A Spatial Equilibrium Problem for the European Pulp and Paper Industry Under the Emission Trading System

We propose a spatial equilibrium problem for a pulp and paper supply chain network under the Emission Trading System (ETS) and the circular economy principles. The developed closed-loop supply chain model, based on the variational inequality theory, accounts for the forest deployment and the production of paper using both virgin pulp and recyclable paper waste in an area that is subject to the ETS. In addition, it considers the exchanges of virgin pulp, paper, recyclable and not-recyclable paper waste between this regulated area and geographical zones where no environmental policies apply. The aim of this paper is to investigate the ETS impacts on the pulp and paper industries located in an environmentally regulated area in terms of operating costs, production and trading volumes of the aforementioned commodities, and emissions generated. The case study focuses on the European pulp and paper companies, which are among the energy-intensive industries deemed to be exposed to the carbon leakage risk as a consequence of the ETS application. Sensitivity analyses on the carbon price value and on the trade flexibility are conducted. Our results show that the ETS implies additional costs for the European pulp and paper companies and induces them to resort more on imports of virgin pulp and paper from not-regulated zones.

Automated summary

This study proposes a spatial equilibrium problem for a pulp and paper supply chain network under the Emission Trading System (ETS) and the circular economy principles. The developed closed-loop supply chain model considers forest deployment, production of paper, and exchanges of different paper commodities within regulated and non-regulated areas. The aim is to investigate the impacts of ETS on European pulp and paper companies in terms of costs, production, trading volumes, and emissions, with a focus on carbon leakage risk and sensitivity analyses on carbon price and trade flexibility. The results show that ETS imposes additional costs and leads to increased imports of pulp and paper.