Examining industrial air pollution embodied in trade
implications of a hypothetical China-UK FTA
Yuquan W. Zhang (Shanghai Jiao Tong University)
Yong Geng (Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Tongji University)
Bin Zhang (Ministry of Ecology and Environment)
Shaohua Yang (Shanghai Jiao Tong University)
David V. Izikowitz (Shanghai Jiao Tong University)
Haitao Yin
Fei Wu (TU Delft - Technology, Policy and Management, ETH Zürich)
Haishan Yu (Shanghai Jiao Tong University)
Huiwen Liu (Shanghai Jiao Tong University)
Weiduo Zhou (Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences)
More Info
expand_more
Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.
Abstract
Very few developed economies have a full free trade agreement (FTA) with China. This study employs one GTAP model and builds an extended environmental multi-region input–output model to investigate a hypothetical China-UK FTA, concerning embodied industrial emissions of SO2, PM2.5, NOX, and NH3. The economic sectors are also classified based on their embodied pollution intensity and trade advantage index under various FTA scenarios. Results show that the UK’s GDP and welfare and China’s welfare will increase, along with changes in their trade structures. Overall, this FTA brings about larger net impacts on embodied emissions of SO2 than on PM2.5, NOX and NH3, and both countries are net importers of the latter three pollutants. Key sectors such as non-metallic mineral products, chemical products, and agriculture are inclined to become less competitive and less polluting under the FTA. The inclusion of agri-food sectors exhibits slight counteracting effects in general. The findings are of policy importance as they provide insights into how best to target key sectors, seeking a balance between trade development and environmental protection.