环境污染责任保险会改变中国企业能源消费结构吗

Will Environmental Pollution Liability Insurance Change the Energy Consumption Structure of Chinese Firms?

控制化石能源消费、促进能源结构升级,是中国长期坚持的绿色发展战略。本文基于一个关于资本与能源替代的分析框架基础,分别将资本与能源替换为二次能源与化石能源,并引入环境风险成本与污染监督强度构建了一个理论模型,来刻画环境污染责任保险制度(Environmental Pollution Liability Insurance,EPLI)对企业能源消费结构的影响。①在此基础上,借助一套最新的2008一2017年全国企业税收调查数据,实证检验了EPLI制度对企业能源消费结构的影响。研究发现,EPLI制度的实施会改善企业能源消费结构。异质性分析表明,这种效应在市场化程度高的地区更明显,受企业层面因素如污染强度和负债率的影响较小,但高利润率企业的政策反应更强烈。机制分析表明,EPLI制度推动企业转变生产模式和升级技术来抵消“合规成本”,最终改善企业能源消费结构。本文从制度视角丰富了企业能源消费结构变迁理论,为政府制定污染监督政策、明确污染监督责任提供了有益启示。

Controlling fossil energy consumption and promoting the upgrading of the energy structure are a green development strategy that China has long adhered to.In recent years,changes in the carbon emissions situation have raised new requirements for the transformation of the energy structure,and rational energy consumption through such adjustment on the consumption side is considered the most effective path to higher energy efficiency and less emissions.As the main energy consumer,micro firms play a main role in adjusting their energy consumption structure,alleviating the distortion of the energy consumption structure,reducing consumption-based carbon emissions,and thus realizing“carbon compliance”.As China progresses toward its carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals,it is inevitable for the country to transform the energy consumption structure with the aim to reduce fossil energy consumption,improve energy efficiency,reduce carbon emissions,and realize the“carbon dream”.Identifying the factors that drive such transformation has become an important research proposition.Within the analytical framework of capital and energy substitution,this paper introduces the environmental risk cost and pollution regulation intensity to construct a theoretical model to portray the effect of the Environmental Pollution Liability Insurance(EPLI)on firms'energy consumption structure.On this basis,the effect is empirically examined with the latest 2008-2017 national firm taxation survey data.The result finds that the implementation of the EPLI improves firms'energy consumption structure.Heterogeneity analysis shows that this effect is more pronounced in regions with a high degree of marketization,and is less affected by firm-level factors such as pollution intensity and indebtedness,but the policy response is stronger for firms with high profit margins.Mechanism analysis shows that the EPLI promotes firms to change their production mode and upgrade their technology to offset the“compliance cost”,and ultimately improves their energy consumption structure.This paper enriches the theory about the change in firms'energy consumption structure from the institutional perspective,and provides useful insights for the government to formulate pollution regulation policy and clarify the responsibility of pollution regulation.The study makes several contributions.First,it expands the research on the micro-energy structure effects of the EPLI.Most of the existing analyses of the EPLI are based on case studies and reviews,and lack a standardized theoretical framework,which makes it impossible to clarify the possible consequences of the EPLI system theoretically.Second,micro-empirical evidence of the effect of the EPLI on upgrading the energy consumption structure is provided in the context of China's progress toward its carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals.The few previous empirical studies have mostly focused on the effect of EPLI on environmental performance or single energy efficiency.Third,this paper enriches the literature on the microeconomic consequences of EPLI.It focuses on firms,as major economic players and energy consumers,the change in whose energy consumption structure is crucial for achieving the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals.The relevant findings not only enrich the literature in the field of EPLI regimes and change to the energy structure,but also provide insights to guide firms to implement technological innovations and optimize production patterns.