Urban logistics two-level distribution network design under carbon tax

摘要

Various initiatives are being taken globally to curb the excessive emissions of carbon dioxide. Considering the upcoming carbon tax policy in China, a two-level urban logistics distribution network is addressed under carbon tax. A new convex MIP model, balancing logistics operation cost and carbon emission cost, is then established. The popular optimization kit, GLPK, is proposed to solve the model exactly. Subsequently, a real case is studied and results show in detail the effectiveness of the model. When carbon tax ranges from 0.01 to 0.10 RMB yuan per kg CO2eq, only by fine tuning logistics distribution network configurations without further huge capital investments, the logistics operator can achieve cost saving up to 19.4%, while carbon emission could be decreased tremendously, by around 47.8% at its most. Our contributions are three-fold. First, the model proposed reflects both economic and environmental benefits of urban logistics networks. Second, sensitive analysis is made for carbon tax's influences on logistics network design. Third, some feasible and cost-effective measures together with modest policy suggestions are put forward for industrial player and urban policy makers.