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• We find a positive link between cofinancing and Chinese overseas infrastructure project outcomes. • Cofinanced projects are 3.3–7.1 percentage points less likely to be cancelled or suspended compared to non-cofinanced projects. • Projects cofinanced with recipient partners are more likely to have localized implementation. • Projects cofinanced with international partners have lower carbon emission intensity and lower biodiversity risk. • Our results underscore the importance of a collaborative approach to developing infrastructure projects in the Global South. Cofinancing from government agencies, development banks, and private actors is acknowledged as an important tool to bridge the infrastructure finance gap in developing countries, but relatively little is known about outcomes for cofinanced projects. To fill this void, we explore the role of cofinancing in shaping Chinese lending and overseas development finance for infrastructure projects in terms of implementation outcomes and environmental performance. We examine a sample of 2997 infrastructure projects committed between 2000 and 2017 that were funded by Chinese finance, among which 15 percent are cofinanced. Our study shows that cofinancing correlates with higher infrastructure project completion rates, as cofinanced projects are 3.3–7.1 percentage points less likely to be cancelled or suspended than non-cofinanced ones. We also find that cofinancing with certain partners suggests specific benefits. Cofinancing with partners from the recipient country is associated with more localized implementation, whereas cofinancing with international partners has demonstrated improved environmental performance, with a 2.7 percent lower carbon dioxide emissions intensity and a 0.42 standard deviation decrease in biodiversity risks. The results suggest that cofinancing could be an effective tool to enhance infrastructure project success and achieve greater sustainable performance in Chinese lending and overseas development finance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • We analyze interaction between China's national ETS and economic transition. • Economic transition alone will reduce emissions by 16% below baseline by 2050. • Economic transition lowers the cost of mitigation for firms under an ETS. • Increased consumption in less emissions-intensive sectors boosts economic growth. Abstract China's leaders are increasingly committed to low-carbon economic development. Although China's economy has dramatically transformed since the initiation of economic reforms in 1978, it is still structurally different from post-industrial, high-income countries, and economic reform is ongoing. At the same time, China is taking major steps towards regulating its carbon dioxide emissions. China is currently preparing to implement a national carbon dioxide emissions trading system (ETS), which will be the largest ETS in the world. Our analysis demonstrates how these major economic and emissions policies are linked in China's economy. We use a dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of China's economy to simulate the interaction between a structural transition policy and a national ETS. We demonstrate an important policy instrument – the household savings rate – for stimulating economic transition. We show that by increasing consumption in lower emissions-intensity sectors, China can sustain growth in its economy while reducing emissions and transitioning to a more OECD-like economic structure. In addition, emissions reductions from an ETS regulation can be achieved at a lower cost for regulated firms when taking into account the changing structure of the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Bis-(2-ethylhexyl) tetrabromophthalate (TBPH) is widely used as a replacement for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in commercial flame retardant mixtures such as Firemaster 550. It is also used in a commercial mixture called DP 45. Mono-(2-ethyhexyl) tetrabromophthalate (TBMEHP) is a potentially toxic metabolite. OBJECTIVES: We used in vitro and rodent in vivo models to evaluate human exposure and the potential metabolism and toxicity of TBPH. METHODS: Dust collected from homes, offices, and cars was measured for TBPH by gas chromatography followed by mass spectrometry. Pregnant rats were gavaged with TBMEHP (200 or 500 mg/kg) or corn oil on gestational days 18 and 19, and dams and fetuses were evaluated histologically for toxicity. We also assessed TBMEHP for deiodinase inhibition using rat liver microsomes and for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) Α and γ activation using murine FAO cells and NIH 3T3 L1 cells. RESULTS: TBPH concentrations in dust from office buildings (median, 410 ng/g) were higher than in main living areas in homes (median, 150 ng/g). TBPH was metabolized by purified porcine esterases to TBMEHP. Two days of TBMEHP exposure in the rat produced maternal hypothyroidism with markedly decreased serum T3 (3,3',5-triiodo-L-thyronine), maternal hepatotoxicity, and increased multinucleated germ cells (MNGs) in fetal testes without antiandrogenic effects. In vitro, TBMEHP inhibited deiodinase activity, induced adipocyte differentiation in NIH 3T3 L1 cells, and activated PPARΑ- and PPARγ-mediated gene transcription in NIH 3T3 L1 cells and FAO cells, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: TBPH a) is present in dust from indoor environments (implying human exposure) and b) can be metabolized by porcine esterases to TBMEHP, which c) elicited maternal thyrotoxic and hepatotoxic effects and d) induced MNGs in the fetal testes in a rat model. In mouse NIH 3T3 L1 preadipocyte cells, TBMEHP inhibited rat hepatic microsome deiodinase activity and