Assessing the impact of environmental regulation on pollution abatement and collaborative emissions reduction: Micro-evidence from Chinese industrial enterprises

Given the rapid industrialization and urbanization of China, environmental problems have gradually become major constraints that hinder its sustainable economic development. Moreover, China's pollution abatement and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions have been severely affected by pressures coming from domestic environmental appeals and international environmental diplomacy. By using integrated data from the Chinese Industrial Enterprise and the Chinese Enterprise Environmental Survey and Reporting databases, this study constructs comprehensive indicators of pollutant discharge intensity and carbon emissions index at the enterprise level and uses the panel fixed effect model, Kaya identity, and mediation effect model to assess the effects of environmental regulations on pollution abatement and collaborative emissions reduction from the micro-perspective. Results show that these regulations can abate the pollution emissions of Chinese industrial enterprises and verify the effectiveness of environmental policies. These regulations can also efficiently reduce the carbon dioxide emissions of enterprises through pollution abatement. In other words, environmental regulations facilitate a collaborative emissions reduction of pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions from enterprises. Such collaborative emissions reduction effect is also influenced by the energy structure and consumption of enterprises. This paper presents empirical evidence and policy basis for further improving China's environmental regulation policy system and achieving coordinated progress in China's economic development and environmental governance.     

Evolutionary game analysis on firms and banks' behavioral strategies: Impact of environmental governance on interest rate setting

The pollution emission of manufacturing firms is threatening the sustainability of economy and society across the globe. AI techniques have widely applied in firm's environmental governance and have improved the environmental pollution situation. However, such application requires support and inclination of bank credit capital allocation. Based on the evolutionary game theory, the interaction and influencing factors among interest rate setting of banks and environmental governance of firms are analyzed. Taking 89 heavy-polluting listed companies of China for example, the empirical analysis is carried out to investigate the findings of game theory analysis based on data from 2012 to 2018. Research results mainly show that: environmental governance by AI of firms has a negative effect on the interest rate setting of banks. Meanwhile, the interest rate setting of banks is also constrained by the environmental information disclosure and environmental regulation. Both improving the service-oriented and constrain-oriented environmental regulations can effectively stimulate environmental governance of firms. More importantly, service-oriented environmental regulations significantly promote the interest rate setting of banks, and the environmental governance plays a suppressing role between the service-oriented environmental regulation and the interest rate setting of banks. Our results also find that improving constrain-oriented regulations is conducive to decreasing interest rate setting. The environmental governance plays an intermediary role between the constrain-oriented regulations and the interest rate setting.     

Latitudinal and longitudinal variations in the impact of air pollution on well-being in China

Air pollution has resulted in high costs of living due to additional expenditures to combat the negative health effects, and the relationship between air pollution and well-being is of burgeoning interest. In this paper, the development and life index including 42 indicators is introduced to measure much broader dimensions of well-being in China at the macro level, which helps to compare the well-being of different regions. This paper uses provincial-level panel data from 2004 to 2013 in China, to empirically analyze and compare the impact of air pollution on well-being in latitudinal and longitudinal settings, based on regression methods, such as 2SLS, LIML, GMM and IGMM. The results show that although increased air pollution negatively affects well-being in general, the magnitude of the impact differs by region. Specifically, in China's northern regions, air pollution had a significantly negative impact on well-being, while the negative impact was weaker in southern China; moreover, a strong negative impact was found in western China, while a weak negative impact was found in eastern and central China. The time effect was also found to influence air pollution. Finally, this paper found that the natural birth rate and income level served as functional mechanisms of the effect of air pollution on regional well-being. These findings are useful in guiding government policy for determining the optimal balance between air quality control for economic growth and regional well-being.     

