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As concerns around climate change and global warming intensify, extreme weather events such as heavy rain, blizzards, and smog-induced haze have greatly impacted the commuting travel mode selection of urban residents. Such behavioral shifts have in turn led to changes of the carbon emissions generated from these residents. This paper constructs a "extreme weather (W)–travel behavior (B)–carbon emissions (C)" research framework. Using a multiple logistic regression model, the transportation mode shift model, and the econometric model of urban resident's travel behavior under the influence of extreme weather conditions were constructed. The marginal effects of weather on residents' commuter behavior, through the use of transportation type and distance of travel were also obtained. The study found that the overall carbon dioxide emission levels of daily commuting has gradually decreased due to the influence of extreme weather. However, as some travelers still adopted high-emission commuting modes through the use of taxis or ride-sharing services, there was still a slight increase in CCDE levels in certain extreme weather contexts. In particular, when haze was prevalent, vehicle restriction policies only reduced CCDE by 2.18%, while the remaining 77.83% of total CCDE remaining unchanged. This research provides a key reference point for governmental departments in urban transportation management and environmental protection to formulate policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 2009 Copenhagen Accord, China agreed to slash its carbon intensity (carbon dioxide emissions/GDP) by 40% to 45% from the 2005 level by 2020. We assess whether China can achieve the target under the business-as-usual scenario by forecasting its emissions from energy consumption. Our preferred model shows that China's carbon intensity is projected to decline by only 33%. The results imply that China needs additional mitigation effort to comply with the Copenhagen commitment. The emission growth is more than triple the emission reductions that the European Union and the United States have committed to in the same period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the question of whether there is a trade-off between trade liberalization and environmental quality. Using a computable general equilibrium framework, the author examines the economic, environmental, and welfare impacts of alternative policy scenarios, including a tariff reduction scenario, a carbon tax scenario, and a combined trade and environmental reform scenario. The results of the analysis, in the case of Thailand, show that if the country were to pursue greater trade liberalization alone without a concomitant increase in pollution abatement, there is a modest but real risk that it will become more specialized in dirty activity. If the country pursued pollution abatement with out further trade liberalization, the cost in terms of growth does not appear to be significant. When environmental and trade policies are jointly considered, greater substitution away from the polluting energy inputs is observed with the cost on economic growth remaining insignificant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]