China's attempts to minimize non-CO_2 emissions from coal: evidence of declining emission intensity

摘要

This paper argues that the use of coal can be reconciled with the environment. In the empirical work, three environmental pollutants are considered, using two alternative methods with two sets of Chinese data. CO_2 emissions could not be studied because of data limitations. The hypothesis that the use of coal can be reconciled with the environment through declined emission intensity is confirmed by the empirical tests. The decreases in emission intensity are driven by the application of clean coal technologies, which can be encouraged by appropriate regulations and incentives and have both environmental and economic benefits. Therefore it is critical that appropriate legal and fiscal regimes be formulated and that the development and utilization of high-efficiency and clean coal technologies be promoted. The paper also suggests that the use of coal could continue to be reconciled with concern for the environment, even while considering CO_2 emissions.