IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v183y2023ics0301421523003671.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Positive synergy or negative synergy: An assessment of the carbon emission reduction effect of renewable energy policy mixes on China's power sector

Author

Listed:
  • Zha, Donglan
  • Jiang, Pansong
  • Zhang, Chaoqun
  • Xia, Dan
  • Cao, Yang

Abstract

To reduce carbon emissions in China's power sector, a variety of renewable energy policy options have been introduced, which are expected to produce synergistic effects. This study used a continuous difference-in-differences model to evaluate the individual and synergistic effects of renewable energy policies on the carbon emission reduction of China's power sector. The results showed that renewable energy policies can achieve the target of decarbonizing China's power sector, with the feed-in tariffs proving to be particularly effective. The mix of feed-in tariffs, carbon emissions trading, and R&D subsidies can achieve the largest positive synergistic effects. In addition, any renewable energy policy mix (REPM) including tradable green certificates had no synergistic effect, and that there were no REPMs with negative synergy. The synergetic effect of REPMs decreased with the increase in policy diversity. This study provided a clearer understanding on the differentiated impacts of these policies and their mixes. Meanwhile, we propose to continue implementing the REPM in a continuing manner, and emphasize to focus on the complementary policies to maximize the synergies of policy mixes, such as introducing renewable portfolio standards when implementing tradable green certificates.

Suggested Citation

  • Zha, Donglan & Jiang, Pansong & Zhang, Chaoqun & Xia, Dan & Cao, Yang, 2023. "Positive synergy or negative synergy: An assessment of the carbon emission reduction effect of renewable energy policy mixes on China's power sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:183:y:2023:i:c:s0301421523003671
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113782
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421523003671
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113782?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ciarreta, Aitor & Espinosa, Maria Paz & Pizarro-Irizar, Cristina, 2014. "Is green energy expensive? Empirical evidence from the Spanish electricity market," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 205-215.
    2. Dmitrii Bogdanov & Javier Farfan & Kristina Sadovskaia & Arman Aghahosseini & Michael Child & Ashish Gulagi & Ayobami Solomon Oyewo & Larissa Souza Noel Simas Barbosa & Christian Breyer, 2019. "Radical transformation pathway towards sustainable electricity via evolutionary steps," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-16, December.
    3. Petia Topalova, 2010. "Factor Immobility and Regional Impacts of Trade Liberalization: Evidence on Poverty from India," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(4), pages 1-41, October.
    4. Heimvik, Arild & Amundsen, Eirik S., 2021. "Prices vs. percentages: Use of tradable green certificates as an instrument of greenhouse gas mitigation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    5. Hu, Yanlong & Huang, Weibin & Wang, Jing & Chen, Shijun & Zhang, Jie, 2016. "Current status, challenges, and perspectives of Sichuan׳s renewable energy development in Southwest China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 1373-1385.
    6. Herrmann, J.K. & Savin, I., 2017. "Optimal policy identification: Insights from the German electricity market," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 71-90.
    7. Wang, Can & Ye, Minhua & Cai, Wenjia & Chen, Jining, 2014. "The value of a clear, long-term climate policy agenda: A case study of China’s power sector using a multi-region optimization model," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 276-288.
    8. Jenner, Steffen & Groba, Felix & Indvik, Joe, 2013. "Assessing the strength and effectiveness of renewable electricity feed-in tariffs in European Union countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 385-401.
    9. Nordhaus, William, 2011. "Designing a friendly space for technological change to slow global warming," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 665-673, July.
    10. Wang, Yongli & Gao, Mingchen & Wang, Jingyan & Wang, Shuo & Liu, Yang & Zhu, Jinrong & Tan, Zhongfu, 2021. "Measurement and key influencing factors of the economic benefits for China’s photovoltaic power generation: A LCOE-based hybrid model," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 935-952.
    11. Way, Rupert & Lafond, François & Lillo, Fabrizio & Panchenko, Valentyn & Farmer, J. Doyne, 2019. "Wright meets Markowitz: How standard portfolio theory changes when assets are technologies following experience curves," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 211-238.
    12. Yu-Ling Hsiao, Cody & Wei, Xinyang & Sheng, Ni & Shao, Chengwu, 2021. "A joint test of policy contagion with application to the solar sector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    13. Li, Shanjun & Liu, Yanyan & Purevjav, Avralt-Od & Yang, Lin, 2019. "Does subway expansion improve air quality?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 213-235.
