprises but can significantly promote the quantity and quality of enterprises’ green innovation with a high innovation capacity located in central cities. Finally, this paper gives some suggestions to promote the green innovation capacity of enterprises by optimizing the design of environmental regulation tools, improving managers’ environmental awareness and enhancing the degree of marketization. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards an Ecological Economics of Sustainability: From the Perspective of Environmental Regulation Policies and Pollutant Emissions Governance)

29 pages, 1707 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Does Environmental Regulation of Cleaner Production Affect the Position of Enterprises in Global Value Chains? A Quasi-Natural Experiment Based on the Implementation of Cleaner Production

by Jingjing Huang, Yuan Zhong and Yabin Zhang

Sustainability 2023, 15(13), 10492; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151310492 - 03 Jul 2023

Viewed by 1187

Abstract

Present-day supply-side structural reform in China places an abundance of emphasis on environmental protection. In this paper, we re-measure the upstreamness of Chinese enterprises in global value chains as described by Ni Hongfu (2022). Subsequently, the impact of environmental regulations on the global value chain position of Chinese firms is studied in depth, using the cleaner production standards promulgated and implemented by the Chinese government in 2003 as a quasi-natural experiment, taking a time-varying difference-in-differences (DID) approach. The data sources employed include the Cleaner Production Standard Implementation Industry Directory, the World Input–Output Database (WIOD), the China Industrial Enterprise Database, and the China Customs Import and Export Database. This research discovered the following: First, adopting cleaner production standards significantly improves Chinese enterprises’ positions in the global value chain—a conclusion that holds up to a number of robustness tests. Second, in terms of firm size, capital intensity, ownership characteristics, and government subsidies, there exists a noticeable heterogeneity in the promotion of the adoption of cleaner production standards for the improvement of Chinese enterprises’ global value chain position. Third, the implementation of cleaner production standards stimulates the upgrading of Chinese enterprises’ global value chain position, primarily through the entry and exit impacts, product-switching effect, and innovation compensation effect. The following proposals for policy can be implemented in light of the findings of this paper: “upstream prevention” strategies in the development of future environmental protection and trade policies should be advocated; nuanced and stratified environmental policies should be meticulously constructed; a mix of policies should be employed to bolster the institutional support for green environmental regulations; the integration of environmental governance into the evaluation framework should be emphasized; the creation of an innovation-oriented environmental governance system should be expedited. In conclusion, the findings of this research provide empirical evidence on the role of environmental regulations in coordinating ecological development and strengthening the position of Chinese enterprises in global value chains, which may assist other developing nations in making the transition to a path of high-quality growth. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards an Ecological Economics of Sustainability: From the Perspective of Environmental Regulation Policies and Pollutant Emissions Governance)

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19 pages, 7556 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evolutionary Game of Pesticide Reduction Management for Sustainable Agriculture: An Analysis Based on Local Governments, Farmers, and Consumers

by Qizheng He, Yong Sun and Maoan Yi

Sustainability 2023, 15(12), 9173; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129173 - 06 Jun 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1265

Abstract

Promoting pesticide reduction is a critical component of achieving sustainable agriculture. However, the challenges involved in coordinating diverse stakeholder demands pose difficulties in promoting pesticide reduction behavior. To reveal the evolutionary paths of the decision-making processes of each player under various influencing factors and optimize pesticide reduction policies, this paper proposes a three-way evolutionary game model that considers the interests of the local governments, farmers, and consumers. The study reveals six stable equilibrium strategies in the evolutionary game system of pesticide reduction for sustainable agriculture (SA). Under polycentric governance, ideal states allow local governments to regulate farmers’ pesticide reduction and consumers’ purchases of green agricultural products. Regulatory measures such as providing technical and in-kind subsidies for pesticide reduction, imposing penalties for the overuse of pesticides, and promoting public awareness influence farmers’ and consumers’ decisions when it comes to reducing pesticides and purchasing green produce. Moreover, the total benefits of pesticide reduction for farmers and the utility of green produce consumption for consumers are primary factors that influence the evolutionary game system’s eventual evolution toward different stable equilibrium strategies. These factors primarily affect the supply and demand of green products, which in turn impacts pesticide reduction. This study enhances the policy analysis of pesticide reduction and provides valuable insights into constructing a pesticide reduction policy system based on polycentric governance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards an Ecological Economics of Sustainability: From the Perspective of Environmental Regulation Policies and Pollutant Emissions Governance)

