Contribution Assessment of Carbon Tax on the Reduction of Freight Corridor Carbon Emissions through Modal Shift

Abstract

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are continuously increasing from the transportation sector, particularly the freight sub-sector. As such, managers and academics are gradually focusing attention on reducing CO2 emissions in freight transportation. This research aims to examine the internalization of the external cost of CO2 emissions through the application of carbon tax policies, thus encouraging the shift from a high-carbon transportation mode to a low-carbon one to reduce CO2 emissions, specifically of the Yiwu–Ningbo container freight corridor in China. Emission parameters and data on choice behavior for each transportation chain within this corridor were collected through a field survey of operators and a questionnaire survey of shippers. Thereafter, the activity–modal structure–energy intensity–emission factor (ASIF) approach was adopted to calculate the CO2 emissions of each activity of rail and road transportation chains. In addition, the discrete choice model was applied to simulate the CO2 emissions of this corridor at different levels of carbon taxation. The results show that, of the activities in this freight corridor, road transportation contributes the most to CO2 emissions. A carbon tax policy, with a rate of 200 $/ton CO2, yields a 14.20% reduction in CO2 emissions, even though the time and time fluctuation of the rail transportation chain both improve by 50%. In addition, the implementation time of a carbon reduction strategy can also affect its effectiveness, and small companies that transport heavy containers are the main targets of carbon tax policies.