Sustainability of Overlapped Emission Trading and Command-And-Control CO2 Regulation for Korean Coal Power Production: A DEA-Based Cost-Benefit Analysis

Regulatory policies are indispensable to efficiently curbing anthropogenic CO 2 emissions and sustainably producing emission-intensive goods. Though previous modelling practice has studied the cost benefit of different regulatory policies, such as command-and-control (CAC) emission trading scheme (ETS), little is known about that for overlapped regulation policies. Here, we built up a Data Envelopment Analysis model study losses gains from implementation CAC ETS Korean coal-fired power plants during 2011–2015. We showed initial phase in 2012 caused sudden loss plants’ output, but was gradually eliminated 2013 2014. Upon promulgation 2015, expected increase only 0.990% output compared CAC, yet it largely failed deliver potential its first year. The contributes small share (5.567%) unrealized benefit. Nonetheless, implementing parallel tends disproportionately affect less efficient by restricting their strategies meet measures. Therefore, suggest integration can be transitory measure provides marginal welfare benefits, must fully adopted strengthened near future economically equitably mitigate emissions.