A comparative study on the environmental and economic effects of a resource tax and carbon tax in China: Analysis based on the computable general equilibrium model

This paper is a comparative study on the effects of a resource tax and a carbon tax. In this paper, we use the computable general equilibrium (CGE) approach to simulate the impact of China's increasing resource tax rate policy and carbon tax policy. The strengths and weaknesses of the two policies are compared from the perspective of energy utilization, air emissions, the macro economy, government tax revenue, household income, and enterprise net profit. A carbon tax leads to a reduction of all kinds of energy consumption. A carbon tax of 1 yuan/ton of CO2 can reduce CO2 emissions by 2100 tons and significantly reduce SO2, NOx, PM2.5, and PM10 emissions. From the perspective of energy utilization, carbon emissions, and pollutant emissions, the effect of a carbon tax is significantly better than that of a resource tax. If the rate of a resource tax rises by 50%, or a carbon tax is levied at the rate of 4 yuan/ton of CO2, China's economy (on a GDP basis) will decline by 0.1%. •China's resource tax and carbon tax policy is simulated using CGE approach.•The strengths and weaknesses of the two policies are compared.•The research perspectives are energy utilization, air emissions, etc.•Carbon tax leads to a reduction of all kinds of energy consumption.•The effect of a carbon tax is significantly better than that of a resource tax.