融合拓扑信息与气象信息的空气质量预测网络

通过空气质量监测数据对正在形成或即将到来的空气污染进行预测是一项具有重要意义的工作，而空气质量监测站只能检测其周围一定范围内的空气污染情况。为了衡量整个城市的空气污染情况，获取任意时间、任意位置的空气质量信息，结合交叉注意力机制，提出了一种融合拓扑信息与气象信息的空气质量预测网络(CGMIM)。将西安市空气质量监测数据与气象数据转换为图像拼接起来，作为输入信息。在高阶非线性时空动态神经网络(MIM)的基础上引入注意力机制，并增加拓扑图编码器模块，提高模型提取能力以及对空气质量监测数据中的空间特征的利用率。最后，使用时空损失函数替代传统的均方误差损失函数，提高模型对空间关系的关注。结果表明：CGMIM网络模型能够在准确预测的同时，对位置区域合理填充，能够有效提升空气质量监测数据的空间分辨率。     

支撑京津冀区域大气污染联防联控的大气监测体系构建

京津冀区域已成为全国大气污染最严重的地区之一,并且呈现出明显的区域性污染特征,加强区域间的环境合作,实施区域联防联控是解决京津冀区域大气污染问题的有效手段。对照《生态环境监测网络建设方案》的要求,目前京津冀区域大气监测体系还存在着监测网络不健全、监测项目覆盖不全面、监测新技术应用不足、质控体系不完善、信息产品供给与公众需求有差距等问题,与京津冀区域大气污染联防联控的要求不相适应。为全面提升京津冀区域大气监测体系对区域联防联控的技术支撑能力,亟需进一步完善京津冀区域的监测网络,增设传输研究、污染监控等特殊监测点位;逐步拓展监测项目,开展颗粒物化学组分和O_3前体物监测;加快遥感监测等立体监测技术在大气监测中的应用,全面分析污染物时空分布特征与传输规律;加强空气质量预报预警能力建设,为重污染天气应对提供技术支持;规范监测事权上收后的全过程质控体系,建立颗粒物标准方法比对和O_3量值传递质控机制;构建环境监测大数据平台,加强数据分析应用与信息公开。     

京津冀及周边地区空气质量预报工作存在问题及解决对策

环境空气质量预报工作作为担负重污染预警应急和大气污染防控不可或缺的基础工作,正逐步成为环保部门核心业务之一。基于近3年京津冀及周边地区省、市环境空气质量预报工作开展现状,针对预报工作中遇到的人员短缺、能力建设进度缓慢、预报资料匮乏等现实问题,从政策制度和预报技术2方面分析原因,提出需要从制度建设着手,通过建立健全预报工作保障制度、评价制度、考核制度和培训制度,完善地区预报能力建设和预报水平,同时为全国其他区域省、市空气质量预报工作的开展提供参考与借鉴。     

Assessing the impact of emissions trading scheme on low-carbon technological innovation: Evidence from China

A global consensus on carbon emission reductions has been reached for combating climate change. The Chinese government has clearly stated that it is necessary to make full use of market means to improve the level of environmental governance. Emissions trading scheme (ETS) is a typical market means to accelerate low-carbon economic transition. Low-carbon technological innovation is one of the key factors affecting carbon emissions. However, literature on the relationship between ETS and low-carbon technological innovation is relatively scarce at present. This study assesses the effect of pilot ETSs on low-carbon technological innovation, and a difference in differences (DID) model is adopted to analyze China's provincial panel data from 2003 to 2017. The results indicate that China's pilot ETSs can significantly promote low-carbon technological innovation, and changing the window period, PSM-DID and placebo test all verify the robustness of this finding. The dynamic effect test reveals that China's pilot ETSs will gradually increase the effect on low-carbon technological innovation over time. The heterogeneity analysis shows that the effect of China's pilot ETSs on low-carbon technological innovation is more obvious in Guangdong, Hubei, Tianjin and Chongqing. The mechanism analysis suggests that marketization degree and green consumption concept can positively moderate the impact of China's pilot ETSs on low-carbon technological innovation, and industrial structure upgrading plays a positive mediating role between China's pilot ETSs and low-carbon technological innovation. This study is conducive to assessing the policy effectiveness of China's pilot ETSs and provides an empirical evidence for promoting the development of the carbon emissions trading market.     

