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As a traditional energy and carbon intensive sector, it becomes imperative for the global paper industry to realize green development. This paper aims to provide guidance for the green transformation of global paper industry by evaluating the global paper industry green development level in a systematic and dynamic way. This paper employs text-mining method to develop paper industry green development evaluation indicator system and adopts market-extended LCA model and entropy-TOPSIS method to calculate the paper industry green development level of 48 countries/regions. The results show that during 2000–2030 the paper industry green development level of developing countries improves faster than developed countries, where those of developing and developed countries increase from 0.3369 to 0.3938 and from 0.5120 to 0.5517 respectively and the gap between them narrows from 0.1751 to 0.1579. The comparative analysis reveals that the paper industries of developed and developing countries are in different green development stages. Developing countries, represented by China, improve greatly in economic and social dimensions, but decline seriously in ecological dimension due to enlarging resource consumption and environmental damages. On the contrary, developed countries tend to saturate in economic and social dimensions and have been improving fast in ecological dimension, gradually realizing the decoupling of industrial economic development and environmental damages. To further promote the global paper industry green development, developing countries should focus on promoting the coordinated development between economic growth and environment protection and developed countries should play a leading role in the global green transformation by promoting optimal allocation of resources and cross-regional communications of green technologies. • A paper industry green development indicator system is developed based on text mining. • A global paper industry green development model is built with market-extended LCA. • Complex interactions among the indicators are internalized in the evaluation. • A spatial-temporal analysis is performed on global paper industry green development level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a traditional energy and carbon intensive sector, it becomes imperative for the global paper industry to realize green development. This paper aims to provide guidance for the green transformation of global paper industry by evaluating the global paper industry green development level in a systematic and dynamic way. This paper employs text-mining method to develop paper industry green development evaluation indicator system and adopts market-extended LCA model and entropy-TOPSIS method to calculate the paper industry green development level of 48 countries/regions. The results show that during 2000–2030 the paper industry green development level of developing countries improves faster than developed countries, where those of developing and developed countries increase from 0.3369 to 0.3938 and from 0.5120 to 0.5517 respectively and the gap between them narrows from 0.1751 to 0.1579. The comparative analysis reveals that the paper industries of developed and developing countries are in different green development stages. Developing countries, represented by China, improve greatly in economic and social dimensions, but decline seriously in ecological dimension due to enlarging resource consumption and environmental damages. On the contrary, developed countries tend to saturate in economic and social dimensions and have been improving fast in ecological dimension, gradually realizing the decoupling of industrial economic development and environmental damages. To further promote the global paper industry green development, developing countries should focus on promoting the coordinated development between economic growth and environment protection and developed countries should play a leading role in the global green transformation by promoting optimal allocation of resources and cross-regional communications of green technologies. • A paper industry green development indicator system is developed based on text mining. • A global paper industry green development model is built with market-extended LCA. • Complex interactions among the indicators are internalized in the evaluation. • A spatial-temporal analysis is performed on global paper industry green development level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the complex network of industry space, this paper investigates the industry structure optimization in Jiangxi Province in China. For the prefecture-level cities in Jiangxi Province, the location quotient is applied to obtain the specialized sub-industries. The conditional probability is used to analyze the interdependencies between industries. The complex network of industry space is presented to illustrate the relatedness among industries and analyze the space and structure of the regional overall industry. The index of transitional potential is proposed to measure the potential of a non-specialized industry which will become a specialized one in the future. The transformation difficulty index of industry is obtained to analyze the difficulty level of the transformation of the original specialized industry set to a new specialized one of a city. The results show that more industries have positive than negative interdependencies with one another in Jiangxi Province; rare industries specialize in cities at higher-level GDP, and common industries dominate the cities at lower-level GDP; it is more difficult for rarer non-specialized industries to become specialized ones, more common non-specialized industries can become specialized ones more easily, and the cities with higher GDP can transform industries more easily. By discussing the industries that have positive interdependencies with existing specialized industries, the detailed direction of industry structure optimization is analyzed. Finally, the policy implications are proposed, and these can be applied to other developing countries. • The