Rule design and status quo evaluation on cross-industrial wastewater emissions trading in China’s typical industrial sectors

Abstract

Background: China’s industrial wastewater pollution control policy urgently needs to change from government enforcement to market economy incentive, especially in regions with mature market economic conditions and improved legislative basis like Yangtze River Delta. The economic principles of Water Emissions Trading policy are to achieve a win–win situation in which pollution could be controlled meanwhile abatement costs are minimized. Existing regulations lack rules and restrictions for cross-industrial wastewater emission trading, nevertheless not all wastewater from various industrial sectors are suitable for emissions trading with each other. This study attempted to determine tradable levels of wastewater emissions rights within the selected 10 industries based on the similarity of wastewater composition. Results: The result is presented in a tradable level matrix. It shows that of all industrial wastewater, the most suitable for emissions trading are, respectively, Textile and Paper Production, Manufacture of General Purpose Machinery and Manufacture of Transport, and then Chemistry Production and Pharmaceuticals. Conclusion: Generally, this paper provides a systematic calculation method according to the similarity analysis to formulate cross-industrial wastewater emissions trading for policy reference. At the end of the article, a rationality analysis of the domestic wastewater emissions trading pilot programs was made. Even though the current wastewater emissions trading situation is not up to expectations, individual enterprises actively achieved emission reductions to play as the supply sides in the wastewater emissions trading under economic incentive from such a policy.