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24 pages, 984 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Influencing Factors of the Carbon Trading Price: A Case of China against a “Double Carbon” Background

by Shaolong Zeng, Qinyi Fu, Danni Yang, Yihua Tian and Yang Yu

Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 2203; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032203 - 25 Jan 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3554

Abstract

The Carbon trading price (CTP) can best reflect the fluctuations of the carbon trading market. This paper comprehensively analyzes the CTP mechanism of China’s carbon trading market, discusses the main factors affecting China’s CTP, which include macroeconomic factors, energy price factors, policy factors, and environmental factors, and provides three hypotheses. In order to highlight and test the three hypotheses about the CTP, five representative carbon trading pilot markets were included: Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Hubei, and Guangdong, and the daily average price data (over years) were adapted from January 2017 to December 2021, using a dynamic heterogeneous panel PMG model. The current paper selects the China air quality index (AQI), Bohai-Rim steam-coal price index (BSPI), Liquefied natural gas index (LNGI), and the Shanghai stock exchange industrial index (SSEII) as the explanatory variables. The empirical results show that there is a long-term equilibrium relationship between the CTP, AQI, energy price, and macroeconomics. Strengthening environmental governance, optimizing the energy structure, and expanding the carbon trading market coverage should be adopted to improve the China carbon emission trade exchange (CCETE) and stabilize the CTP. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards an Ecological Economics of Sustainability: From the Perspective of Environmental Regulation Policies and Pollutant Emissions Governance)

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20 pages, 2640 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effect of FDI Agglomeration on Carbon Emission Intensity: Evidence from City-Level Data in China

by Yunyun Wu and Han Xu

Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1716; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021716 - 16 Jan 2023

Viewed by 1328

Abstract

How to accelerate the reduction of carbon emissions in the context of the “double carbon” target has become a key concern for all sectors of society. This paper firstly analyzes the influence mechanism of foreign direct investment (FDI) agglomeration on carbon emission intensity, from a theoretical perspective. Then, based on a panel data of 270 cities in China from 2006 to 2019, this paper uses ArcGIS software to visually analyze the spatial and temporal characteristics of FDI agglomeration and carbon emission intensity, and constructs traditional fixed effect models and spatial econometric models for empirical analysis. The results show that, first, FDI agglomeration has a significantly positive impact on the carbon emission intensity of local and neighboring cities with crowding effect. Second, the level of technological innovation can mitigate the crowding effect of FDI agglomeration on carbon emission intensity in local and neighboring cities. Third, there is a negative spatial autocorrelation between the local carbon emission intensity and the carbon emission intensity of neighboring cities. Fourth, the crowding effect of FDI agglomeration on carbon emission intensity is mainly concentrated in the central and western regions. Based on the research conclusions, this paper puts forward corresponding countermeasure suggestions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards an Ecological Economics of Sustainability: From the Perspective of Environmental Regulation Policies and Pollutant Emissions Governance)

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17 pages, 587 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Regional Corruption, Foreign Trade, and Environmental Pollution

by Suisui Chen, Xintian Liu, Shuhong Wang and Peng Wang

Sustainability 2023, 15(1), 859; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010859 - 03 Jan 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1981

Abstract

As an effective means and an important guarantee for environmental pollution management in China, enhancing the level of foreign openness and reducing the level of regional corruption, respectively, the successful implementation of both are key steps in determining the future development of China’s transformation of trade development and green transformation. This paper attempts to systematically examine the mechanisms of regional corruption and foreign trade on environmental pollution from both theoretical and empirical levels. Using the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2004 to 2017, this study constructs a dynamic panel model with a one-stage pollution index. The system GMM is used to verify the relationship between corruption, trade, and the environment. Empirical results show that corruption reduces investment in environmental governance, R&D, and the introduction of environmental technology, and it increases environmental pollution by reducing the implementation and control of environmental policies. After excluding the effect of corruption on trade, foreign trade is conducive to the improvement of environmental pollution. Meanwhile, the intensification of corruption on pollution will be weakened with increased openness; that is, China’s expansion of foreign trade is beneficial to attenuating the pollution effect of corruption on the environment. These findings suggest that expanding trade will ultimately improve the environment and even mitigate the negative impact of corruption on the environment. Therefore, China should dredge the channel of factor flow, give full play to the vitality of market players, strictly investigate corruption, and encourage opening up. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards an Ecological Economics of Sustainability: From the Perspective of Environmental Regulation Policies and Pollutant Emissions Governance)

