Taxation on vehicle fuels: its impacts on switching to cleaner fuels

Vehicular consumption of fossil fuel contributes over 90% of air pollution in Hong Kong. A key strategy to improve Hong Kong's air quality is to discourage dirty fuels (e.g., leaded petrol and high-sulphur diesel) and to promote the use of clean fuels (e.g., low-sulphur diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)). This paper presents the empirical evidence on the effectiveness of the Government's clean fuel programs that offer tax subsidy to lower the consumption cost of such fuels. For the cases of unleaded petrol and ultra-low-sulphur diesel, lower fuel duties were offered so that the prices of these fuels were below those of leaded petrol and conventional diesel. Conventional petrol and diesel were phased out. In order to decide on the level of fuel duty concessions required to introduce LPG for taxis and bio-diesel for other vehicles, various Government-run trial programs were introduced to obtain cost estimates of using these alternative cleaner fuels. LPG using vehicles were subsequently exempted from the fuel duty in order to attract taxi and light bus operators to switch to LPG. It is apparent that the higher the subsidy, the faster is the rate at which switching to cleaner fuels takes place.     

Cooking fuel use patterns in India: 1983–2000

This study analyses the expenditure share of ‘clean’ and ‘dirty’ fuels in total cooking fuel consumption for the rural and urban households across 16 major states in India, using household level data from national sample surveys conducted during the period 1983–2000. The results show wide disparity between rural and urban households and also across states. Analysis to identify the determinants of fuel choice reveals that affordability plays a major role, while the pro-rich and pro-urban bias of kerosene supply through public distribution system also has influenced the observed variation in consumption patterns across states and over rural and urban areas. The study discusses the policies that could facilitate switch towards ‘clean’ fuels and argues that enabling policies should pay attention among other things to the gender issues and trade-offs that exist between say, local and global pollution, deforestation and resource depletion, and disease and subsidy burden.     

Energy sector reform,energy transitions and the poor in Africa

There is little systematic information about the impact of energy sector reform on all sources and methods of energy utilised or potentially utilised by the poor. It is not sufficiently known what fuels the poor use, if a larger range of fuels becomes available and affordable and if barriers to access and consumption are reduced. A detailed assessment is presented for four countries, three in Africa (Botswana, Ghana and Senegal) and for comparison one in Latin America (Honduras), of steps taken to reform the energy sector and their effect on various groups of poor households. The paper analyses the pattern of energy supply to, and use by, poor households and explores the link—or its absence—to energy policy. We investigate what works for the poor and which type of reforms and implementation are effective and lead to a transition to more efficient and clean fuels from which the poor benefit.     

Has energy conservation been an effective policy for Thailand? An input–output structural decomposition analysis from 1995 to 2010

Thailand has depended heavily on imported fossil fuels since the 1990s, which hindered the nation's economic development because it created uncertainty in the nation's fuel supply. An energy conservation policy was implemented in 1995 to require industries to reduce their energy intensity (EI) and consumption immediately. This study investigates the effectiveness of the policy between 1995 and 2010 using the hybrid input–output approach. Surprisingly, EI improvement was observed in only a few sectors, such as transportation, non-metallic, paper, and textile. An embodied energy decomposition analysis revealed that while households were the largest energy consumer in 1995, energy consumption in exports exceeded that of households in 2000, 2005 and 2010. In addition, structural decomposition analysis revealed the final demand effect was the strongest factor in determining the efficacy of energy conservation, whereas the energy efficiency effect was not an effective factor as expected for decreasing energy consumption. Policy barriers and conflicting economic plans were factors that affected the outcome of these energy policies.     

Providing cleaner energy access in Indonesia through the megaproject of kerosene conversion to LPG

In 2007 Indonesia undertook a massive energy program to convert its primary cooking fuel from kerosene to LPG in more than 50 million households. This megaproject, to be completed in late 2011, provided an improved household cooking fuel, with its associated benefits in user costs, cleanliness, convenience, and environment, and reduced the government's huge subsidy for petroleum fuels. Presented from the perspective of Pertamina, Indonesia's sole NOC, and the program implementer, this paper describes the background of the fuels situation, the planning stages, including the preparatory analytical work, targeted market surveys and tests, and the subsequent building of the financial, technical, and institutional models for carrying out the program on an expeditious schedule. It presents the project's major execution steps, results of the program to date, and the unique institutional roles of each party, including the activities and benefits for the government, Pertamina, the public, the industry, and the crucial agents in the fuel supply chains. Finally there is a retrospective policy analysis and a discussion of key factors and challenges in the execution of Indonesia's largest-ever energy initiative to provide improved cooking fuel.     

