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The Chinese Economy pp 231–256Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

An Integrated Assessment of the Economic Costs and Environmental Benefits of Pollution and Carbon Control

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Abstract

Concerns over energy security and domestic air quality have led the Chinese government to reduce the country’s overwhelming dependence on fossil fuels and to shift to a more energy- and resource-efficient development trajectory. Considering the international climate negotiations, this goal now has added emphasis on carbon intensity. The 11th Five-year Plan (FYP) set explicit targets for energy efficiency and pollutant emissions and this has led to a number of ambitious implementing measures. The government recently also set a carbon intensity target for 2020: reducing it by 40–45 per cent compared with the 2005 carbon emissions:GDP ratio. Despite the current global economic slowdown, and partly due to the strong fiscal stimulus in 2009, the growth of the Chinese economy and its resource demands are so swift that they are overwhelming many of these efforts, most notably in emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), the leading greenhouse gas (GHG).

Keywords

  • Emission Inventory
  • Carbon Intensity
  • Power Generation Unit
  • International Energy Agency
  • Acute Mortality

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

This research is supported by the Energy Foundation, Harvard China Fund, National Science Foundation of China (Project Code: 70803026 and 71173130) and Tsinghua University Initiative Scientific Research Program. The research is part of a larger study developed and conducted under the China Project, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, in partnership with Tsinghua University researchers. This paper includes material from Yu Lei, Chris Nielsen, Yuxuan Wang and Yu Zhao, and we also thank Nielsen for comments on this paper.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tsinghua University, China

    Jing Cao

  2. Harvard University, USA

    Mun S. Ho & Dale Jorgenson

Authors
  1. Jing Cao
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  2. Mun S. Ho
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  3. Dale Jorgenson
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Stanford University, USA

    Masahiko Aoki

  2. Development Research Center, China

    Jinglian Wu

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© 2012 International Economic Association

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Cao, J., Ho, M.S., Jorgenson, D. (2012). An Integrated Assessment of the Economic Costs and Environmental Benefits of Pollution and Carbon Control. In: Aoki, M., Wu, J. (eds) The Chinese Economy. International Economic Association Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137034298_11

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