conditional probability is used to analyze the interdependencies between industries. • The complex network of industry space is presented to illustrate the relatedness among industries. • The index of transitional potential is used to measure the potential of a non-specialized industry becoming specialized. • The transformation difficulty index is the difficulty level of the transformation of the originally specialized industry. • The industry structure can be optimized by developing the industries that have positive interdependencies with existing specialized industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty remains one of the long-term chronic dilemmas facing the sustainable development of human society during the 21st century. The spatiotemporal dynamics of poor regions, particularly in developing countries, is crucial for realizing fundamental sustainable development goals (SDGs). For decades, many scholars have sought to accurately measure, identify and alleviate poverty at different geographical scales. However, reliable data about the estimation of poverty remain scarce for developing countries, hindering efforts to accurately identify poverty. This paper utilizes the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Operational Linescan System (DMSP/OLS) sensor nighttime light imagery to identify poor counties in China from 1992 to 2013. Using 16 statistical and spatial features extracted from this nighttime light imagery and using 96 poor counties and 96 nonpoor counties from 2010 as the classification sample, we describe the spatiotemporal dynamics of poor counties based on a random forests approach. Our study finds that the number of poor counties is decreasing in a fluctuating pattern and that contiguous poverty-stricken areas are becoming fragmented. The reduction in poor counties exhibits a manner of moving horizontally from the eastern regions to the central and western parts of China, while the number of poor counties in the central and western regions has decreased around the central cities or areas. The Aihui-Tengchong Line is not the dividing line in the distribution of poor counties in China, which means that China's poor can also be found in areas with relatively high population density. Together, the findings reveal that the key to reducing regional poverty is the development of regional economies and the implementation of national macro policies. This paper provides references for formulating antipoverty strategies for each county and offers new insights into poverty estimation and regional sustainable development for other developing countries. Image 1 • A new research framework is proposed to identify poverty. • Imagery and random forests are used to classify poor counties. • Spatiotemporal dynamics of poor counties are monitored in China. • Poverty dynamics generate implication for poverty policy and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the main driving forces that influence the sustainable innovation of enterprises based on a three-dimensional framework at the organization level, individual level and system level. Using data from China's Innovation Survey, which is in line with the Community Innovation Survey（CIS）, this paper examines the behaviours and strategies of Chinese enterprises' sustainable innovation. The study finds that China's sustainable and innovative enterprises are generally large-scale, are long lasting, have good profitability and invest more in R&D and environmental protection. And the sustainable innovation of state-owned enterprises is significantly more than other enterprises. The primary purpose of enterprises engaged in sustainable innovation is to reduce environmental damage, but financial constraints are still an important obstacle for enterprises to overcome to carry out sustainable innovation. In addition, enterprises with more conservative senior executives and more political connections to government do not prefer sustainable innovation. The institutional pressure exerted by external environmental regulations and the cost constraints alleviated by government environmental protection subsidies are the key factors affecting enterprises' sustainable innovation. In conclusion, depicting the real situation of Chinese enterprises' sustainable innovation behaviour based on the survey framework and data of systematically identifying enterprises' innovation behaviour is beneficial to provide examples for developing countries related to sustainable innovation research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Backward production poses a critical global challenge, especially in developing countries. Differential Electricity Pricing (DEP) policy for energy-intensive industries aimed at countering backward productions since 2004 in China could be a promising and effective policy tool. This is a subject deserving of study, yet the policy effect is ambiguous. Hence, this paper delves into the impact of the DEP policy on backward production, specifically enterprise exiting, by utilizing differential estimations based on enterprise and urban data. Our findings consistently show that the DEP policy steadily increases the probability of energy-intensive enterprises opting to withdraw from the market, primarily driven by its effects on profits and investments. Notably, in the heterogeneity analysis, the DEP policy has more significant effects among non-state-owned, small-sized, and eastern enterprises. Furthermore, we establish a link between the DEP policy's effectiveness and local implementation, revealing that the stronger enforcement results in an enhanced DEP effect on backward production. In the further disscussion, it explores the DEP policy's repercussions on the industrial chain and cleaner production. In conclusion, valuable policy implications touching on industry, environment, overcapacity management, and enterprise exit strategies are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is actively advancing the integration of digital and real industrial economies, fostering a mutually beneficial cycle that could potentially drive new momentum for eco-friendly industrial development. The