The Belt and Road Initiative and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: seeking linkages for global environmental governance

ABSTRACT

Global environmental cooperation serves as an important part in the Chinese ideal of building a Community with a Shared Future for all Human Beings. The report of 19th CPC National Congress indicates that China is committed to proactive mitigation under the Paris Agreement and further participating in global environmental governance under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and both of which are largely integrated to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). BRI are also closely linked with South–South environmental and climate cooperation proposed by China from previous UN summits. Based on shared ideas, intersected agendas, and compatible governance approaches, BRI and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development grow increasingly relevant and they might form synergies based on increasingly interactive relations. In sum, seeking and intensifying the linkages between BRI and 2030 sustainable development goals (SDGs) could address global environmental governance deficits and enhance cooperation among nations.     

上覆水营养盐浓度对底泥氮磷释放的影响

采用校园水体底泥进行上覆水营养盐浓度对底泥释放量之间的关系研究。结果表明,在本实验条件下,上覆水水质影响底泥氮、磷的释放,尤其显著影响氮、磷的初期释放;上覆水氮、磷的浓度越小,底泥氮、磷的释放量越大;上覆水氮、磷的浓度超过一定值,会抑制底泥氮、磷的释放。     

Pressure cookers or pressure valves: Do roads lead to deforestation in China?

The effect of roads on forests is ambiguous. Many studies conclude that building and upgrading roads increases pressure on forests but some find that new and better roads may reduce the rate of deforestation. In this paper we use satellite remote sensing images of forest cover in Jiangxi Province, China, to test whether the existence and the size of roads (ranging from expressways to tertiary roads) in 1995 affected the level of forest cover in 2000 or the rate of change between 1995 and 2000. To account for road access for each of our 1 km² (“pixel”) units of forest cover we measure whether or not and what type of roads penetrate the “watershed” in which the pixel lies. These watersheds allow more plausible measures of accessibility than do traditional “crowfly” distance measures that ignore topography. To account for possible confounding we also use 12 additional covariates: geographic and climatic variables (e.g., elevation, slope, rainfall, temperature, soil properties); demographic and economic variables (e.g., local population and GDP per square kilometer); and distance variables (e.g., distance to the nearest provincial capital). Although simple univariate OLS regressions show that forest levels are lower and deforestation rates higher either when there is a road, or when there is a higher quality road, these results are not robust. Controlling for all of the covariates and also using recently developed covariate matching techniques to estimate treatment effects, we find that roads in China’s Jiangxi Province can most safely be described as having no impact on the level of forests and no impact on the rate of deforestation.     

Acciphilia on the road: An analysis of severe collisions

Introduction

Although prior studies of road traffic accidents have found between-group differences in risk, little attention has been given to the encounter between drivers involved in severe collisions.

Method

The present study empirically evaluates two different possible causes of "social accidents," which are defined as collisions between two or more drivers where some faulty social interaction might be assumed, and which are the most prevalent cause of road injuries. The analyses use merged Israeli collision records from 1983 to 2004 with data from two national censuses, thus providing an unprecedented empirical basis to study the social foundations of car accidents. The data are used to adjudicate between two alternative hypotheses: the heterogeneity hypothesis (socially different drivers tend to collide) versus the homogeneity hypothesis (socially similar drivers tend to collide).

Results

Multivariate analyses provide preliminary support for the latter hypothesis. Given an accident, there are more collisions among drivers from the same broad educational group, and the factors that influence this correlation are independent of geography. The paper thus leads to the idea that severe collisions reflect a sociological or ecological process that is akin to acciphilia.

Impact on Industry

The preliminary findings suggest that variation between drivers may be preferable to similarity, since apparently there is a greater tendency toward collisions between similar drivers.     

"The little squealer" or "the virtual guardian angel"? Young drivers' and their parents' perspective on using a driver monitoring technology and its implications for parent-young driver communication

Introduction

In-vehicle driving monitoring technologies have the potential to enable young drivers to learn from self-assessment. However, their use is largely dependent on parental involvement.

Method

A total of 79 interviews were conducted with young drivers and parents regarding this technology and its use. Most had the experience of having an in-vehicle data recorder installed in the vehicle driven by the young drivers. Parents and the young drivers expressed both appreciation as well as reservations about its potential as a means to enhance the driving safety of young drivers.

Results

A surprising finding was that some parents did not check the feedback and said they relied on the young driver to do so. Main concerns related to privacy, parent-young driver relationship, self-esteem and confidence, constructive use of the feedback data, and the limitations of the documentation that can be done by the technology.

Conclusions

Providing parents and young drivers with a support system and tools to discuss and utilize the feedback are underscored. Challenges include addressing the invasion of young drivers’ privacy and gender differences, and using the monitoring-capacity of the technology to enhance safe driving practices. Implications for programs to enhance communication and a dialogical approach between parents and young drivers are discussed.     

Random parameter models for accident prediction on two-lane undivided highways in India

Introduction

Generalized linear modeling (GLM), with the assumption of Poisson or negative binomial error structure, has been widely employed in road accident modeling. A number of explanatory variables related to traffic, road geometry, and environment that contribute to accident occurrence have been identified and accident prediction models have been proposed. The accident prediction models reported in literature largely employ the fixed parameter modeling approach, where the magnitude of influence of an explanatory variable is considered to be fixed for any observation in the population. Similar models have been proposed for Indian highways too, which include additional variables representing traffic composition. The mixed traffic on Indian highways comes with a lot of variability within, ranging from difference in vehicle types to variability in driver behavior. This could result in variability in the effect of explanatory variables on accidents across locations. Random parameter models, which can capture some of such variability, are expected to be more appropriate for the Indian situation.

