Quality Control for Environmental Policy Appraisal Tools: An Empirical Investigation of Relations Between Quality,Quality Control and Effectiveness

The spectre of regulatory reform carried out in a range of Western countries has generated concern amongst parts of the environmental policy community. Quality and effectiveness are said to be at stake, but empirically there is a dearth of data on the relationship between provisions for quality control and the effects on quality and effectiveness. This research addresses this lacuna by analysing the effects of different quality control provisions in the Netherlands and Denmark for a globally institutionalized environmental appraisal tool—Environmental Assessment (EA). Extensive technical provisions for quality control in the Netherlands have led to it being described as the ‘Rolls Royce’ of EA systems, while in Denmark the polity is expected to take charge of quality control. The effects of quality control are investigated through surveys and in-depth interviews with actors centrally engaged with EA implementation. The results show that quality control provisions are poorly related to the perceived quality and effectiveness of EA. Only the appropriateness of the scope of EA reports is perceived to be strongly related to quality control provisions. The findings are relevant for environmental policy communities concerned with quality control systems and effectiveness of policy appraisal tools and policy-makers contemplating regulatory reforms.     

Coalition of injustice? Bodies,business, and the biosphere in struggles against unwanted land uses

Scholars of environmental injustice have pushed to see beyond the spatial distribution of environmental harms in studies of unwanted land uses. Building upon this work, this article examines how the complex geographies of environmental injustice play out in a coalition to prevent the construction of a coal-fired power plant in Surry County, Virginia. While spatially dispersed coalitions of negatively affected actors can strengthen efforts to prevent the construction of an unwanted land use, they can also perpetuate the environmental injustices surrounding it. To make this argument, particular attention is paid to the diverse reasons and ways differentially situated actors oppose an unwanted land use. It is demonstrated how the disparate concerns and differential tactics deployed by actors in coalitions against unwanted land uses are often embedded in and potentially contribute to longer histories of social injustice.     

A radical public administration? Green radicalism and policy influence among local environmental officials in Sweden

Green radicalism among local environmental officials in Sweden is examined with the aims of theoretically elaborating on different dimensions of Green radicalism in the context of public administration, exploring the dimensionality of Green radicalism among officials, and examining the extent to which Green radicalism is associated with policy influence. Three types of Green radicalism are identified: Green ethics, Green institutional change, and Green activism. Survey data (N = 701) show that the three theoretical dimensions are present among officials, and that there is no negative association between radicalism and influence. It is primarily officials with Green activism beliefs who perceive themselves as able to influence policy. These findings suggest a need for more nuanced understanding of and further studies into the role of public administration in the quest for more radical Green reforms.     

企业环境寻求、污染密集型生产区际转移与环境监管

在当前强调产业结构调整的政策背景下,产业有序转移必须以有利于或者加强环境保护为基本目标。环境规制差异造成了不同经济地域之间污染密集型生产的比较优势调整,强化了高污染产业进行生产区位选择的动机,以规避来自政府的环境监管。环境治理成本的不同是高污染企业区际转移的重要驱动因素,企业环境寻求策略推动了污染密集型生产由环境规制强度高的地区向环境规制松弛地区的转移。企业污染密集型生产的区际转移受到环境要素产品生产比较优势的明显影响,这些环境要素产品与区际环境规制差异、企业市场内部化战略以及污染密集型产品的生命周期密切关联。借鉴一般均衡分析框架,可以明晰企业环境寻求策略下污染密集型生产转移的内在机制。一方面,环境成本差异决定了非环境友好产品生产转移的意愿,高强度的环境规制使得企业生产的边际环境治理成本和平均环境治理成本提高,污染密集型生产外迁的动力加强,生产效率高的企业对环境规制强度更加敏感。污染密集型生产承接地提高环境规制强度能形成对环境负面影响的有力对冲,遏制环境恶化趋势。另一方面,合理的区际环境政策差异能在产业有序转移中发挥重要作用。合理设定区际环境规制级差与碳信征信系统建设,加强分类监管与行业节能减排,建立拟承接生产项目的效率筛选机制,提高区域市场开放程度、降低产业优惠政策所形成隐性市场保护等环境监管手段是保证欠发达地区通过产业承接实现跨越式发展的关键所在。     