empowering effect of digital-real integration on industrial green transformation (IGT) requires urgent exploration. Based on China's industrial sector panel data from 2010 to 2020, this paper empirically investigates the relationship between digital-real integration and IGT and delves into its internal mechanism to verify the above hypothesis. Meanwhile, it analyzes the heterogeneous effects of digital-real integration on IGT, considering variations in industrial technology levels and the sources of such integration. The results demonstrate a positive impact of digital-real integration on IGT in China. The green technology and scale effects play pivotal roles in unleashing the green benefits of digital-real integration in the industrial sector. Notably, the contribution of digital-real integration to IGT varies across industrial subsectors with distinct technology levels. There is heterogeneity in the enabling effect of digital-real integration from different sources on IGT, and the integration of digital services and the real industrial economy has yet to achieve the expected green benefits. Our findings provide new scientific evidence for managers and policymakers in developing countries like China to promote industrial digitization and sustainable growth. This work informs the future discussion on digital-real integration topics from a global context. [Display omitted] • The degree of digital-real integration in China's industrial sector is estimated. • Digital-real integration significantly promotes industrial green transformation. • Digital-real integration acts as a driver through green technology and scale effects. • Digital-real integration from different sources varies in green empowerment effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comprehensive understanding of the interdependence between China's economy and carbon emissions can better serve China's transition towards a low-carbon economy, and can also provide reference for other developing countries. The purpose of this paper was to investigate the dependence of China's economy on CO 2 emissions: (i) the Tapio decoupling model was applied to quantify the decoupling elasticity between China's economy and CO 2 emissions; (ii) the structure decomposition technique was utilized to quantity the contribution of China's economic structure to the decoupling elasticity; (iii) the combined decomposition model which combined Cobb–Douglas (C-D) production function with Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) technique and was solved the residual problem was employed to identify more driving factors (labor input, investment, carbon coefficient, energy structure, energy intensity, economic structure, and technology state) affecting the decoupling elasticity. The main results were as follows: (i) The decoupling elasticity showed a downward trend during the whole period, and the decoupling state was characterized by two types: expansive negative decoupling (2002–2005) and weak decoupling (2000–2002 and 2005–2014). (ii) The industry sector played the most negative effect on the decoupling process expect 2013–2014. From the cumulative effect, the contribution of six sectors to promote decoupling effect was ranked as follows: Construction > Agriculture > Trade > Other > Transport > Industry. (iii) The most critical factor driving the increased CO 2 emissions was the investment effect, accounting for 145.34% of the cumulative total CO 2 emissions, while the energy intensity effect contributed to a cumulative reduction in CO 2 emissions of 1443.72 Mt. Finally, some policy recommendations were offered to achieve the decoupling of China's economic growth and carbon emissions. • Quantifying effects of investment on decoupling economy from emission in China. • Combining C-D function and LMDI to develop non-residual decomposition technique. • The decoupling elasticity showed a downward trend, dominated by weak decoupling state. • Industry sector played the most negative effect on the decoupling process. • The leading contributor to China's CO 2 emissions was the investment effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract As the number of scrap cars increases rapidly, the management of their reverse logistics (RL) process has become an urgent issue for decision-makers in contemporary China. The process, capable of generating profits as well as minimizing negative environmental effects, mainly includes products acquisition, collection, inspection and disposition. Although the selection of take-back patterns is an essential part in the process, it is not well addressed by existing studies. Involving numerous related factors, the evaluation and selection of the take-back patterns of scrap cars are a comprehensive problem that can be formulated as a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) problem. In this paper, we propose a complete method to solve it systematically. Three patterns quite suitable for China are presented and a novel criteria system is developed for choosing the best one. The unavoidable uncertainty in practical situation is also considered in this work. We integrate the grey method and Decision-making and Trial Evaluation Laboratory (grey DEMATEL) to determine the weights of nine criteria, and a fuzzy method and Vlse Kriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (fuzzy VIKOR) are adopted to rank the three patterns based on expert evaluations. Sensitivity analysis is also used to test and verify the robustness of the proposed method. Finally, we draw a conclusion that the Producer Responsibility Organization Take-back pattern whose main body is formed by manufacturer union organization is most suitable for China. The study results could provide a theoretical guideline for decision-makers in China as well as other developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every country must face the problem of controlling industrial pollution during industrialization. Although low-carbon development has become important to global economic development, industrial pollution remains a problem in rapidly industrializing developing countries. With China as a case