Read the news articles below about Beijing’s serious air pollution problem. What
ID: 1107856 • Letter: R
Question
Read the news articles below about Beijing’s serious air pollution problem. What measures has the government adopted to deal with the problem? In the long run, do you think these measures will prove effective? Can you think of other ways to help alleviate the air pollution problem in Beijing? What makes the efficient amount of pollution nonzero? Why are there “benefits” of pollution? Incorporating what you have learned from class, please do the following
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/24/world/asia/beijing-smog-solutions/
Explanation / Answer
1. In order to combat with the problem of air pollution, Beijing government has posted upgraded the pollution emission standard for the heavy industrial firms, process of waste disposal and upgrading protocols. The municipal government of the city has taken measures such as subsidies and license plate lottery waivers for electric vehicles.
2. These policies are effective in long terms if the pollution emission standard is stricter. Any violation of regulation or inefficient performance should increase cost for the firms to make this policy effective. If strict emission standard is maintained, in the long-run, demand for the industry is likely to increase as well as pollution is likely to decrease. Therefore, industry output will increase in aggregate. Subsidies to the electric vehicles will raise this product demand and can be able to cut the demand for other energy driven vehicles.
3. Greater use of energy efficient vehicle is an effective policy for pollution reduction. Firms can be given tax break for extra reduction in emission. Tax on pollution needs to be such that marginal cost of abatement is less than the tax. Greater use of alternative energy resources in the entire economy instead of fossil fuel can reduce the air pollution. Planting more trees in the city and surrounding areas can make the air fresh as far as possible.
4. An efficient amount of pollution in the economy is always non-zero. Industrial development is necessary for the economy growth. Production of industrial product thus cannot be banned from the economy. Moreover, industrial output inevitably emits polluted particles in the air. Therefore, pollution reduction measures cannot remove air pollution completely. Demand for transport is growing with the increasing population. Therefore, even if minimum emission standard is set for the industries to combat air pollution, efficient pollution level remains non-zero.
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