Emissions Trading in Urban China

Speaker: Iza Ding

Iza DING, Ph.D. candidate, Department of Government, Harvard University

Sponsored by the China Project, Harvard Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences; co-sponsored by the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Abstract:

Emissions trading has garnered substantial attention since President Xi Jinping's White House visit last year. Yet little is known about how emissions trading pilot programs function at the local level in China. This case study traces how a locality has experimented with emissions trading over the past decade. In particular, it addresses the following questions. How did stakeholders -- specifically, regulators and firms -- understand and approach this new policy instrument? Has emissions trading achieved its objectives, such as cost reduction and changing firms' polluting behavior? Using interviews and policy documents, I present possible scenarios for the future of emissions trading in China.