    14. Garrone, Paola & Grilli, Luca, 2010. "Is there a relationship between public expenditures in energy R&D and carbon emissions per GDP? An empirical investigation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(10), pages 5600-5613, October.
    15. Masoumzadeh, Amin & Alpcan, Tansu & Nekouei, Ehsan, 2020. "Designing tax and subsidy incentives towards a green and reliable electricity market," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    16. Wang, Hongwei & Zheng, Shilin & Zhang, Yanhua & Zhang, Kai, 2016. "Analysis of the policy effects of downstream Feed-In Tariff on China’s solar photovoltaic industry," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 479-488.
    17. Helm, Carsten & Mier, Mathias, 2021. "Steering the energy transition in a world of intermittent electricity supply: Optimal subsidies and taxes for renewables and storage," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    18. Haar, Lawrence, 2020. "An empirical analysis of the fiscal incidence of renewable energy support in the European Union," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    19. Kaller, Alexander & Bielen, Samantha & Marneffe, Wim, 2018. "The impact of regulatory quality and corruption on residential electricity prices in the context of electricity market reforms," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 514-524.
    20. J. van den Bergh & J. Castro & S. Drews & F. Exadaktylos & J. Foramitti & F. Klein & T. Konc & I. Savin, 2021. "Designing an effective climate-policy mix: accounting for instrument synergy," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(6), pages 745-764, July.
    21. Lindberg, Marie Byskov & Markard, Jochen & Andersen, Allan Dahl, 2019. "Policies, actors and sustainability transition pathways: A study of the EU’s energy policy mix," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(10).
    22. Xu, Jia & Tan, Xiujie & He, Gang & Liu, Yu, 2019. "Disentangling the drivers of carbon prices in China's ETS pilots — An EEMD approach," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1-9.
    23. Nguyen, Dinh Hoa & Chapman, Andrew & Farabi-Asl, Hadi, 2019. "Nation-wide emission trading model for economically feasible carbon reduction in Japan," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    24. Zhao, Xiaoli & Li, Shujie & Zhang, Sufang & Yang, Rui & Liu, Suwei, 2016. "The effectiveness of China's wind power policy: An empirical analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 269-279.
    25. Pere Mir-Artigues & Pablo del Río, 2014. "Combining tariffs, investment subsidies and soft loans in a renewable electricity deployment policy," Working Papers 2014/23, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    26. Jeroen den Bergh & Ivan Savin, 2021. "Impact of Carbon Pricing on Low-Carbon Innovation and Deep Decarbonisation: Controversies and Path Forward," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 80(4), pages 705-715, December.
    27. Li, Kai & Yan, Yaxue & Zhang, Xiaoling, 2021. "Carbon-abatement policies, investment preferences, and directed technological change: Evidence from China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    28. Sorrell, Steve & Harrison, David & Radov, Daniel & Klevnas, Per & Foss, Andrew, 2009. "White certificate schemes: Economic analysis and interactions with the EU ETS," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 29-42, January.
    29. Lin, Boqiang & Chen, Yufang, 2019. "Impacts of policies on innovation in wind power technologies in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 247(C), pages 682-691.
    30. McGavock, Tamara, 2021. "Here waits the bride? The effect of Ethiopia's child marriage law," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    31. Li, Lili & Taeihagh, Araz, 2020. "An in-depth analysis of the evolution of the policy mix for the sustainable energy transition in China from 1981 to 2020," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(C).
    32. Pere Mir-Artigues & Pablo del Río, 2014. "Combining tariffs, investment subsidies and soft loans in a renewable electricity deployment policy," Working Papers 2014/23, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    33. Zhang, Gupeng & Duan, Hongbo & Wang, Shouyang & Zhang, Qianlong, 2018. "Comparative technological advantages between China and developed areas in respect of energy production: Quantitative and qualitative measurements based on patents," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 1223-1233.
    34. Hille, Erik & Althammer, Wilhelm & Diederich, Henning, 2020. "Environmental regulation and innovation in renewable energy technologies: Does the policy instrument matter?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    35. Herath, N. & Tyner, W.E., 2019. "Intended and unintended consequences of US renewable energy policies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    36. Marson, Marta & Savin, Ivan, 2022. "Complementary or adverse? Comparing development results of official funding from China and traditional donors in Africa," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 189-206.
