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Regional carbon pricing policies focused on specific regions can be used to address local environmental problems. Using China as an example, we extend the spatial coverage of regionally designed policies to cover the entire nation and estimate the costs and benefits of these policies. Based on spatial correlation analysis, a multi-regional dynamic computable general equilibrium, and an extended response surface model with polynomial functions, we explore the co-benefits of regionally-differentiated carbon pricing policies in terms of their impacts on environmental justice and income (in)equality in China by 2060. One national and three regionally-differentiated carbon pricing policies are developed and explored based on 2005–2019 data, including spatial-cluster-level data on PM2.5 concentrations and CO2 emissions and data on average per capita GDP. Results show that the carbon pricing policies achieve China's 2030 carbon mitigation targets and contribute to the 2060 targets of carbon neutrality. However, regionally-differentiated carbon pricing policies result in greater CO2 and air pollutant reductions in their targeted regions compared with the national policy, as CO2 emissions in these regions are priced at higher levels. Regionally-differentiated carbon pricing policy, based on the historical spatial cluster level of PM2.5 concentrations, results in larger reductions in average PM2.5 concentrations in 30 provinces in 2060 compared with other policy scenarios. This policy also promotes improvements in environmental quality and justice across China, which generates additional human health benefits. Furthermore, regional carbon pricing policy has the potential to significantly narrow the income gap between regions. Regionally-differentiated carbon pricing policy designed based on the historical spatial cluster level of PM2.5 concentrations, compared with national policy, generates significant environmental and socio-economic co-benefits in the form of improved environmental justice and reduced income inequality. Regionally-differentiated carbon pricing policy also results in greater reductions in air pollution at a lower cost relative to a national policy and this will generate human health benefits. Results provide insights for other developing countries, especially those that have large disparities in regional economic development, regional income inequality, and air pollution problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The enterprise optimal plan model and comparative analysis are adopted in this paper to analyze the effects of pollution taxes, marketable emission permits, pollution standards and abatement subsidies on enterprise emission abatement, technology adoption incentives, the aggregate emission and the implement cost of the four environmental policy instruments. Conclusions are as follows: the major influences of enterprise abatement are technology adoption ability and the rigorousness of environmental policy; the major influences of the enterprise violation are the rigorousness of environmental policy and the government monitoring while independent of abatement technology adoption. From the technology adoption incentives, pollution standards with perfect compliance is higher than pollution standards with imperfect compliance which is higher than pollution taxes, pollution taxes is equal to abatement subsidies which is higher than tradable emission permit; from the control on the aggregate emission, on the possibility of technology improvements, pollution taxes, abatement subsidies and pollution standards will be the stone, however, tradable emission permit is the worst, if the enterprises maintain the current technology, pollution taxes, abatement subsidies, marketable pollution permits and pollution standards will have the same policy effects. From the enforcement cost of different environmental policy instruments, pollution taxes, abatement subsidies and pollution standards are the same, while tradable emission permit will be the lowest in enforcement cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]