Does the air pollution joint prevention and control policy possess the Porter effect in China -evidence from two perspectives

In order to fundamentally get rid of the plight of air pollution, China has introduced and implemented a series of joint prevention and control (AJPC) policies on air pollution. The Porter hypothesis emphasizes that environmental policies can create both environmental and economic dividends, building a win-win prospect for energy efficiency and economic growth, that is the Porter effect. However, the Porter effect of AJPC has not received the attention it deserves. Therefore, we empirically studied the short- term and long-term Porter effect of AJPC. Firstly, using the data of 283 prefecture-level cities, we studied the short-term Porter effect of AJPC by applying Propensity Score Matching Difference-in-Difference model (PSM-DID). Then, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was used to estimate the potential Porter effect of AJPC, that is, the potential economic and environmental dividends of AJPC. In addition, we also calculated regional Global Malmquist Luenberger (GML) to observe variations in total factor productivity to observe the technology change caused by AJPC. Results showed that, AJPC policy has not realized Porter effect from the short-term perspective. In the long run, AJPC has environmental dividends but no economic dividends. In other words, there is no long-term Porter effect with AJPC. The implementation of AJPC policies can increase regional total factor productivity, in which technical efficiency is improved but technological progress remains unchanged.     

Ex - post evaluation of a program to reduce critical episodes due to air pollution in southern Chile

There is enough scientific evidence that associates air pollution by particulate matter (PM) with negative impacts on health. However, one-third of the world's population uses highly polluting fuels for cooking, heating, or lighting, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Due to the above, the environmental authorities of most of the countries have established different short-, medium-, and long-term regulations to reduce this pollution. It should be noted that it is challenging to identify the real effectiveness of this type of regulation since it is necessary to determine whether the pollution was reduced exclusively by the implementation of that regulation or due to other confusing factors. To address this issue, the present study performs an ex - post evaluation of the Critical Episodes Management program that imposes restrictions on the use of firewood heaters during pre-emergency and emergency episodes to reduce air pollution in the short-term in the city of Temuco, Chile (one of the most polluted cities in Latin America). Specifically, a fixed-effects panel data regression is applied to hourly concentrations of particulate matter data, controlling by meteorological and seasonal factors. The results show that restrictions on the use of firewood heaters generate a significant reduction in PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 concentrations during pre-emergency episodes (9.2% and 17.5%) and emergency episodes (5.9% and 16.3%). Thus, it can be concluded that this program is useful, but it must be complemented by others medium- and long-term environmental programs.     

中国辐射环境监测法规标准问题分析

随着辐射环境复杂程度的不断提升,国内外良好实践和先进技术的出现,以及中国持续改善环境质量总目标的确立,中国的辐射环境监测法规标准体系面临新的挑战。通过对中国辐射环境监测法规标准进行梳理和研究,指出现有法规标准中存在的问题,提出解决问题的对策,建议加快制修订《中华人民共和国放射性污染防治法》、《环境监测管理条例》、《环境监测管理办法》以及辐射环境监测工作系列导则和相关行业标准,以保证辐射安全工作规范开展,全方位保证中国辐射环境质量提升。     

以空气质量达标管理为核心的大气污染防治工作机制选择

面对严峻的大气污染防治形势,国务院《大气污染防治行动计划》(简称国家"大气十条")明确了到2017年大气污染防治的阶段性目标。在借鉴国外有关空气质量达标管理经验的基础上,提出组织实施"大气十条",需要以空气质量持续改善为目标,围绕空气质量达标管理这条主线,完善配套的政策、法规、标准、技术以及评估、考核等一系列方法和制度体系。     

Evaluating environmental impact assessment (EIA) in the countries along the belt and road initiatives: System effectiveness and the compatibility with the Chinese EIA

BRI has a great potential to improve necessary infrastructure, regional development, connectivity, and industrialization, and promote the sustainable transformation of the countries along the routes. Despite the remarkable aims, economic growth ambition of BRI may clash with the sustainability of the ecosystem given the scales of operations in environmentally sensitive regions, and the amount of material and energy needed. Therefore, the sustainable potential and environmental stewardship of the BRI will largely depend on the standard of strategic environmental and social management, and integration between China and partner countries of respective priorities, policies, and regulations. The effectiveness and compatibility of environmental impact assessment systems (EIA) remain largely unknown, especially across the diverse ecological, social, economic and political contexts represented in countries along the BRI. We review and compare EIA systems on the contextual factors that moderate the effectiveness and compatibility with China's policy. This work helps to identify strategies to more efficiently and effectively implement BRI towards sustainable development.     