    37. Lindman, Åsa & Söderholm, Patrik, 2016. "Wind energy and green economy in Europe: Measuring policy-induced innovation using patent data," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 1351-1359.
    38. Xia, Fang & Lu, Xi & Song, Feng, 2020. "The role of feed-in tariff in the curtailment of wind power in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    39. Kivimaa, Paula & Kern, Florian, 2016. "Creative destruction or mere niche support? Innovation policy mixes for sustainability transitions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 205-217.
    40. Liu, Jing-Yue & Zhang, Yue-Jun, 2021. "Has carbon emissions trading system promoted non-fossil energy development in China?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 302(C).
    41. Dong, Changgui & Zhou, Runmin & Li, Jiaying, 2021. "Rushing for subsidies: The impact of feed-in tariffs on solar photovoltaic capacity development in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    42. Andrea Baranzini & Jeroen C. J. M. van den Bergh & Stefano Carattini & Richard B. Howarth & Emilio Padilla & Jordi Roca, 2017. "Carbon pricing in climate policy: seven reasons, complementary instruments, and political economy considerations," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(4), July.
    43. Belaïd, Fateh & Zrelli, Maha Harbaoui, 2019. "Renewable and non-renewable electricity consumption, environmental degradation and economic development: Evidence from Mediterranean countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    44. Drews, Stefan & Exadaktylos, Filippos & van den Bergh, Jeroen C.J.M., 2020. "Assessing synergy of incentives and nudges in the energy policy mix," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    45. Jiang, Jingjing & Xie, Dejun & Ye, Bin & Shen, Bo & Chen, Zhanming, 2016. "Research on China’s cap-and-trade carbon emission trading scheme: Overview and outlook," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 902-917.
    46. Shao, Shuai & Tian, Zhihua & Yang, Lili, 2017. "High speed rail and urban service industry agglomeration: Evidence from China's Yangtze River Delta region," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 174-183.
    47. Lim, Jong-Soo & Kim, Yong-Gun, 2012. "Combining carbon tax and R&D subsidy for climate change mitigation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(S3), pages 496-502.
    48. Shaker, Hamid & Zareipour, Hamidreza & Wood, David, 2016. "Impacts of large-scale wind and solar power integration on California׳s net electrical load," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 761-774.
    49. Abrell, Jan & Kosch, Mirjam & Rausch, Sebastian, 2019. "Carbon abatement with renewables: Evaluating wind and solar subsidies in Germany and Spain," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 172-202.
    50. Feng, Tian-tian & Yang, Yi-sheng & Yang, Yu-heng, 2018. "What will happen to the power supply structure and CO2 emissions reduction when TGC meets CET in the electricity market in China?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 121-132.
    51. Li, Xin & Chalvatzis, Konstantinos J. & Pappas, Dimitrios, 2018. "Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions from power generation in China’s provinces in 2020," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 223(C), pages 93-102.
    52. Yan, Zheming & Du, Keru & Yang, Zhiming & Deng, Min, 2017. "Convergence or divergence? Understanding the global development trend of low-carbon technologies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 499-509.
    53. Philippe Quirion, 2021. "Tradable instruments to fight climate change: A disappointing outcome," Post-Print hal-03495904, HAL.
    54. Juana Castro & Stefan Drews & Filippos Exadaktylos & Joël Foramitti & Franziska Klein & Théo Konc & Ivan Savin & Jeroen van den Bergh, 2020. "A review of agent‐based modeling of climate‐energy policy," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(4), July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jiang, Nana & Jiang, Wei & Wang, Yanfei & Zhang, Jinning, 2024. "Impact of financial reform on urban resilience: Evidence from the financial reform pilot zones in China," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    2. Yukun Chang & Tong Zou & Pibin Guo, 2024. "Quantitative Evaluation of China’s Energy Transition Policy Since the 14th Five-Year Plan, Based on the MLP-PMC Model," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-19, November.
    3. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Hussain, Jafar & Mu, Xian, 2024. "Renewable energy and carbon-neutral gaming: A holistic approach to sustainable electricity," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 297(C).
    4. Shenghao Bi & Wanying Zhang & Zhenjun Yan & Andrea Appolloni, 2024. "Impact of energy saving and emission reduction policy: Empirical evidence from regional and local business in China," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(8), pages 8815-8832, December.
