基于减排效应的能源类企业碳税政策的优化选择研究

Optimization Choices of Carbon Tax Policies for Energy Enterprises Based on Effects of Carbon Emissions Reduction

能源类企业是经济中能源消费和碳排放的重要主体,如何减少这类企业的碳排放量是衡量政府碳税政策有效性的重要依据。本文通过构建一个代表性能源类企业的二氧化碳减排效应模型,分析在不同的碳税政策情形下,企业生产要素投入品相对价格的变化如何影响企业的生产决策,以及由此产生的二氧化碳减排效应。分析表明:①企业的二氧化碳减排效应取决于具体碳税政策带来的替代效应、收入效应、碳税政策之间的"相互作用"效应以及生产要素投入品的需求弹性等因素;②从外部性理论来看,单独征税(或者提供补贴)能够带来较好的减排效应,是最好的碳税政策,但是本文的算例则证明:在当前环境税收体系不完善的条件下,采用征收碳税和提供补贴的复合碳税政策带来的减排效应最好,单独提供补贴的减排效应次之,单独征收碳税的减排效应不明显。基于以上分析结果,本文给出了相应的证明和解释,并提出了在当前环境税负条件下,政府选择减排效应最大化的碳税政策的具体建议。

Energy enterprises are the main energy consumer and carbon emitter in an economy. Reducing enterprises’ carbon emissions during processes of production is an important standard to evaluate the effectiveness of the government’s carbon tax policy. By establishing a model of carbon emissions reduction effect for a representative energy enterprise, this study analyzed changes in input factor price, how to affect decision of production, and resulting effects of carbon emissions reduction under different government’s carbon tax policies. Results indicate that 1） effects of energy enterprises’ carbon emissions reduction are affected by varying factors, such as substitution effect, income effect, and interaction effect of carbon tax programs, and the elasticity of input factors. 2） According to the welfare economics theory, carbon emissions are an external problem, which can be internalized by levying ＂Pigovian tax＂ （or providing subsidy） on carbon emitters, thus levying carbon tax regarded as the best policy choice to control enterprises’ carbon emissions. In order to test the effectiveness of the theory, a simulation example for the thermal power enterprise and iron steel enterprise was given to illustrate effects of carbon emissions reduction under different carbon tax programs and 10 tax rates. The best carbon tax program is levying carbon tax on high-carbon emission inputs and providing subsidies on low-carbon emission inputs as well. Providing subsidy is the second best choice. Levying a single carbon tax is the third best choice. China’s current environment tax system seems to be incomplete in many aspects. The price of high-carbon inputs or low carbon inputs was taxed by other tax items. Therefore, levying a single carbon tax on them will result in a higher price than before, and will not result in expected effects of carbon emissions reduction. The effect of carbon emissions reduction is also smaller than that of providing a single subsidy on low-carbon inputs. Therefore, the government should give a priority to former two policy programs while not levying a single carbon tax so as to achieve a better effect of carbon emissions reduction. Such an analysis enriches studies on carbon tax policy and also provides a way for governments to formulate appropriate carbon tax policies in low-carbon economy.