was an agonist for PPARs in murine FAO and NIH 3T3 L1 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The impact of the ETS on social equity is assessed. • A dynamic CGE model with disaggregated labor and household sectors is developed. • Employment in China's coal industry will decline by 75% in 2030 in the ETS scenario. • ETS revenue will peak at 2278 billion yuan in 2042 in our scenario. • ETS revenue redistribution can reduce the Gini coefficient by 10% compared to BAU. Abstract Carbon dioxide emissions trading systems (ETS) are an important market-based mitigation strategy and have been applied in many regions. This study evaluates the potential for a national ETS in China. Using a dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model with detailed representations of economic activity, emissions, and income distribution, we examine alternative mitigation policies from now until 2050. Based on statistical and survey data, we disaggregate the labor and household sectors and simulate the impacts of ETS policies on the incomes of different household groups. We find that ETS has the potential to reconcile China's goals for sustained, inclusive, and low-carbon economic growth. Results show some key findings. First, the number of unemployed people in energy-intensive industries such as coal and construction will continue to increase; by 2050, employment in the coal industry will decline by 75%. Second, if the scope of the carbon market extends to all industries in China, carbon market revenues will continue to increase, reaching a maximum of 2278 billion yuan ($336 billion) in 2042 to become the world's largest carbon market. Third, the distribution of benefits from the national ETS can help achieve greater social equity. By comparing different distribution policies, we find that the combination of targeted subsidies for unemployed coal workers and direct household subsidies based on proportional per capita will reduce the social income gap to the greatest extent compared with other scenarios. By 2050, this distribution policy will reduce the Gini coefficient in China by 10% compared to the Business as Usual (BAU) scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If all the resources in power supply side, transmission part, and power demand side are considered together, the optimal expansion scheme from the perspective of the whole system can be achieved. In this paper, generation expansion planning and transmission expansion planning are combined into one model. Moreover, the effects of demand response in reducing peak load are taken into account in the planning model, which can cut back the generation expansion capacity and transmission expansion capacity. Existing approaches to considering demand response for planning tend to overestimate the impacts of demand response on peak load reduction. These approaches usually focus on power reduction at the moment of peak load without considering the situations in which load demand at another moment may unexpectedly become the new peak load due to demand response. These situations are analyzed in this paper. Accordingly, a novel approach to incorporating demand response in a planning model is proposed. A modified unit commitment model with demand response is utilized. The planning model is thereby a bi-level model with interactions between generation-transmission expansion planning and operation simulation to reflect the actual effects of demand response and find the reasonably optimal planning result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep decarbonization pathways (DDPs) can be cost-effective for carbon mitigation, but they also have environmental co-benefits and economic impacts that cannot be ignored. Despite many empirical studies on the co-benefits of NDCs at the national or sectoral level, there is lack of integrated assessment on DDPs for their energy, economic, and environmental impact. This is due to the limitations of bottom-up and top-down models when used alone. This paper aims to fill this gap and link the bottom-up MAPLE model with a top-down CGE model to evaluate China's DDPs' comprehensive impacts. First, results show that carbon dioxide emissions can be observed to peak in or before 2030, and non-fossil energy consumption in 2030 is around 27%, which is well above the NDC target of 20%. Second, significant environmental co-benefits can be expected: 7.1 million tons of SO 2 , 3.96 million tons of NO x , and 1.02 million tons of PM 2.5 will be reduced in the DDP scenario compared to the reference scenario. The health co-benefits demonstrated with the model-linking approach is around 678 billion RMB, and we observe that the linked model results are more in accordance with the conclusions of existing studies. Third, after linking, we find the real GDP loss from deep decarbonization is reduced from 0.92% to 0.54% in 2030. If the environmental co-benefits are considered, the GDP loss is further offset by 0.39%. The primary innovation of this study is to give a full picture of DDPs' impact, considering both environmental co-benefits and economic losses. We aim to provide positive evidence that developing countries can achieve targets higher than stated in the NDCs through DDP efforts, which will have clear environmental co-benefits to offset the economic losses. • We perform an integrated analysis of energy systems, the economy, and environmental impacts of China's DDP efforts. • Soft-linking of a bottom-up and a top-down model is a methodological improvement on co-benefit analyses. • China's DDPs have positive environmental co-benefits of around 678 billion RMB in 2030. • Taking environmental co-benefits into account reduces estimated GDP loss from DDP from 0.45% to 0.15%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]