Chinese Public’s Willingness to Pay for CO2 Emissions Reductions: A Case Study from Four Provinces/Cities

Abstract

Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) was used to investigate the Chinese public’s willingness to pay (WTP) for a policy to reduce CO2 emissions. Face to face interviews were conducted to collect 1,653 valid questionnaires from Beijing, Shanghai, Shandong province, and Fujian province. A model was constructed to understand the factors that influence WTP. The results indicate that the Chinese public is willing to pay CN¥201.86 annually to support the policy of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Participants from Beijing show the highest WTP, followed by participants from Fujian and Shandong, while those from Shanghai report the lowest WTP. The findings reveal that participants with higher income, higher satisfaction with their current life, and awareness of climate issues are willing to pay more for CO2 emissions reductions. In addition, those who are young, male and members of the Communist Party also indicate a higher WTP. The results imply that translating the public’s willingness to protect climate into actions should be taken into account in China’s low carbon policy. There is a need to consider the difference in degree of willingness, among different social groups, to pay for emissions reductions if the market-based mechanisms such as carbon tax were designed to facilitate emissions reductions. Citation: Duan, H.-X., Lü, Y.-L., Li, Y., 2014. Chinese public’s willingness to pay for CO2 emissions reductions: A case study from four provinces/cities. Adv. Clim. Change Res. 5(2), doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1248.2014.100.

Keywords

• climate policy
• Contingent Valuation Method (CVM)
• willingness to pay (WTP)
• CO2 emissions reductions