文献类型：期刊文献

英文题名：Towards a low-carbon economy: Coping with technological bifurcations with a carbon tax

作者：Chi, Chunjie[1];Ma, Tieju[1,2];Zhu, Bing[3]

机构：[1]E China Univ Sci & Technol, Sch Business, Shanghai 200237, Peoples R China;[2]Int Inst Appl Syst Anal, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria;[3]Tsinghua Univ, Dept Chem Engn, Beijing 100084, Peoples R China

年份：2012

卷号：34

期号：6

起止页码：2081

外文期刊名：ENERGY ECONOMICS

收录：;EI(收录号：20124315605304);WOS:【SSCI(收录号:WOS:000310943800037)】；

语种：英文

外文关键词：Technological learning; Uncertainty; Optimization model; Carbon tax; Technological bifurcation

摘要：Technological learning is understood as an endogenous mechanism for the diffusion of advanced clean energy technologies. Technological learning is quite uncertain. Previous research showed that an optimization model with uncertain technological learning could generate technological bifurcations: various local optimal solutions of technology development strategies with very similar total costs but different environmental impacts. With a simplified energy system optimization model, this paper explores technological bifurcations and the effect of a carbon tax on the development and diffusion of new energy technologies. With a three-stage analysis, the main findings of this paper are (1) that technological learning, instead of its uncertainty, is an essential mechanism for technological bifurcations, and (2) a carbon tax can reduce carbon emission but not necessarily technological bifurcations. An implication from these findings is that with a carbon tax, there still could be potential for other policy interventions to reduce carbon emissions without much additional cost. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.