Research On Thermal Power Enterprises Environmental Costs Accounting System And Control Methods Under Low-carbon Economy

Chinese people’s living environment is severely damaged with high speed increaseof economy. Under the background of vigorously promoting low-carbon economy inChina, the enterprises who want to obtain long-term development have to face thenegative impacts on environment and take measures to minimize the pollution inproduction and operating activities. While the thermal power enterprises will releaselarge amounts of air pollutants during coal burning process. These emissions are majorityof the whole industrial emissions, which makes the thermal power enterprises on the toplist of environmental pollution monitoring and controlling industries. In order toaccommodate the requirements of low-carbon economy, the thermal power enterprisesmust enhance the investment of environmental protection facilities and R&D of theenergy saving and emission reduction techniques. All these will increase the enterprises’environmental costs. How to effectively control the environmental costs of the thermalpower enterprises is mainly depends on the accuracy of information of environmentalcosts. Therefore, researches on environmental costs of thermal power enterprises underlow-carbon economy have great theoretical and practical meanings.The purpose of this paper is to construct a set of environmental costs accountingsystem which is compatible with the current accounting standards, make detailed analysisof the composition of environmental costs, and conclude with the specific ways ofenvironmental costs control. Firstly, the contents of this paper are based on the review ofworldwide research achievements. Secondly, this paper expounds the theoretical basis ofthis research, and discusses the concept and classification of the environmental costsunder low-carbon economy and with the features of thermal power enterprisesproduction process. Thirdly, with the support of relevant theories, this paper introducesthe environmental costs accounting process from four aspects: as environmental costs identification, measurement, book keeping and information disclosure, and build up a setof environmental costs accounting system which is more suitable and complete forthermal power enterprises. Finally, this paper uses a thermal power enterprise’s relatedbusiness and events that happened in2012as an application to practice and verify thatour system is feasible and practical. Through comprehensive analysis, this paperconcludes that the environmental costs of thermal power enterprises should include thecosts of carbon emission and R&D in energy saving and emission reduction technologies.The accounting of total costs should also include the environmental costs on top of theexisting accounting system since the introduction of low-carbon economy. Due to theproduction process of thermal power enterprises and the single-feature property of theproducts, when calculating the environmental costs, overall strategic planning should betaken into considerations based on environmental costs, in combination with other typesof cost control methods, for multi-dimensional control.