study, this paper utilizes the Malmquist index based on game cross-efficiency to measure the industrial pollution mitigation performance (IPMP) in each province of China. Labor and money variables related to industrial pollution mitigation are taken as the input indexes, and the reduction rate of various industrial pollution emissions are taken as the output indexes. From the perspectives of the public and the government, this paper further explores the influencing factors on the IPMP. Considering that there may be a nonlinear relationship between the influencing factors and the IPMP, nonparametric kernel regression is employed to explore the effect by the influencing factors, and the nonparametric bivariate density estimation is used to verify the regression results. The main conclusions of this study are as follows: (1) Due to the concentration of heavy industry, the IPMP is low in northern China. In contrast, the IPMP in central and western China is relatively high. (2) Public supervision has a positive impact on the IPMP. However, the results of heterogeneity analysis show that this effect is different in eastern, central and western China. As a result, under a high degree of public supervision, the regional IPMP will be significantly improved. (3) Public concentration has a positive "U"-shaped impact on the IPMP. The heterogeneity analysis shows that eastern China also has this "U"-shaped characteristic, while the public concentration of central and western China has a positive impact on the IPMP; that is, similar to the public supervision, under a high degree of public concentration, the regional IPMP will be significantly improved. (4) In areas where the enforcement of environmental law is strict, government supervision has a positive impact on the IPMP. By contrast, in areas where environmental law enforcement is not strict, government supervision does not have a positive impact on the IPMP. (5) Due to the failures of policy design and implementation, government concentration has a negative impact on the IPMP. China is the largest developing country in the world. It is of great significance to study its IPMP and the roles of public and government, as it provides other developing countries with insights regarding the experience of industrial pollution control. • The IPMP in northern China is relatively low. • The IPMP in central and western China is relatively high. • Public power can make positive impact on the IPMP with large scale. • Government supervision and concentration fail to improve the IPMP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the causes of growing carbon transfers between developing countries is likely to be the first step in their mitigation. With this in mind, the current paper uses multi-regional input-output analysis to investigate CO 2 emissions and value-added embodied in China-Brazil trade. We propose the use of value-added exports, rather than gross exports, to more accurately estimate the economic benefits of trade. We find enormous increases in both CO 2 emissions and value-added embodied in exports for China and Brazil between 2000 and 2014. During this period, China's position as a net CO 2 emissions and net value-added exporter vis-à-vis Brazil deepens. Major sources of increasing embodied CO 2 exports for China were the basic materials and electricity industries and for Brazil were the basic materials, agriculture and mining industries. Estimates of net carbon intensities reveal advantages for China in electronics and for Brazil in agriculture and mining. Structural decomposition analysis shows that the changing consumption in China and Brazil as well as the changing structure of intermediate exports from China to Brazil were important sources of increasing embodied CO 2 emissions. This latter finding was possible due to the method proposed in this paper of decomposing the production structure into the domestic, export and import production structures. In line with the key findings, various implications and emission abatement policies are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of a carbon trading pilot policy on the low-carbon international competitiveness of an industry to test whether creating a carbon market causes the Porter effect. Using a sample of 33 industries in 30 provinces in China from 2009 to 2016 with a difference-in-difference-in-difference model (DDD) and a series of robustness tests, we find evidence of a significant positive influence of a carbon trading pilot policy on the low-carbon international competitiveness of industries covered by the pilot programs. Research on its influencing mechanism reveals that a carbon trading pilot policy promotes the low-carbon international competitiveness of industries by driving low-carbon technological progress. Furthermore, a heterogeneity analysis of industry characteristics and carbon allowance allocation methods in different pilots indicates that the impact of a carbon trading pilot policy on industry low-carbon international competitiveness is reflected mainly in industries with low-carbon emissions, high state-owned capital, and high export intensity. Compared with the grandfather method and the historical intensity method, the low-carbon international competitiveness of an industry is significantly increased when the benchmarking method is used. The results of this paper offer important insights for improving the policy design of a nationwide carbon market, as well as a reference point for other countries and regions, especially developing countries, in establishing a carbon trading market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, agents for sludge dewatering have received extensive attention both from fundamental and applied research. Papers in the field of sludge dewatering agents are mainly concerned with the synthesis and characterization of agents as well as their interaction mechanisms with sludge. On the other hand, patents, which are characteristically different than papers, involve the invention and application of sludge dewatering agents. However, these researches rarely use bibliometric technology and social network analysis