中国环境质量拐点:基于EKC的实证判断

促进环境质量改善是"十三五"时期实现绿色发展和最终全面建成小康社会的重要目标和任务。随着经济进入新常态和环境治理政策的强势推进,中国环境质量是否已经跨越峰值和进入持续改善的通道?本文基于环境库兹涅茨曲线这一理论工具,依据环境统计数据和国际经验事实判断中国是否到达环境库兹涅茨曲线的拐点和具备促使环境质量持续改善的经济特征。首先,应用中国各省份1998—2013年的面板数据,对人均收入水平与主要大气污染物排放的关系进行回归拟合发现,人均烟粉尘排放自1998年以来持续下降,人均二氧化硫、氮氧化物排放均在"十二五"中前期到达峰值。大部分东部省份已经越过环境库兹涅茨曲线的拐点,但环境质量改善仍然缓慢。多数中部省份处于峰值阶段,而西部省份大都处于经济增长与环境质量恶化的矛盾阶段。其次,基于污染物排放的驱动因素框架,将中国当前的经济特征与美、日、韩三国跨越环境库兹涅茨曲线拐点的经验进行比较,结论表明中国目前已基本具备了跨越环境库兹涅茨曲线拐点的经济驱动条件,但是相对滞后的城镇化进程将会导致污染物排放峰值的扁平化和波动性。以主要污染物排放在2014年的基础上削减30%—40%作为环境质量全面改善的转折点判断,中国环境质量将在2025年左右趋于全面改善。最后,为了促进环境质量全面改善,认为应该根据各地区经济发展与环境污染形势的不同,实施差别化环境治理政策。同时积极防范新一轮城镇化过程中的环境风险,进一步强化区域环境污染的协同治理。     

Economic and environmental value stream map (E2VSM) simulation for multi-product manufacturing systems

Value stream mapping (VSM) is a well-accepted tool within lean manufacturing concept which is often used for analysing and designing the flow of materials and information required to manufacture a product. However, the analysis is static and single product oriented, which fails to cope with either the variation of production plan or a multi-product environment. In addition, the environmental impact of a manufacturing system is highly associated with the dynamic consumption of energy and resources. Despite the recent integration of VSM with simulation or environmental studies (in the domain of energy efficiency), still neglected is the dynamic assessment of all the resources involved in a multi-product production environment. This paper presents a methodology for modelling multi-product manufacturing systems with dynamic material, energy and information flows with the aim to generate economic and environmental value stream maps (E²VSM). The proposed methodology is validated with an industrial case.     

福州市城市化进程与大气污染关系研究

以福州市为研究区域,选取福州市1996—2012年的时间序列数据,将大气污染物浓度作为被解释变量,城市化水平作为解释变量,分别设定二次曲线模型和三次曲线模型,通过比较PM10、SO2、NO2浓度与城市化水平的二次曲线和三次曲线模型的回归拟合效果,得出福州市大气污染与城市化水平之间的演化规律。结果表明,1996—2012年,福州市城市化水平平稳上升,城市的大气污染程度与城市化水平之间的关系并不完全符合"倒U型"的环境库兹涅茨曲线,不同的污染物类型具有不同的演化规律。PM10、SO2与城市化水平呈"倒N型"的曲线关系;NO2与城市化水平之间呈现"倒U型"曲线关系。由于研究的时间序列较短,因而研究结果可能只是真实曲线的一部分,福州市的大气污染与城市化水平之间的关系还有待进一步研究。     

甘肃典型地区电力接地网腐蚀规律与防腐对策研究

根据甘肃省地域气候、环境状况特点,选取典型变电站进行土壤理化性能测试,评价土壤的腐蚀性,并根据金属试片埋片失重法进行腐蚀速率及腐蚀性评价的验证,提出典型地区设计、施工、运营时的防腐措施。     

泥炭保护紫花苜蓿根系对柴油污染土壤修复的研究

采用盆栽试验,观察了泥炭保护根系移栽和直播2种栽培方式处理的紫花苜蓿在柴油污染土壤中的生长情况及其对土壤中柴油污染物的去除情况,探讨了利用泥炭保护根系措施清除土壤柴油污染物的可行性.结果表明,泥炭保护根系处理有利于紫花营蓿根系形态发育,能促进根系细菌和真菌的繁殖,并显著提高根区土壤柴油降解率.     

重庆市废润滑油的污染状况及改善策略的研究

针对重庆市2005年3～9月的半年时间里,仅嘉陵江主城流域内即出现四起重大油污染事故的现象,开展了对重庆市各类废润滑油年均产生量及处理现状的跟踪调研,结果表明:重庆市废润滑油的不当处理,在造成约5.5万t/a宝贵资源大量浪费的同时,还形成了对长江水系的严重污染。为推动重庆市经济的可持续发展和有效的保护环境,对目前在废油处理中存在的问题,进行了深层次原因的分析,并提出解决这些问题的有效措施:完善废油回收处理机制及体系,统一建立一个年处理能力在10万t以上的废油专业再生厂,通过废油再生的产业化实现对资源的最大化利用和对环境污染的最小化。