SNA Based Identification of Key Factors Affecting the Implementation of Emission Trading System (ETS) in Building Sector: A Study in the Context of China

Abstract

Emission Trading System (ETS) has been promoted as a tool for providing financial and cost-effective incentives to the GHG emitters to implement emission reduction measures. The ETS has been applied in many energy-intensive industries internationally. However, its implementation in building sector appears encountering many challenges due to the unique characteristics of buildings. This study attempts to identify and analyze the key factors within the context of China. Research data are from semi-structured interviews with a selected group of ETS experts from official and academia. Fifteen representative factors have been identified from extensive content analysis and validated with experts' opinions. Among these representative factors, some are key factors playing critical and essential roles. This paper applies the Social Network Analysis (SNA) to find the key factors. Finally, it is found that there are four factors considered as the most important influence factors, including "government", "emitters", "the scattered energy consumption and carbon emission in building sector", and "decentralization of property rights in building sector". The findings from the study provide valuable reference for decision-making in promoting ETS in those developing countries such as China where carbon emission in building sector contributes considerably to environmental pollution.