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22 pages, 3428 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Study of the Effect of the Digital Economy on the Low-Carbon Transformation of Urban Economies under Public Attention

by Qiang Wang, Hongren Jiang and Jian Xu

Sustainability 2022, 14(24), 16448; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142416448 - 08 Dec 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1364

Abstract

Using the panel data of 274 cities from 2011 to 2019, this article studied the impact of the digital economy on the low-carbon transformation and space overflow effect on the city’s low-carbon transformation and used the panel threshold model to calculate the regulatory effect of public attention. Studies found the following: (1) The digital economy, the urban low-carbon transformation level, and public attention show regional differences, manifesting as the distribution of "point clusters" and "decreasing from east to west", and as far as the speed of change, after the year 2015, the annual increase of various indicators increased. (2) The role of digital economy development and urban low-carbon transformation levels have a "U" relationship. At present, most cities across the country have passed the point of inflection, which presents a significant promotion effect. However, in a comparison of regional coefficients, the Eastern region > Western region > Midlands. (3) The development of the digital economy has a significant “siphon effect” on the impact of urban low-carbon transformation. (4) With the increase in public attention in the region, the positive promotion of the digital economy on the urban low-carbon transformation has gradually increased. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards an Ecological Economics of Sustainability: From the Perspective of Environmental Regulation Policies and Pollutant Emissions Governance)

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21 pages, 3756 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evolution of Global Crude Oil Trade Network Structure and Resilience

by Xiaojin Yuan, Chunbao Ge, Yapan Liu, Na Li and Ying Wang

Sustainability 2022, 14(23), 16059; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142316059 - 01 Dec 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3007

Abstract

Existing studies mainly focus on the evolutionary characteristics of the global crude oil trade network under a steady state, neglecting to analyze the competition and cooperation among countries regarding crude oil as a strategic resource from a spatial–geographical perspective. There needs to be more studies analyzing the impact of crude oil trade disruptions on the resilience of the whole network from the perspective of supply and demand shocks in different influential countries, thus promoting the sustainable development of the global economy and the transition to green energy. Based on the global crude oil trade data from 2007 to 2020, this paper examines the structural evolution of the trade network using a complex network approach and simulates the impact of disruptions on its resilience. Results indicate that the global crude oil trade network expands and becomes more closely connected, and five major trade groups have been formed. Further simulation reveals that the impact of national disruptions on global trade resilience is not linear. Moreover, the influence from core countries is significantly higher than peripheral countries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards an Ecological Economics of Sustainability: From the Perspective of Environmental Regulation Policies and Pollutant Emissions Governance)

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17 pages, 334 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Mediating and Moderating Effects of the Digital Economy on PM_2.5: Evidence from China

by Xiaoli Wu, Yaoyao Qin, Qizhuo Xie and Yunyi Zhang

Sustainability 2022, 14(23), 16032; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142316032 - 30 Nov 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1504

Abstract

Environmental issues are fundamentally problems of development mode and life style. Meanwhile, the digital economy is an important means of optimizing the economic structure and achieving high-quality economic development, thereby changing the way of production and life, which can improve the aforementioned environmental challenges. Therefore, this research investigates how the digital economy can bring new ideas for reducing pollution in depth. Based on panel data from 285 prefecture-level cities in China, this paper examines the impact of the digital economy on PM_2.5. We construct the evaluation system of China’s digital economy development from the three aspects of digital penetration, digital human resources, and digital output. We use the digital economy comprehensive index with digital financial inclusion index as the main component to test the robustness. The results show that the increase of the digital economy reduces PM_2.5 emissions in Chinese cities. In addition, we also explore technological innovation as a mediating channel for the digital economy to influence PM_2.5 emissions. The digital economy provides a better research environment for technological innovation, conducive to improving cleaner production technology and products. Finally, we find that environmental information disclosure can enhance the impact of the digital economy on PM_2.5 emissions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards an Ecological Economics of Sustainability: From the Perspective of Environmental Regulation Policies and Pollutant Emissions Governance)

17 pages, 6802 KiB

Open AccessArticle

How Does China Develop Green Service Industries? A Perspective on Policy Evolution

by Dan He, Yahua Tang, Miaomiao Ren and Jie Yang

Sustainability 2022, 14(22), 15378; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142215378 - 18 Nov 2022