G20峰会期间杭州市大气区域输送特征研究

利用拉格朗日扩散模型评估G20峰会期间杭州市大气区域输送特征,结果表明,G20峰会开幕期间杭州市的气团来源由西南内陆转为杭州湾和东海地区,且传输速度较快,空气污染得到显著清除。保障期间污染情形下,苏北、安徽、江西等地的气团输送更强,浙北和苏南地区输送减弱。在管控情形下,浙北的PM_2.5一次排放潜在贡献降低了15%,减排管控措施有效降低了周边地区一次排放对杭州市的空气污染输送。1981—2016年G20峰会历史同期,浙江省对杭州市的气团贡献年际变化幅度为26%~85%,平均贡献为63%。     

Environmental Modeling and Methods for Estimation of the Global Health Impacts of Air Pollution

Air pollution is increasingly recognized as a significant contributor to global health outcomes. A methodological framework for evaluating the global health-related outcomes of outdoor and indoor (household) air pollution is presented and validated for the year 2005. Ambient concentrations of PM2.5 are estimated with a combination of energy and atmospheric models, with detailed representation of urban and rural spatial exposures. Populations dependent on solid fuels are established with household survey data. Health impacts for outdoor and household air pollution are independently calculated using the fractions of disease that can be attributed to ambient air pollution exposure and solid fuel use. Estimated ambient pollution concentrations indicate that more than 80% of the population exceeds the WHO Air Quality Guidelines in 2005. In addition, 3.26?billion people were found to use solid fuel for cooking in three regions of Sub Saharan Africa, South Asia and Pacific Asia in 2005. Outdoor air pollution results in 2.7?million deaths or 23?million disability adjusted life years (DALYs) while household air pollution from solid fuel use and related indoor smoke results in 2.1?million deaths or 41.6?million DALYs. The higher morbidity from household air pollution can be attributed to children below the age of 5 in Sub Saharan Africa and South Asia. The burden of disease from air pollution is found to be significant, thus indicating the importance of policy interventions.     

Analysis of spatial-temporal association and factors influencing environmental pollution incidents in China

Environmental risk refers to the possibility of environmental pollution events caused by natural causes or human activities. Environmental risks are transmitted through environmental media and can have destructive effects on human society and the natural environment. Understanding the current status and characteristics of environmental risks can effectively prevent and control environmental risks, which is essential for establishing the safety of ecological systems. Although many scholars have studied the environmental risk characteristics of different enterprises or regional scales and proposed corresponding control methods. However, the study of environmental risk characteristics in the national scale is still insufficient, which affects the accuracy of large-scale environmental impact assessment (EIA) and is not conducive to the formulation of the large-scale environmental management system. This paper attempts to use spatial statistical methods and geographically weighted regression (GWR) models to study the temporal and spatial evolution trends of environmental events in China and the spatial correlation characteristics of influencing factors and environmental events in different regions. The research results show that the focus of China's environmental risk is continuously shifting. At present, environmental pollution incidents are concentrated in the western region, and their spatial correlation with influencing factors varies from region to region. Spatial statistical analysis can help us understand the spatial characteristics of risk and identify the interrelationships of environmental risks in different areas. Therefore, spatial statistical analysis can provide a scientific basis for macro decision-making of large regional EIA and environmental risk management. In the future, it is recommended that the focus of environmental events in different regions should be different to reduce the risk of environmental events in China.     

基于空间计量模型的四川省大气污染特征及影响因素分析

四川省细颗粒物污染问题越来越受到重视,为有效识别四川省大气污染空间分布情况及影响因素,利用2015—2020年PM_2.5监测数据,综合分析了四川省大气污染时空分布特征,选取同期气象要素观测数据和社会经济数据,区分出全省及省内不同经济区大气污染的主要影响因素。结果表明:2015—2020年四川省的PM_2.5浓度逐年下降,日变化存在明显的双峰双谷趋势,且具有明显季节性特征,空间分布上具有明显的空间聚集现象;PM_2.5的排放与人口密度、经济水平和气温呈显著正相关,与城市绿化、风速呈显著负相关。该研究为经济增长方式优化、产业结构调整、绿化水平改善等提供了政策建议,可为污染防治、优化人居环境提供参考。     

Combining policy instruments for sustainable energy systems: An assessment with the GMM model