    5. Sun, Jianhua & Hou, Shaobo & Deng, Yuxia & Li, Huaicheng, 2024. "New media environment, green technological innovation and corporate productivity: Evidence from listed companies in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    6. Wu, Jiaqian & Zheng, Xiaolin & Yu, Songmin & Yu, Lean, 2024. "Modeling multi-market coupling effects considering the consumption above quota trading market in renewable portfolio standards: An agent-based perspective," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    7. Hu, Xing & Yu, Shiwei & Fang, Xu & Ovaere, Marten, 2023. "Which combinations of renewable energy policies work better? Insights from policy text synergies in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(PA).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hille, Erik & Oelker, Thomas J., 2023. "International expansion of renewable energy capacities: The role of innovation and choice of policy instruments," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 204(PA).
    2. Nuñez-Jimenez, Alejandro & Knoeri, Christof & Hoppmann, Joern & Hoffmann, Volker H., 2022. "Beyond innovation and deployment: Modeling the impact of technology-push and demand-pull policies in Germany's solar policy mix," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(10).
    3. Zhou, Dequn & Dong, Zhuojia & Sang, Xiuzhi & Wang, Qunwei & Yu, Xianyu, 2023. "Do feed-in tariff reduction and green certificate trading effectively promote regional sustainable development？," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    4. Hu, Xing & Guo, Yingying & Zheng, Yali & Liu, Lan-cui & Yu, Shiwei, 2022. "Which types of policies better promote the development of renewable energy? Evidence from China's provincial data," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 1373-1382.
    5. Foramitti, Joël & Savin, Ivan & van den Bergh, Jeroen C.J.M., 2024. "How carbon pricing affects multiple human needs: An agent-based model analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 217(C).
    6. Grafström, Jonas & Poudineh, Rahmat, 2023. "No evidence of counteracting policy effects on European solar power invention and diffusion," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    7. Yu, Chin-Hsien & Wu, Xiuqin & Lee, Wen-Chieh & Zhao, Jinsong, 2021. "Resource misallocation in the Chinese wind power industry: The role of feed-in tariff policy," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    8. Liu, Ying & Feng, Chao, 2023. "Promoting renewable energy through national energy legislation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    9. Zhao, Ge & Zhou, P. & Wen, Wen, 2021. "Feed-in tariffs, knowledge stocks and renewable energy technology innovation: The role of local government intervention," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    10. He, Zhengxia & Cao, Changshuai & Kuai, Leyi & Zhou, Yanqing & Wang, Jianming, 2022. "Impact of policies on wind power innovation at different income levels: Regional differences in China based on dynamic panel estimation," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    11. Marc Baudry & Clément Bonnet, 2016. "Demand pull isntruments and the development of wind power in Europe: A counter-factual analysis," Working Papers 1607, Chaire Economie du climat.
    12. Lai, Aolin & Wang, Qunwei, 2024. "How coal de-capacity policy affects renewable energy development efficiency? Evidence from China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 286(C).
    13. Marc Baudry & Clément Bonnet, 2019. "Demand-Pull Instruments and the Development of Wind Power in Europe: A Counterfactual Analysis," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 73(2), pages 385-429, June.
    14. Zhang, Shijie & Wei, Jing & Chen, Xi & Zhao, Yuhao, 2020. "China in global wind power development: Role, status and impact," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    15. van den Bergh, Jeroen, 2023. "Climate policy versus growth concerns: Suggestions for economic research and communication," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    16. Marc Baudry & Clément Bonnet, 2015. "Market pull instruments and the development of wind power in Europe: a counterfactual analysis," EconomiX Working Papers 2015-18, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    17. Jeroen den Bergh & Ivan Savin, 2021. "Impact of Carbon Pricing on Low-Carbon Innovation and Deep Decarbonisation: Controversies and Path Forward," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 80(4), pages 705-715, December.
    18. Ou, Yinlin & Hsiao, Cody Yu-Ling & Chui, Chin Man, 2024. "How does the supply chain market respond to policy shocks? Evidence from solar photovoltaic sectors in China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 232(C).
    19. Liu, Jing-Yue & Zhang, Yue-Jun, 2021. "Has carbon emissions trading system promoted non-fossil energy development in China?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 302(C).
    20. Dong, Changgui & Zhou, Runmin & Li, Jiaying, 2021. "Rushing for subsidies: The impact of feed-in tariffs on solar photovoltaic capacity development in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:183:y:2023:i:c:s0301421523003671. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.