Global Externalities, Local Policies, and Firm Selection

How to fight global problems with local tools? When only firms know what externality-producing activities can be relocated, policies shape the location distribution of firm types with different social values. We find that, because of this selection effect, the optimal local policies confront firms’ mobility with elevated corrective externality prices, in contrast with the common remedies for the relocation risk. Our mechanism incentivizes also moving firms to limit the externality, and it influences strategically the distribution of moving firms that comply with policies elsewhere. The magnitude of these effects is illustrated by a quantification for the key sectors in the EU emissions trading system.

Environmental regulation and corporate tax avoidance—Evidence from China

In this study, we used a difference-in-difference (DID) approach to analyze the effect of environmental regulation on corporate tax avoidance behavior based on China’s carbon emissions trading pilot policy of 2013. Our findings were as follows: (1) Environmental regulation has led companies to adopt further tax evasion behaviors. Furthermore, the core conclusion was confirmed after a series of robust and endogenous tests, such as parallel trends and PSM-DID (propensity score matching-difference-in-difference). (2) Environmental regulations increase tax avoidance activities by reducing corporate cash flows. (3) The influence of environmental regulation on firm tax evasion is highly pronounced among non-state-owned enterprises, big-scale enterprises, and enterprises with a high degree of industry competition.

Does the Carbon Emissions Trading Policy Increase Corporate Tax Avoidance? Evidence from China

Based on the natural experiment of carbon emissions trading pilots in China, this paper investigates the effect of environmental regulation on corporate tax avoidance. The results show that: 1) Market-incentivized environmental regulation significantly increase the level of corporate tax avoidance. 2) Heterogeneity analysis shows that the effect is more obvious on the non-state-owned firms, firms with severe financing constraints, and firms in highly competitive industries. 3) We find that the reduction of cash flow is the channel for environmental regulation to affect corporate tax avoidance. 4) Further analysis shows that government subsidies can alleviate the enhancement of tax avoidance by environmental regulation. The more government subsidies a company receives, the less tax avoidance it has.

SIMULATION RESEARCH ON CARBON EMISSIONS TRADING BASED ON BLOCKCHAIN

Global warming caused by greenhouse gases is one of the problems that need to be solved urgently. Blockchain technology can achieve automatic quota certification and settlement, providing a new direction for carbon emissions trading. This paper provides a quantitative analysis of blockchain-based carbon emissions trading through the Repast simulation platform. Firstly, it designs the blockchain-based carbon emissions trading simulation framework from a macro perspective, including identity and quota certification, quota trading, risk prevention and smart contracts management. Then, it establishes a blockchain-based carbon emissions trading simulation model and formulates the behavior rules of the government, investors and company agents and market transaction processes. Finally, it simulates the carbon emissions trading based on public chain and private chain on the Repast platform, and analyzes the simulation results.

Implementing the EU Climate Law via the ‘Fit for 55’ package

ABSTRACT To implement the European Union (EU) Climate Law’s newly established 55% greenhouse gas reduction objective for 2030, the EU Commission suggests a wave of reforms to the European energy and climate legislation. The contribution aims to describe the EU Commission’s 16 initial legislative and strategic proposals regarding the major pillars of the European energy and climate legislation and intends to give an overview on the suggested reforms. By comparing the legal status quo with the legal framework de lege ferenda as presented by the Commission’s proposals, the planned major changes to the legal structures are identified. To achieve the 55% greenhouse gas reduction objective for 2030, all existing legal climate and energy acts are planned to be tightened by amending their targets as well as scopes and revising their structures. The suggested reforms concern the existing EU emissions trading system, effort sharing system between the Member States, energy taxation, energy efficiency and renewable energies. Additionally, the implementation of new instruments, such as the second EU emissions trading system for the sectors buildings and transport, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and the Social Climate Fund, is proposed. The design of the package shows that the Commission still generally pursues a climate legislation characterized by a mix of instruments and policies being both price based and regulatory. So, even though the major proposed change—the introduction of a second separate emissions trading system—would strengthen the role of carbon pricing, the Commission still relies on a mix of instruments without defining a leading instrument.

MODEL OF THE MUTUAL INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS AND ENERGY RATIONING ON TRAIN TRACTION IN RAILWAY LOGISTICS

The article deals with the issues of environmental taxation of carbon dioxide emissions by the countries of the European Union and the methodology for calculating the amount of emissions by regulatory documents of Ukraine. It is established that our country's methodology is not adapted to real operating conditions under the influence of cross-border carbon taxation and the "Emissions Trading System". A mathematical model of the impact of power generating stations of states and their contribution to the overall energy balance of the country on the environmental cost and mass emissions of 1 kWh of electricity generation is proposed. The amount of electricity losses during its transportation from the power plant to the electric moving warehouse is determined and is taken into account in the total amount of deductions for the "Emissions Trading System" for DC and AC railway networks. Schemes of transit and local cargo routes are considered on the basis of a real fleet of traction rolling stock of Railways and a network of logistics lines. The passport characteristics of locomotives are analyzed and the amount of emissions and deductions during operation at Rated mode and idle speed is determined. Specific norms for selected routes and train conditions are calculated. The total costs, their cost and the amount of emissions and taxation of selected routes are determined, and rational economic and environmental logistics lines of train traffic are determined on their basis.