碳排放與經濟成長脫鈎相關政策工具之探討—歐盟選樣國家為例

自1990年代以來，聯合國氣候變化綱要公約（United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC）已舉行25次締約國會議（Conference of the Parties, COPs），其中尤以第21次締約國大會（COP21），簽定《巴黎氣候協議》以減緩溫室氣體排放為目標。再者，美國於2021年重返《巴黎氣候協議》，並號召各國制定減少碳排目標；英國亦將於2021年11月舉辦第26屆聯合國氣候變化大會(COP26)，預期於2050年達到淨零排放(Net Zero Emissions ZE)與碳中和(carbon neutral)。據此，本文以歐盟的26個選樣國家為研究對象，研究期間為1995至2018年，採用追蹤資料（Panel Data）設立模型，探討經濟發展、能源消費與環境稅(費)對於二氧化碳排放的影響。實證結果發現，歐盟選樣國家符合環境顧志耐曲線 (Environmental Kuznets Curve，EKC)，能源消費與碳排放程顯著正相關，環境稅(費)對於碳排放呈負向顯著影響。據此，乃推論其政策意涵並提出相關建議，包括: 經濟發展帶來高污染排放，未來宜推動經濟永續發展並兼顧環境品質；在能源消費方面，鼓勵高汙染產業減少使用化石燃料，開發再生能源，並投資相關節能技術以改善環境；環境稅(費)方面，由於各國採取各項優惠政策，鼓勵企業投資科技改良或是發展再生能源技術等，已有效達成減排目標。本文期能依據歐盟國家所採行政策工具之相關政策意涵，提供台灣為達成減碳目標制定相關環境政策之參考。

關鍵字

環境顧志耐曲線；經濟發展；能源消費；環境稅(費) ；二氧化碳排放

並列摘要

Since the 1990s, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has held 25 Conferences of the Parties (COPs). In particular, the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) signed the Paris Climate Agreement with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, the United States officially rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement in 2021 and called on each country to set its own goals to reduce carbon emissions; the United Kingdom will also hold the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in November 2021, which is expected to reach Net Zero Emissions and carbon neutral by 2050. This paper examines the impact of economic development, energy consumption, and environmental taxes on carbon dioxide emissions for a sample of 26 countries in the European Union (EU) over the period 1995-2018 using a Panel Data model. The empirical results show that the countries in the EU sample are consistent with the Environmental Kuznets Curve, with a significant positive correlation between energy consumption and carbon emissions, and a negative significant effect of environmental taxes on carbon emissions. Based on those, we deduce the policy implications and propose suggestions, namely, in view of economic development brings high pollution emissions, it is advisable to promote sustainable economic development and environmental quality in the future; in terms of energy consumption, EU countries encourage highly polluting industries to reduce the use of fossil fuels, develop renewable energy, and invest in relevant energy-saving technologies to improve the environment; in terms of environmental taxes/fees, each country adopts various preferential policies to encourage enterprises to invest in technology improvements or develop renewable energy technologies, they have effectively achieved the goal of emission reduction. This paper is expected to provide a reference for Taiwan to formulate environmental policies to achieve carbon emission reduction targets based on the policy implications of the policy instruments adopted by EU countries.