Sulfur dioxide control in China: policy evolution during the 10th and 11th Five-year Plans and lessons for the future

摘要

China's Central government established national goals to reduce sulfur dioxide (SO_2) emissions by 10% in both the 10th and 11th Five-year Plan periods, 2001-2005 and 2006-2010, respectively. But the early policies were unsuccessful at reducing emissions-emissions increased 28% during the 10th Five-year Plan. After adapting a number of policies and introducing new instruments during the 1 lth Five-year Plan, SO_2 emissions declined by 14%. We examine the evolution of these policies, their interplay with technical and institutional factors, and capture lessons from the 11th Five-year Plan to guide future pollution control programs. We find that several factors contributed to achievement of the 11 th Five-year Plan SO_2 reduction goal: (1) instrument choice, (2) political accountability, (3) emission verification, (4) political support, (5) streamlined targets, and (6) political and financial incentives. The approach integrated multiple policy instruments-market-based, command-and-control, and administrative instruments specific to the Chinese context The evolution of SO_2 reduction policies and programs has implications for further SO_2 reductions from power plants and other sources, as well as control of other atmospheric pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOX) and carbon dioxide (CO_2) in China.