Method

The present study is an attempt to employ random parameter modeling for accident prediction on two-lane undivided rural highways in India. Three years of accident history, from nearly 200 km of highway segments, is used to calibrate and validate the models.

Results

The results of the analysis suggest that the model coefficients for traffic volume, proportion of cars, motorized two-wheelers and trucks in traffic, and driveway density and horizontal and vertical curvatures are randomly distributed across locations.

Conclusions

The paper is concluded with a discussion on modeling results and the limitations of the present study.     

NdFeB磁体表面环保型Zn-Al涂层的盐雾腐蚀行为

目的 研究NdFeB磁体表面环保型Zn-Al涂层在盐雾环境中的腐蚀行为。方法 采用SEM、XRD、EDS、拉曼光谱、傅里叶变换红外光谱等对Zn-Al涂层的形貌、物相、成分结构进行分析。通过电化学曲线探究Zn-Al涂层在盐雾环境中的腐蚀机理。结果 在NdFeB磁体表面制备的环保型Zn-Al涂层的耐盐雾腐蚀时间不少于1 000 h。在盐雾腐蚀环境中,Zn-Al涂层表面逐渐被白锈覆盖,失去金属光泽,腐蚀至1 126 h时,Zn-Al涂层表面出现红色锈点,涂层微观组织呈蜂窝状结构,并出现微裂纹。腐蚀产物由Zn_(5)(OH)_(8)Cl_(2)·H_(2)O、Al_(9)SiAl_(12)(OH)_(18)(AlO_(4))(Si_(5)O_(16))Cl、Fe_(2)O_(3)和极少量的Zn、Al组成。腐蚀前期,Zn-Al涂层表面的钝化膜、硅烷膜起保护作用;随腐蚀进行,膜层破坏暴露出片状金属粉,金属粉活化,涂层发挥牺牲阳极保护作用;腐蚀后期,腐蚀介质通过涂层微裂纹穿透涂层至磁体,涂层牺牲阳极的保护作用和物理屏蔽保护作用显著减弱,直至失效。结论 环保型Zn-Al涂层可显著提高NdFeB磁体的耐中性盐雾腐蚀性能。     

SGO改性复合纳滤膜的制备及分盐性能

近年来,水资源短缺,水源污染严重,国家对水处理末端的资源化利用提出了更高的要求,分盐过程也受到越来越多的关注.纳滤膜表面通常带有电荷,可以选择性地透过不同价态的离子.基于纳滤膜表面电荷特性不同,为很好地实现盐的分离,将制备的带有磺酸基团的氧化石墨烯引入到纳滤膜材料中,采用界面聚合法,制备了SGO改性复合纳滤膜. Zeta电位分析表明所制备的复合纳滤膜表面的电荷比不添加SGO的纳滤膜更负;红外光谱分析中酯基基团特征峰的出现表明磺酸基团参与了聚合反应; SEM结构表面,膜表面出现了明显的图灵结构,在0. 2 MPa压力下,纯水通量可达45. 85 L·(m~2·h)-1,对Na2SO4截留率为98. 23%,对Na Cl截留率为24. 93%,10 h运行可以很好地实现对SO_4~(2-)、Cl~-的有效分离,可实现盐的资源化回收.     

海盐非均相反应对山东沿海大气O3浓度的影响

通过改进WRF-CMAQ模型中非均相反应模块,定量研究了2017年夏季和冬季海盐与含氮气体非均相反应对我国山东沿海地区大气O₃浓度的影响.模拟结果表明,考虑海盐气溶胶非均相反应后,山东沿海地区夏季O₃小时浓度增加了0.2×10^-9~6.6×10^-9（0.5%~15.5%）,冬季增加了0.8×10^-9~15.3×10^-9（1.7%~27.4%）,ClNO₂在夏季和冬季分别增加了100×10^-12~250×10^-12,300×10^-12~650×10^-12;夏季O₃浓度增加主要集中在山东东部,而冬季O₃的增加则覆盖了山东大部分地区,表明海盐非均相反应对冬季O₃的影响强度及范围均明显高于夏季.海盐非均相反应引起的O₃浓度增加主要发生在日间,特别是8：00~16：00.该反应对渤海及南黄海大气O₃浓度也有影响,且在这些海域生成的O₃可通过4条传输路径影响山东沿海地区,甚至可影响到济南、菏泽等山东中西部地区（距离山东东部海岸线~350km）;海洋大气中O₃的传输可造成山东东部沿海O₃浓度升高0.2×10^-9~15.3×10^-9,山东中西部O₃升高0.3×10^-9~6.2×10^-9.     

乘用车不锈钢装饰条耐蚀性能研究

采用化学分析、金相分析、盐雾试验方法研究了市场上几款车型不锈钢装饰条的化学成分、金相组织和耐蚀性能。试验结果显示,SUS430MA BA5和SUS436L耐大气腐蚀性能良好,是理想的装饰条材料,SUS430因含C量高,且不含稳定化元素Nb和Ti,耐蚀性差,不适合用做装饰条。