Local air pollutant emission reduction and ancillary carbon benefits of SO2 control policies: Application of AIM/CGE model to China

While a great deal of literature has been published in recent years on the ancillary benefits of greenhouse gas mitigation (e.g., reductions in local air pollution), less attention has been focused on the climate benefits of local air pollution strategies themselves. Local air pollution is, however, a more immediate issue now faced by developing countries. This study assesses the impacts on local air pollutant emission reduction and ancillary CO2 emission reduction of SO2 control policies in China, such as a sulphur tax, SO2 total emissions control (TEC), and improvement of energy efficiency, based on the Asia-Pacific Integrated Model (AIM)/Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) country model. The simulation period is from 1997 to 2020. Major conclusions include the following: an SO2 emission cap will help to control SO2 emissions, but will result in a large GDP loss; the role of a SO2 emission tax at the present level is very limited; and an ancillary carbon reduction benefit can be achieved through the introduction of SO2 control policies in China.