Viewed by 1247

Abstract

In the process of promoting the development of a low-carbon economy, green services lag behind the green manufacturing industry. This paper applies the textual analysis method and systematically analyses the evolutionary trends and structural characteristics of green service policies to further optimise the service policy system and strengthen the quality of the green service supply. This paper identifies 859 policies introduced since 1986 and uses the content analysis method to analyse changes in the number of policies, the relationships between policy subjects, the formal types of texts and the composition of policy instruments. The results show that (1) the number and overall effectiveness of green service industry policies promulgated by the central government are increasing, such that the formulation of green service industry policies has passed the exploratory phase and has entered the stage of high-quality development; (2) there is a wide range of obvious interministerial cooperative phenomena, the modes of cooperation are relatively fixed, and the overall intersuperior cooperation has been strengthened but is characterised by phased development; (3) the distribution of policy forms is uneven, with many documents characterised by low effectiveness and a lack of high-efficiency documents; (4) the policy object structure is relatively complete, but the industrial distribution is unbalanced; (5) there is an imbalance among the three policy tools of supply, environment and demand. Those tools that are embodied in the environment are deemed more important than those of supply and demand. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards an Ecological Economics of Sustainability: From the Perspective of Environmental Regulation Policies and Pollutant Emissions Governance)

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16 pages, 1360 KiB

Open AccessArticle

To Be or Not to Be? Strategic Analysis of Carbon Tax Guiding Manufacturers to Choose Low-Carbon Technology

by Yanfen Mu and Feng Niu

Sustainability 2022, 14(22), 15272; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142215272 - 17 Nov 2022

Viewed by 1216

Abstract

This paper analyzes the environmental tax’s effect on manufacturers’ choice of low-carbon technology in competitive supply chains. The existing studies only consider a single oligopoly enterprise and ignore the competition between supply chains. Few papers study the manufacturer’s technology choice under the carbon tax policy in the competitive supply chains, especially investigating the factors influencing the technology choice, including the market volume, and technology carbon emission reduction efficiency because different industry sectors have their distinctive carbon emissions reduction efficiencies and facing the different market volume. The study adopts a game theoretical approach, including the three-level supply chain consisting of the regulator, the manufacturers, and the retailers. A high carbon tax does not always help firms choose low-carbon technology. However, the monotonous effect of the carbon tax on manufacturer technology selection is no longer valid if the market volume and the carbon-reducing efficiency are considered. When the market volume is large, the regulator can set a high carbon tax to induce the manufacturers to choose low-carbon technology. We identify cases where the manufacturers are caught in a prisoner’s dilemma. When the market volume is small, and the carbon-reducing efficiency is high, the competitive manufacturers adopt the common technology. However, if the regulator increases the carbon tax, the manufacturers acquire the differential technology strategic choice, which is the Pareto optimal. We also extend the base model to the imperfect substitutable Cournot model and the Bertrand model to check the robustness and find our main results still hold in these extensions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards an Ecological Economics of Sustainability: From the Perspective of Environmental Regulation Policies and Pollutant Emissions Governance)

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16 pages, 815 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Carbon Reduction Effect of Green Technology Innovation from the Perspective of Energy Consumption and Efficiency

by Wenchao Li, Lingyu Xu, Jian Xu and Ostic Dragana

Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 14113; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114113 - 29 Oct 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1180

Abstract

Consumption-oriented or efficiency-oriented, it is a hard choice for the green technology innovation pathway. This paper uses the intermediary model to empirically analyze the panel data from 250 prefecture-level cities in China from 2010 to 2019. The conclusions show that: 1. At present, energy consumption-oriented green technology innovation at the national level in China shows a completely intermediary effect, which has a more obvious emission reduction effect; compared with energy consumption, energy efficiency-oriented green technology innovation only has a very weak intermediary effect of 6.58%. 2. Only the Eastern non-resource cities and the Midwest resource cities’ green technology innovation have the effect of energy efficiency-oriented emission reduction, accounting for 8.11% and 9.02%, respectively. 3. Both the Eastern resource cities and the Midwest non-resource cities have no intermediary effect on energy efficiency, so carbon emission reduction is more difficult than in other cities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards an Ecological Economics of Sustainability: From the Perspective of Environmental Regulation Policies and Pollutant Emissions Governance)

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