Exploring U.S.–China climate cooperation through linked carbon markets

Emissions trading systems (ETSs) are a widely used policy tool for driving emissions reductions and serve as an avenue for international climate cooperation. Following the recent global agreement on carbon market standards at COP26, this study explores linked ETSs as an avenue for the U.S. and China...

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Main Authors: Alexander F. Li, Chen-Fei Qu, Xi-Liang Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. 2023-02-01
Series:Advances in Climate Change Research
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S167492782300014X
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author Alexander F. Li
Chen-Fei Qu
Xi-Liang Zhang
author_facet Alexander F. Li
Chen-Fei Qu
Xi-Liang Zhang
author_sort Alexander F. Li
collection DOAJ
description Emissions trading systems (ETSs) are a widely used policy tool for driving emissions reductions and serve as an avenue for international climate cooperation. Following the recent global agreement on carbon market standards at COP26, this study explores linked ETSs as an avenue for the U.S. and China to cooperate on climate action. The emissions, energy, and economic effects of linked ETSs are analyzed through the China-in-Global Energy Model (C-GEM), a multi-regional, computable general equilibrium model. Assuming the development of national economy-wide ETSs, two scenarios are developed linking China and the U.S.: 1) a bilateral U.S.–China ETS linkage 2) a multilateral ETS linkage that includes China, the U.S., and nations in Southeast Asia. Results indicate that emissions and energy consumption outcomes would be similar in the bilateral and multilateral scenarios. However, economic outcomes are more favorable in the multilateral linkage scenario. When China and the U.S. engage in bilateral ETS linkage, China predominantly benefits from additional support for domestic decarbonization while the U.S. benefits from increased GDP compared to without ETS linkage. Adding Southeast Asia to establish multilateral linkage improves GDP outcomes for all participants, reducing adverse effects on China's GDP while boosting GDP for the U.S. and Southeast Asia. For policymakers considering the design and implementation of international ETSs, this study presents updated modeling on the effects of ETS linkage on each country as well as the economic benefits of expanding participation to additional regions.
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spelling doaj.art-c97ec07cf9d2496da5c2823f2537c3352023-03-18T04:40:45ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Advances in Climate Change Research1674-92782023-02-01141145155Exploring U.S.–China climate cooperation through linked carbon marketsAlexander F. Li0Chen-Fei Qu1Xi-Liang Zhang2Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Corresponding author.Institute of Energy, Environment, and Economy, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, ChinaInstitute of Energy, Environment, and Economy, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, ChinaEmissions trading systems (ETSs) are a widely used policy tool for driving emissions reductions and serve as an avenue for international climate cooperation. Following the recent global agreement on carbon market standards at COP26, this study explores linked ETSs as an avenue for the U.S. and China to cooperate on climate action. The emissions, energy, and economic effects of linked ETSs are analyzed through the China-in-Global Energy Model (C-GEM), a multi-regional, computable general equilibrium model. Assuming the development of national economy-wide ETSs, two scenarios are developed linking China and the U.S.: 1) a bilateral U.S.–China ETS linkage 2) a multilateral ETS linkage that includes China, the U.S., and nations in Southeast Asia. Results indicate that emissions and energy consumption outcomes would be similar in the bilateral and multilateral scenarios. However, economic outcomes are more favorable in the multilateral linkage scenario. When China and the U.S. engage in bilateral ETS linkage, China predominantly benefits from additional support for domestic decarbonization while the U.S. benefits from increased GDP compared to without ETS linkage. Adding Southeast Asia to establish multilateral linkage improves GDP outcomes for all participants, reducing adverse effects on China's GDP while boosting GDP for the U.S. and Southeast Asia. For policymakers considering the design and implementation of international ETSs, this study presents updated modeling on the effects of ETS linkage on each country as well as the economic benefits of expanding participation to additional regions.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S167492782300014XU.S.–China climate cooperationClimate changeEmissions trading systemCarbon marketsComputable general equilibrium model
spellingShingle Alexander F. Li
Chen-Fei Qu
Xi-Liang Zhang
Exploring U.S.–China climate cooperation through linked carbon markets
Advances in Climate Change Research
U.S.–China climate cooperation
Climate change
Emissions trading system
Carbon markets
Computable general equilibrium model
title Exploring U.S.–China climate cooperation through linked carbon markets
title_full Exploring U.S.–China climate cooperation through linked carbon markets
title_fullStr Exploring U.S.–China climate cooperation through linked carbon markets
title_full_unstemmed Exploring U.S.–China climate cooperation through linked carbon markets
title_short Exploring U.S.–China climate cooperation through linked carbon markets
title_sort exploring u s china climate cooperation through linked carbon markets
topic U.S.–China climate cooperation
Climate change
Emissions trading system
Carbon markets
Computable general equilibrium model
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S167492782300014X
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