Burning wood pellets for US electricity generation? A regime switching analysis

Applying a regime switching model under the theoretic framework of real options, we inspect the optimal timing boundaries for coal and coal mixed wood pellets as two alternative fuels for a power plant in Georgia, United States. Results indicate that cofiring wood pellets with coal is generally not a commercially viable option. However, lower-level (with wood pellets < 15%) cofiring could have been feasible during the infancy period (2009–2011) when wood pellet price was declining. Sensitivity analysis shows that our conclusions are robust and the most important factors are relative prices of coal and mixed fuel. Therefore, we reject the null hypothesis that cofiring is economically feasible and suggest using policy vehicles to stimulate the bioenergy market and meet the greenhouse gas emission reduction target. In particular, a subsidy of $1.40/mmbtu to the 10% mixed fuel or a tax of $1.50/mmbtu on coal would prompt the conversions of coal-only power plants to cofiring ones, and a subsidy of $0.45/mmbtu to the 10% mixed fuel or a tax of $0.50/mmbtu on coal would maintain existing cofiring power plants in the status quo.     

Domestic use of dirty energy and its effects on human health: empirical evidence from Bhutan

Use of dirty fuels such as fuelwood, charcoal, cow dung and kerosene is common in developing countries, which adversely affects the health of people living in the dwellings, especially children and women. Using the data from a comprehensive and nationally representative Bhutan Living Standard Survey 2012, the present study examines the effects of dirty fuels on human health and household health expenditure. The result from propensity score-matching approach indicate that households using dirty fuels have a higher incidence of respiratory disease by 2.5–3% compared to households using cleaner fuels. The chances of household contracting tuberculosis are higher for households using dirty fuel in the range of 5–6%. It is also observed that the incidence of eye diseases and health expenditures among households using dirty fuels is higher. Hence the policy should focus on providing access to clean sources of energy to wider population.     

A review of low carbon fuel policies: Principles,program status and future directions

A low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) is a market-based policy that specifies declining standards for the average lifecycle fuel carbon intensity (AFCI) of transportation fuels sold in a region. This paper: (i) compares transportation fuel carbon policies in terms of their economic efficiency, fuel price impacts, greenhouse gas emission reductions, and incentives for innovation; (ii) discusses key regulatory design features of LCFS policies; and (iii) provides an update on the implementation status of LCFS policies in California, the European Union, British Columbia, and Oregon. The economics literature finds that an intensity standard implicitly taxes emissions and subsidizes output. The output subsidy results in an intensity standard being inferior to a carbon tax in a first-best world, although the inefficiency can be corrected with a properly designed consumption tax (or mitigated by a properly designed carbon tax or cap-and-trade program). In California, from 2011 to 2015 the share of alternative fuels in the regulated transportation fuels pool increased by 30%, and the reported AFCI of all alternative fuels declined 21%. LCFS credit prices have varied considerably, rising to above $100/credit in the first half of 2016. LCFS programs in other jurisdictions share many features with California's, but have distinct provisions as well.     

生物质能汽车的动力系统技术

能源和环境问题成为本世纪世界各国共同面临的两个重大问题。寻找新的"清洁代用燃料"是人类的必然选择。生物质能源是一种可作为车辆发动机燃料的新型清洁低廉的可再生能源,因此研究和开发生物质能汽车动力系统技术有利于改变我国能源消费结构、维护国家能源安全和环境保护。介绍了生物质燃料汽车动力系统技术,主要包括固体燃料裂解气化技术、气体燃料净化技术以及使用燃气式发动机技术等。为研究和开发使用生物质燃料汽车提供了一定的指导和参考信息,为其今后的深入研究提供了一定的参考。     

Changing structure of income indoor air pollution relationship in India

Bio fuels are still a major source for cooking by many households in developing countries such as India causing significant disease burden due to indoor air pollution. While household income influences the choice of fuel the policies that affect accessibility and price of fuels also have an important role in determining the fuel choice. This study analyzes the pollution–income relationship for the period 1983–2000, separately across rural and urban households in India based on unit record data on fuel consumption obtained through National Sample Surveys. While a non-monotonic relationship is observed in rural India in both the decades, in urban India a similar relationship is observed only for the initial period indicating faster transition towards ‘cleaner’ fuels mainly enabled by policies that have been pro-urban. The study also finds that the impact of household size and composition on bio fuels is more negative than for clean fuels and is increasingly negative over time possibly due to greater awareness about the ill effects of such fuels.     

