A panel study on the relationship between biofuels production and sustainable development

Biomass is one of the renewable energy sources on which policy makers are greatly dependent on since it is a flexible feedstock capable of conversion into electricity, transport liquid fuels and heat by chemical and biological processes on demand. Though numerous publications have examined the relationship of economic growth with renewable energy and other parameters, biomass energy has never been included in these studies. Then, this study examines the causal relationship within a multivariate panel cointegration/error correction framework which combines the cross-section and time series data while allowing for heterogeneity across different provinces. After employing panel data regression model ranging from 2003 through 2012 to examine the relationships of biofuels production with sustainable development in China, the paper concludes that the development of biofuel energy production integrated with the consideration of the improvement of income per capita, and the attraction of more capital investment, does make a significant contribution to economic growth. However, some negative side effects including the increase of greenhouse emissions and the decrease of marginal land still coexist with the economic development. Of course, the importance of these findings lies on their implications and their adoption on strategic policies.     

长江经济带新型城镇化协调性的空间差异与时空演化

从城乡、产城、区域和城镇化与资源环境协调发展4个方面建立指标体系,衡量长江经济带105个地级及以上市新型城镇化的协调性,并运用泰尔系数和探索性空间分析考察协调性的空间差异和时空演化,结果发现:长江经济带新型城镇化协调性存在明显的反地势分布和"城市圈俱乐部"特征;东、中、西部城镇化协调性差异随时间越来越明显,东部城市主要体现在非省会城市之间的差异,中部主要体现在省会城市与非省会城市的组间差异,西部主要体现在省会城市之间以及省会城市和非省会城市之间的组间差异;长江经济带新型城镇化协调性表现出正的全局空间自相关,协调性高的区域开始集聚在一起,这种趋势随时间不断增强并且空间溢出效应明显。     

长江经济带后备适宜建设用地潜力

随着中央政府将长江经济带发展提到国家区域战略的新高度,其对建设用地的需求将进一步增加。作为客观反映地区剩余或潜在建设用地对未来人口集聚、工业化和城镇化发展承载能力的指标,后备适宜建设用地潜力成为决定研究区域能否持续稳定发展的关键因素。基于此,本文根据后备适宜建设用地的计算方法和评价技术流程,测算了长江经济带后备适宜建设用地潜力,并对其空间分布特征进行了分析。结果表明:长江经济带后备适宜建设用地面积为85 672.35 km2,约占研究区总面积的4.18%,总体潜力不大,空间上呈现出长江北部高于南部,中游、下游、上游地区依次递减的分布趋势;人均后备适宜建设用地0.22亩/人,下、中、上游地区呈现出依次递减的趋势;四川盆地、两湖平原、皖北等区域的后备适宜建设用地潜力较大,长三角、大城市市辖区以及川西地区不仅后备适宜建设用地较缺乏,人均后备适宜建设用地面积也较低。     

环境规制对城市生态技术扩散效率的影响研究

生态技术扩散是长江经济带生态文明建设的必要环节,也是企业履行环保责任的有效措施。本文以长江经济带110个地级及以上城市为研究对象,采用非径向方向距离函数对城市工业企业生态技术扩散效率进行测算,分别从整体和区域异质性角度实证分析环境规制对城市工业企业生态技术扩散效率的影响及内在机理。结果表明：长江经济带城市环境规制与生态技术扩散效率存在倒“U”形关系,环境规制对生态技术扩散效率还存在多重影响路径,外商直接投资和工业集聚在影响路径中分别起着中介作用,且外商直接投资和工业集聚的链式中介显著。在异质性分析中,发现环境规制、外商直接投资、工业集聚和生态技术扩散效率之间的关系因区域位置不同而存在差异性。为此,依据研究结论及环境规制实施现状提出相应的政策建议,实现长江经济带经济永续绿色发展目标。     

长江经济带绿色城镇化效率评价及其影响因素——基于多维城镇化视角

本文引入资源和环境因素,以城镇化综合指数为期望产出,运用SBM方向性距离函数测算了2010—2020年长江经济带112个地级市（州）的绿色城镇化效率,并采用空间面板模型和地理探测器对绿色城镇化效率的影响因素进行实证分析。结果表明：长江经济带绿色城镇化效率整体水平不高,下游地区绿色城镇化效率高于上游和中游地区,资源消耗和环境污染是效率损失的主要来源;绿色城镇化效率表现出较为明显的热点—次热点—次冷点—冷点自东向西的带状分布格局,存在显著的空间正相关性。政府财政支出对绿色城镇化效率产生负向影响,外商直接投资和产业结构对提升绿色城镇化效率有显著的促进作用,且三者的影响具有地区差异性;市场力因素有利于绿色城镇化效率的提高。邻近城市间绿色城镇化效率的空间溢出效应明显,且空间溢出效应是长江经济带绿色城镇化效率空间差异的最主要因素,各因素的影响具有协同增强的作用。     

探究环境监测数据在环境执法中的应用

伴随经济发展的迅速,人们对环境越来越重视,国家也制定了相应的环境执法与保护措施,保障环境质量。在环境执法的过程中,必须严格依照环境监测的数据,从而保障信息的准确性,使环境执法策略的开展能够顺应时代发展,符合目前发展的现状。因此,环境执法中环境监测数据占据重要的位置。基于此,本文分析了环境执法中环境监测数据的应用,笔者根据自身经验提出相应的建议。     

