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.