Does centralized residence promote the use of cleaner cooking fuels? Evidence from rural China

The Chinese government has implemented the rural centralized residence (RCR) policy to promote rural development in 24 provinces since 2005. This study aims to estimate the effects of RCR on households' choice of clean cooking fuels by applying the instrumental variable approach on a dataset with 3685 observations in Sichuan Province. The empirical analysis showed that RCR has a significant positive effect on the choice of clean cooking fuels. We also found that RCR makes farmer households shift from using non-clean energy to clean energy for cooking by increasing both their total income and the cost of collecting and storing traditional fuels. Peer effects also motivate households to use clean cooking fuels. Further analysis indicates that an increase in the expenditure on clean energy due to RCR does not increase the farmer households' living burden, since the increase in the total income caused by RCR is much greater. Considering the accessibility and affordability of clean energy, the RCR policy could improve the standards of living among rural residents and synergistically promote energy transition in rural China.     

The use of waste derived fuels for energy supply in underdeveloped areas in south africa

The growing depositories of fine and discard coal, produced as a result of increasing beneficiation practice, as well as the problems associated with the disposal of timber and agricultural residues, have prompted an investigation of their use as briquetted and pelletized fuels for domestic application. More specifically, the viability of introducing such reconstituted fuels into areas of South Africa which have no access to electricity, and rely principally on fuelwood for energy supply, is assessed. The contribution which high calorific value reconstituted fuels could make to national energy supply is estimated at 224 peta joules (PJ) per annum, or roughly 10 per cent of total demand. This is in excess of 80 per cent of current consumption within underdeveloped areas and is equal to total fuelwood consumption. The cost of producing reconstituted fuels, at centralized facilities, is estimated for a number of processes, including coal briquetting with, and without, the addition of binding agents, extrusion of a coal/paper composite, and extrusion of wood waste. Their overall economic viability is assessed for eleven communities which are thought to cover the range of settlement patterns within the underdeveloed sector. If waste coal is made available at a price proportional to the cost of disposal and reclamation, rather than one linked to its inherent energy value, then, in most cases, the minimum ‘as delivered’ price of the waste derived fuel product is less than current energy expenditure. It is felt that the introduction of reconstituted fuels into the underdeveloped sector would be favourably met, particularly where it is seen to offer a clean burning alternative to current practice. Areas which produce high quality discard coal are identified, and its use discussed as part of a strategy for implementing a ‘waste-to-energy’ scheme. It is stressed that energy shortages in underdeveloped areas are largely the result of the existing socio-political order, and that a national energy programme should consider the introduction of reconstituted fuels as only one, short-term, way to ameliorate this situation.     

汽车替代燃料的现状分析与展望

世界能源危机与环境污染问题促使汽车行业能源体系转型,可再生、节能、环保、清洁的新型汽车替代燃料成为汽车行业的新宠.根据燃料是否可再生,将汽车替代燃料分为不可再生汽车替代燃料和可再生汽车替代燃料,并对天然气、液化石油气、醇醚类燃料、氢能源、植物油燃料、生物质裂解气燃料等汽车替代燃料与汽油、柴油等传统汽车燃料进行了分析和比较,总结了汽车替代燃料相对于传统汽车燃料的优点与缺点,并对汽车替代燃料的发展前景进行了展望.     