基于模糊评判法的陕西农村公共物品供给模式选择分析

陕西一直实行"以农补工、优先发展城市、优先发展工业"的倾斜性战略政策,使得城乡在资源分配和社会事业发展等方面存在较大的差距,农村发展处于劣势地位,尤其是农村公共物品未能得到有效供给,其供给主要是采取以政府为主导的模式。研究利用陕西农村1990-2008年的时间序列统计数据,通过构建陕西农村经济发展的9个评判指标并对其分别赋予不同的隶属度,运用模糊评判法,对陕西农村公共物品供给的经济发展阶段进行了定量评判。实证研究表明,自20世纪90年代以来,陕西农村地区整体上处于经济发展的第二个阶段,即经济发展的成长阶段。因此,陕西应主要采取以政府为主导型的农村公共物品供给模式,而私人(市场)供给只能作为农村公共物品供给的少许补充。农村公共物品供给模式应根据经济发展阶段作出选择,以期实现各个时期农村公共物品供给的最优化:考虑不同地区农民的需求意愿,改革"一刀切"的供给模式;扭转农民负担部分公共物品供给成本的局面。     

三峡库区区域经济形势及其发展战略探讨

长江三峡工程是举世瞩目的大型水利水电工程,库区的经济发展问题与相关生态环境问题同样引人关注。三峡库区经济的发展不仅有利于整个长江上游地区的全面发展,而且关系到库区百万移民的生计和社会稳定的大局。基于区域经济理论,运用SWOT方法对三峡库区经济发展的现状进行了分析评价。通过库区经济发展优势、劣势、机遇和挑战因素的客观分析,结果发现,特色生态农业、沿江旅游、物流业将成为库区产业的优先发展方向,与民生相关的移民安稳致富、城乡统筹发展等政策则成为库区经济战略的重要选择。旨在进一步整合库区资源、优化产业结构、提高经济增长质量、提升整体经济实力,为库区制定具针对性的区域经济发展战略提供有益参考。
     

Effectiveness of a publicly-funded demonstration program to promote management of dryland salinity

Community and catchment-based approaches to salinity management continue to attract interest in Australia. In one such approach, Catchment Demonstration Initiative (CDI) projects were established by the Western Australian (WA) Government in 2000 for targeted investment in large-scale catchment-based demonstrations of integrated salinity management practices. The aim was to promote a process for technically-informed salinity management by landholders. This paper offers an evaluation of the effectiveness of one CDI project in the central wheatbelt of WA, covering issues including: its role in fostering adoption of salinity management options, the role of research and the technical requirements for design and implementation of on-ground works, the role of monitoring and evaluation, the identification and measurement of public and private benefits, comparison and identification of the place and value of plant-based and engineering-based options, reliance on social processes and impacts of constraints on capacity, management of governance and administration requirements and an appreciation of the value of group-based approaches.A number of factors may reduce the effectiveness of CDI-type approaches in facilitating landholder action to address salinity, many of these are socially-based. Such approaches can create considerable demands on landholders, can be expensive (because of the planning and accountability required) on the basis of dollars per hectare impacted, and can be difficult to garner ownership from all involved. An additional problem could be that few community groups would have the capacity to run such programs and disseminate the new knowledge so that the CDI-type projects can impact outside the focus catchment. In common with many publicly-funded approaches to salinity, we found that direct benefits on public assets are smaller than planned and that results from science-based requirements of monitoring and evaluation have long lead times, causing farmers to either wait for the information or act sooner and take risks based on initial results. We also found that often it is a clear outline of the process that is of most importance in decision making as opposed to the actual results. We identified limitations in regulatory processes and the capacity for local government to engage in the CDI.The opportunities that CDI-type approaches provide centre around the value of its group-based approach. We conclude that they can overcome knowledge constraints in managing salinity by fostering group-based learning, offer a structured process of trialling options so that the costs and benefits can be clearly and transparently quantified, and avoid the costly mistakes and “learning failures” of the past.     

Challenges to liberalism: The case of Australian energy policy

This paper considers liberal and nationalist economic policy approaches to the ownership and development of Australian energy resources (oil, gas, coal and uranium). In the two decades prior to 1983, Australia pursued economic policies in relation to its energy resources which could broadly be described as ‘nationalist’. Governments of the day intervened in development decisions in an effort to enhance the ‘national interest’. From 1983, along with the deregulation of the Australian economy as a whole, policy relating to energy resources was liberalised. Development of energy reserves henceforth occurred according to the dictates of the market. This paper argues that recent Australian energy policy initiatives reflect an increase in nationalist influences and a retreat from the liberalisation agenda that dominated energy policy making in the 1980s and 1990s. Three examples are discussed where policy has been influenced by a nationalist framework: (1) the domestic gas reservation policy in Western Australia; (2) Australian government efforts to promote a ‘value adding’ nuclear processing industry and (3) Australian Labor Party policy giving preferential financial incentives for gas to liquids projects. The re-emergence of nationalism in Australia is occurring either because policy makers now favour it as a path to energy security or in some cases because they believe that appeals to nationalism will generate political support.