The impact of new natural gas pipelines on emissions and fuel consumption in China

摘要

We examine the impact of constructing a new, large scale natural gas pipeline on environmental outcomes and fuel consumption patterns in China. We use the construction of three natural gas pipelines in China, constructed at different times but operated by the same state-owned enterprise, as a quasi-experiment to estimate the impact of pipeline projects as a driver of changes in air quality. We then estimate the impact of the pipeline on firm and household energy choices providing a mechanism to explain the reductions in air pollution we find. The difference-in-differences estimates indicate that placing the pipeline into operation significantly reduced emission intensity and led to an increase in natural gas intensity and decrease in coal intensity in industrial sectors with more limited impacts on residential energy consumption. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.