Considerations for designing a tradable permit system to control SO₂ emissions in China

Abstract

As China's economy has grown, atmospheric pollution has become a greater problem and a matter of increasing concern to policymakers at all levels of government. One of the principal pollutants has been sulfur dioxide (SO2), which is emitted in varying intensity when coal, China's most abundant fossil energy resource, is burned. Excessive SO2 emissions can cause serious health problems locally from high ambient concentrations, as well as non-health-related damages that can occur from acidification at some distance from the source of emissions.