Economic and Poverty Impacts of a Voluntary Carbon Reduction for a Small Liberalized Developing Economy : The Case of the Philippines

This paper analyzes the economic and poverty effects of a voluntary carbon emission reduction for a small liberalized economy - the Philippines. The simulation results indicate that tariff reductions undertaken by the Philippine government between 1994 and 2005 reduced the cost of fossil fuels thereby resulting in an increase in carbon emissions. The economic cost of reducing carbon emissions by imposing a carbon tax appears minimal as the reduction in consumer prices due to tariff reductions outweigh the increase in production cost from the imposition of a carbon tax. Overall results suggest that maintaining carbon emissions relative to 1994 levels appears to be a sensible alternative for the country