The impact of import activities on CO2 emissions in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The impact of import activities on CO2 emissions in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Đề tài đạt 10 điểm Đề án Chuyên ngành Kinh tế quốc tế NEU. In the history of human development, there are two major challenges that people have to confront, which are economic development and environmental protection. Recently, the environment has become one of the biggest concerns not only for developed countries but also for developing ones due to the declining quality of the environment caused by global warming and climate change (Kasman Duman, 2015). To be more specific, environmental pollution can have a longterm impact on future generations (Clayton et al., 2016). The degradation of the environment is the result of the industrialization process and economic development. Environmental degradation is a decrease in both the quality and quantity of natural resources and is reflected in the destruction of ecosystems, the extinction of flora and fauna, and pollution. To measure the quality of the environment, one of the most frequently used indicators is the amount of CO2 emissions.

NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY -*** - MAJOR RESEARCH PAPER IN INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS Topic: The impact of import activities on CO2 emissions in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Instructure: MSc Tran Hoang Ha Name: Pham Quang Vu Student ID Number: 11207480 Major: International Economics Class: International Economics 62B Hanoi, 2023 DECLARATIONS The author of the research topic "The impact of import activities on CO2 emissions in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)" commits the result of this study is the process of studying and researching throughout one semester I assure that the data in the study is entirely based on reality, reliable, and referential These contents are objectively and honestly analyzed and processed Hanoi, April 2023 St Pham Quang Vu ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to express my sincere gratitude to MSc Tran Hoang Ha, who supervised the development of my primary research paper, for carefully reviewing my work, identifying my errors, and providing practical solutions to my problems I am deeply grateful for the guidance, support, and assistance of my professors, classmates, my friends at National Economics University and my family, who have played a crucial role in helping me refine and improve this paper Their invaluable feedback and suggestions have greatly contributed to the quality and depth of my work I understand the topic “The impact of import activities on CO2 emissions in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)” may still have some limitations and shortcomings I am eager to receive feedback from the readers and I remain committed to further refining and enhancing this research Thank you! Hanoi, April 2023 Sincerely, St Pham Quang Vu TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATIONS .1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATION .5 LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES INTRODUCTION .8 CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF CO2 EMISSIONS AND IMPORT ACTIVITIES 1.1 Theoretical framework of import activities 1.1.1 Definition of import 1.1.2 The role of imports in the economy 13 1.1.3 The factors affecting import activity 14 1.2 Theoretical framework of CO2 emissions 18 1.3 The nexus between import activities and CO2 emissions 18 1.4 Theoretical framework of The Association of Southeast Asian Nations 21 1.4.1 Definition of The Association of Southeast Asian Nations .21 1.4.2 Characteristics of The Association of Southeast Asian Nations .22 CHAPTER 2: SITUATION OF CO2 EMISSIONS AND THE EFFECT OF IMPORT ACTIVITIES ON CO2 EMISSIONS IN THE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS 23 2.1 The situation of import activities of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations 23 2.1.1 The Association of SouthEast Asian Nations Import Overview 23 2.1.2 Import market structure of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations 27 2.1.3 Opportunities and Threats of Import Activities in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations .30 2.1.4 Import policies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations 34 2.2 The environmental status and the situation of CO2 emissions of the ASEAN Nations 35 2.2.1 The environmental status in the ASEAN Nations .35 2.2.2 The situation of CO2 emissions of the ASEAN Nations 39 2.3 The effect of import activities on CO2 emissions in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations 43 2.4 Policies to adjust import activities of ASEAN nations towards reducing CO2 emissions 45 CHAPTER 3: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 48 3.1 Conclusions 48 3.1.1 Positive impacts of import activities in ASEAN .48 3.1.2 Negative impacts of import activities in ASEAN .49 3.2 Recommendations 50 REFERENCES 52 LIST OF ABBREVIATION Abbreviation Meaning ADB Asian Development Bank AEDP Alternative Energy Development Plan AFTA ASEAN Free Trade Area AKFTA ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Area ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASEAN-6 ASEAN-6 (Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand) ASEP I ASEAN Regional Environment Program ATIGA ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement C/O Certificate of original CEPT Common Effective Preferential Tariff CO2 Carbon Dioxide COP26 Conference of the Parties CPTPP Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership D/O Delivery Order EIR Equipment Interchange Receipt EU European Union FAO Food and Agriculture Organization FTA Free Trade Agreement GDP Gross Domestic Product GHG Greenhouse Gas GSO General Statistical Office of Vietnam GWP Global Warming Potential GWp Gigawatt peak IEA International Energy Agency MFN Most-favored Nation MFW International Monetary Fund MWp Megawatt-peak NBS National Bureau of Statistics NREP PV National Renewable Energy Program Photovoltaic Abbreviation Meaning RE Renewable Energy SEI Stockholm Environment Institute TFEC Total final energy consumption TIR Temporary import and re-export TPP Trans-Pacific Partnership TSP Total Suspended Particles UNEP United Nations Environment Programme VAT Value Added Tax VEPR Vietnam Institute for Economic and Policy Research WB World Bank WCO World Customs Organization WHO World Health Organization WTO World Trade Organization LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1.1: Influencing mechanisms of import on carbon emissions 19 Table 2.1: ASEAN Imports of Goods, 2010 - 2019 23 Table 2.2: ASEAN Imports of Services, 2010 - 2019 .24 Table 2.3: The share of ASEAN goods imports in ten years, 2010 to 2019 25 Table 2.4: The share of ASEAN services imports in ten years, 2010 to 2019 26 Table 2.5: ASEAN Imports of Goods by Trading Partners, 2010 - 2019 28 Table 2.6: Urban air quality in the ASEAN region 35 Table 2.7: Renewable energy targets by ASEAN country 46 Figure 1.1: Development of the Exchange rate EUR/USD 16 Figure 2.1: ASEAN Source of Imports of Goods, 2010 and 2019 .28 Figure 2.2: Top Ten Imports of Goods in ASEAN, 2010 and 2019 30 Figure 2.3: Forest area, 1990-2020 .37 Figure 2.4: Tree cover loss, 2001-2019 .38 Figure 2.5: Climate change adaptation readiness categories in eight ASEAN countries 39 Figure 2.6: CO2 emission situation of some representative ASEAN countries from 1971 to 2011 .40 Figure 2.7: CO2 emissions per capita in ASEAN, 1970–2006 41 Figure 2.8a: ASEAN electricity generation mix in 2020 42 Figure 2.8b: ASEAN GHG emissions shares in 2020 .43 Figure 2.9: The import value of Vietnam and the ASEAN-6 from 2015 to 2020 44 Figure 2.10: Global greenhouse gas emissions by sector for 2016; total at 49.4 BtCO2 .45 INTRODUCTION In the history of human development, there are two major challenges that people have to confront, which are economic development and environmental protection Recently, the environment has become one of the biggest concerns not only for developed countries but also for developing ones due to the declining quality of the environment caused by global warming and climate change (Kasman & Duman, 2015) To be more specific, environmental pollution can have a long-term impact on future generations (Clayton et al., 2016) The degradation of the environment is the result of the industrialization process and economic development Environmental degradation is a decrease in both the quality and quantity of natural resources and is reflected in the destruction of ecosystems, the extinction of flora and fauna, and pollution To measure the quality of the environment, one of the most frequently used indicators is the amount of CO2 emissions The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established in 1967, comprising 10 member countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam ASEAN is considered as one of the emerging economic centers globally In fact, ASEAN countries often have high CO2 emissions per capita, and many cities in these countries have been included in the list of cities with the highest air pollution levels worldwide, including Hanoi (Vietnam) These countries also have a high level of imports Therefore, ASEAN's global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are estimated to increase by 8% by 2040, doubling that of 2013 (Salman et al., 2019) This exacerbates environmental issues for ASEAN countries, posing challenges in seeking appropriate environmental protection solutions for these nations Although there have been numerous studies on the factors affecting CO2 emissions in countries around the world, the number of studies on this topic in Vietnam is still limited Additionally, there has been no research on the differences in the impact of imports on CO2 emissions among the ASEAN countries Therefore, to gain a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding, the author has chosen the topic: "The impact of import activities on CO2 emissions in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)" The author expects that the results of the study will serve as a useful reference for researchers studying the impact of imports on CO2 emissions and provide a basis for proposing appropriate recommendations for the reality of ASEAN countries