甲醇燃料——最具竞争力的可替代能源

从能源安全和环境问题的角度，指出用清洁燃料替代石油势在必行；分析了各种石油替代能源，指出煤制甲醇是最具竞争力的可替代能源；进一步分析了甲醇燃料的动力性能、毒性和对环境的影响，并分别比较了煤变油与煤制甲醇清洁燃料，甲醇燃料与石油燃料；最后得出的结论是：世界各国都将推行煤制甲醇燃料的技术路线，用于解决石油替代能源的问题。     

The effects of the energy price reform on households consumption in Iran

The substantial subsidizing of energy prices over the years has led to high energy consumption, inefficiencies, fiscal pressures, and environmental problems in Iran. To address the increasing socio-economic problems associated with the energy subsidies, the government embarked on an aggressive energy price reform through which energy subsidies were removed and cash handouts were given to all households in 2010. In this paper, I analyze the effectiveness of the energy price reform in Iran by estimating energy demand elasticities for households in different income groups. I apply a two-stage consumer optimization model and estimate the system of energy expenditures shares using the household budget survey data for the period 2001–2008. The results show that the overall price elasticities of demand are small, but income elasticities are close to one. The results also indicate heterogeneous responses to energy price and income changes in different income groups. Specifically, the urban households show stronger response to price changes, but rural households, particularly mid-income households, to income changes. These findings suggest that the current policy of price increases would not solely be able to reduce energy consumption and, therefore, it should be geared towards increasing energy efficiency through a series of price and non-price measures.     

我国西南地区车用替代能源发展战略的思考

评述了车用替代燃料现状,根据我国西南地区的能源分布特点,压缩天然气（CNG）,煤制甲烷和生物质注化燃料显然更适合本地区车用替代燃料,它们具有资源丰富,供给稳定,空气污染少等优点,可以充分利用本地的能源资源,在发展车用替代燃料时,政府应发挥应有作用。     

Comprehending household cooking energy choice in rural India

Energy is essential to attain the quality of life and economic prosperity in a society. In the rural areas of India, cooking dominates the aggregate consumption of energy. This energy demand is mostly met by biomass fuels, which have many associated inherent disadvantages. Hence, it is important to understand the decision making process in rural households regarding the choice of cooking fuels. For this purpose, household information using the 61st round of National Sample Survey is analyzed for the rural parts of India. The logistic regression model is used to explain the determinants of clean fuel use for cooking purposes. The study shows that number of educated females between 10 and 50 years of age, average household education index, regular salary, and monthly per capita consumption expenditure have a positive and significant impact on probability of using clean cooking fuels, whereas possessing a Below Poverty Line ration card, belonging to reserved caste categories, family size and size of farm land have a significant negative linkage.     

Household welfare implications of fossil fuel subsidy reforms in developing countries

With over 200 countries reaching an agreement with the stated aim of restricting global warming to “well below 2° C above pre-industrial levels” – the most comprehensive climate change agreement was recently signed. Though most of the hard work lies ahead, it marks an important first step for the collective global community to address climate change. Fossil fuels continue to remain one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and for many developing countries high levels fossil fuels continues to enable an overconsumption of fossil fuels. Given the sensitivity of governments to subsidy reforms, this study examines the household welfare implications of the removal of fossil fuel subsidies. It finds that while welfare implications are unambiguously positive for government the results are mixed for private households, although in an overwhelming majority of cases, the results are positive. However, even in the cases where the welfare implications are negative for private households we find that it is possible for governments to carry out the reforms in such a way as to be welfare improving to households incomes by compensating them with some of the fiscal savings gained from the subsidy reform.     

汽车节油减排措施和政策

交通运输用油是影响我国石油消费量的重要因素．汽车的节油与燃料替代对降低石油需求起着关键性的作用．也是实现经济、社会和能源安全以及过渡到低碳经济的关键。汽车节油效果取决于国家的宏观政策。提高传统汽车能源效率、鼓励替代燃料和新能源汽车开发,以及采用智能运输系统、大力发展公共交通是节油减排的有效途径。提高汽车燃料使用效率．即开发节油型汽车、降低燃料消耗、淘汰油耗较高的老旧车型、提高柴油发动机所占比例等。整合强制性燃油经济性标识、标准和财政激励措施等独立的政策形成一揽子计划．通过相互协同作用来增强效果。替代燃料和新能源是石油燃料的有效补充,应加大投入力度。其中最有前景的是天然气、液化石油气等气体燃料。混合动力、纯电动汽车可借鉴国外先进技术,实现跨越式发展。氢燃料电池汽车应加大研发力度。充分利用智能运输系统和先进的物联网系统优化交通结构和货运行程,大力发展公共交通。