An assessment of the impact of an illustrative portfolio of policy instruments that address different sustainability concerns in the global energy system in areas of climate change, air pollution and introduction of renewable-energy resources is conducted. The effects of a policy set containing three instruments, implemented either individually or in combination, were examined. The policy instruments under examination in this work include: Cap-and-Trade policies imposing a CO₂ emission reduction target on the global energy system, a renewable portfolio standard that forces a minimum share of renewable electricity generation, and the internalisation of external costs of power generation associated with local pollution. Implementation of these policy instruments significantly changes the structure and environmental performance of the energy sector, and particularly the structure of the electric-generation sector. The positive effects are amplified when the policy instruments are simultaneously applied, illustrating the potential for synergies between these energy-policy domains. The analysis has been conducted with the multi-regional, energy-system Global MARKAL Model (GMM), a “bottom-up” partial-equilibrium model that provides a detailed representation of energy technologies and endogenizes technology learning. ^★A preliminary version of this paper has been presented at the 6th IAEE European Energy Conference on “Modelling in Energy Economics and Policy”, 1–3 September 2004, ETH Zürich, Switzerland.     

The design of long-term air quality monitoring networks in urban areas using a spatiotemporal approach

The implementation and maintenance of an air pollution monitoring program can be expensive and time consuming, especially when the aim is for long-term monitoring over a significant area. Consequently, it is essential that sites are optimized to provide the best representative cover while minimizing costs. In the past, there has been a tendency to locate sampling stations at pollution hot-spots. While this is acceptable for determining a maximum potential exposure or identifying the extent of a risk, there are limitations to this approach when assessing the potential impact of any future abatement strategies or determining the level of exposure outside the vicinity. This paper presents an approach in which representative air quality assessments can be undertaken for an urban area using the minimum number of measurement sites. A novel methodology is described that involves site selection to capture the maximum variance in measured pollutants, while minimizing spatiotemporal autocorrelation between the selected sites. A case study is presented for Yazd, Iran. Overall, the results show that the proposed methodology can be effective and enable the long-term monitoring of air pollution to be undertaken on a cost-effective basis in urban areas. In addition, there is the potential for the methodology to be utilized for other forms of pollution (e.g., water, soil, and noise).     

Efficient control of air pollution through plants, a cost-effective alternative: studies on Dalbergia sissoo Roxb

Plants can be used as both passive biomonitors and biomitigators in urban and industrial environments to indicate the environmental quality and to ameliorate pollution level in a locality. Many studies reveal that plants are negatively affected by the ambient levels of air pollutants. The present study was conducted to evaluate the impact of air pollution on comparative basis with reference to changes in photosynthetic pigments, plant height, leaves, as well as, biochemical parameters of plants of different sites around Udaipur city receiving varying levels of pollution load. The investigated tree species Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. (Family: Fabaceae) exhibited a reduction in various physiological and biochemical growth parameters that correspond with air pollution levels at different sites. The tree species growing in polluted and control areas were compared with respect to foliar dust load, leaf area, and chlorophyll and total carbohydrate and total protein concentration in the leaves. Our studies suggest that D. sissoo Roxb. can successfully be grown in an area for monitoring air pollution, where it is mild and droughts are common. It will prove as an ideal tree species to control pollution effectively beside acting as a shade tree and being a source of food for birds and animals. By plantation of D. sissoo Roxb., mitigative measure at the polluted sites to control generation of particulate matter and the air quality required can be ensured. Our results also confirm that industrial and vehicular air pollution level in Udaipur city is shifting beyond limits.     

重大活动空气质量保障预报会商机制及经验探讨

重大活动空气质量保障预报会商已经成为保障过程中的重要环节,旨在以精细化空气质量预报为环境管理部门制定高效可行的区域大气污染管控措施提供关键技术依据。预报会商机制可有效规范区域联动预报会商的开展,在多个重大活动空气质量保障中,预报会商机制已日益完善,尤其是在强化立体化监测网、开展多技术组协同作业、建立多维预报会商流程、提升多种重点污染物预报能力等方面积累了大量宝贵的实践经验。该文首次系统性探讨国内空气质量保障预报会商机制和经验,以期为今后承办重大活动的地区开展空气质量保障预报会商提供借鉴。