to provide a better understanding of the fundamental and applied researches in this specific field. This paper presents a quantitative analysis based on a total of 338 (out of 1126) core papers from Web of Science Expanded and 961 (out of 4678) core patents from Derwent Innovation to provide valuable suggestions that may promote further development in the field of sludge dewatering agents. The core point of this paper is to explore the relationship between fundamental research and applied research in the field of sludge dewatering agents through citation, characteristics of different countries/regions, collaborations of research area and organizations. Our results underline that highly cited papers support applied research by citating information among them. With respect to countries, Japan paid more attention to applied research, whereas the USA performed well both in fundamental research and applied research. China has high quantity in both papers and patents in agents for sludge dewatering. However, the papers per capita of population of China is low and the pattern still needs to optimized to improve the quality in this field. The unique development path revealed that developing countries still have a long way to go in terms of technology innovation. In addition, collaboration network of research areas has shown strong cooperation among applied researches, however they lack connection with fundamental sciences, such as physics or chemistry. Furthermore, collaboration network of organizations disclosed the necessity for upstream enterprises (agent producers) to work closely with downstream enterprises (agent users) in the sludge dewatering. Image 1 • A bibliometric analysis on agents for sludge dewatering was conducted. • Highly cited papers support applied research. • Japan is application-oriented and USA performed well in both fundamental research and applied research. • Developing countries still need to optimize their pattern or promote technology innovation. • Interdisciplinary collaboration covering the lifecycle of industrial chain is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition to creating value and jobs, the construction industry uses a considerable amount of resources with severe consequences for the environment. Therefore, its implications should be reduced, especially since this industry has opportunity to reduce economic, environmental and social impacts. Once mitigating impacts is such an important matter for the construction industry, a systematic review of the literature has been run in order to investigate studies on the quantitative methodologies of sustainability in construction. This paper presents a review of over 2,600 papers on the topic. Mixed methods were applied for bibliometry, with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis methodology to conduct a quantitative bibliometric search and subsequently assess the articles included using qualitative methods. These studies were subdivided into three groups: sustainability in construction, environmental aspects, and others. VOSviewer software was used in the quantitative analysis of documents, institutions and the most referenced journals. The results demonstrated that the first articles related to the topic of sustainability in construction were published in 1993 and that among the studies found in Web of Science only 2.54% used quantitative methodologies to assess the sustainability of the construction industry. • Quantitative sustainability assessment methods accounted for 2.54% of the total. • Few assessment methods have been developed for single-family dwellings. • The disproportionality of articles specific to environmental aspects. • Subjectivity in the assessments of environmental aspects of buildings. • Few articles from institutions in developing countries except for China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automotive industries have attracted attention from international sectors recently. This attention to the industry results in many innovative technologies being integrated in these manufacturing arenas. In developing countries such as the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries, especially China who is a global leader in automotive sales and production, researchers see substantial attempts to increase economic and societal values in automotive sectors through the use of many sustainable strategies. Among these sustainable strategies, remanufacturing has witnessed much debate in recent years. In China, automotive parts remanufacturing is still in a nascent stage, but the country is striving hard to implement a strategy in industries to result in cleaner production. Additionally, remanufacturing yields high financial, societal, and environmental returns, and it provides advantages such as reducing costs (compared to virgin products), an increase in jobs, and the conservation of scare resources. Some earlier studies examined Chinese remanufacturing issues but they only focused on modeling concepts, without considering significant barriers. To bridge this gap, this paper analyzes internal barriers met by automotive parts remanufacturers and evaluates causal barriers by a proposed model framework. This objective is illustrated by employing the Grey Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) approach. By virtue of these findings, remanufacturers can eradicate major internal barriers and can increase the chances of practicing more productive remanufacturing in the Chinese automotive environments. This study extends the scope of this problem through varied applications of different techniques such as a fuzzy approach, matrix laboratory, and operations research tools by diversifying and including additional barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water, energy, and food (WEF) are pivotal resources for the sustainable development of human society. Integrated assessment of the sustainable WEF nexus is essential to enhance resource efficiency and security, but there is a crucial gap to be filled in assessing the coupling relationship among sustainable WEF subsystems and improving multi-sectoral synergy. In this paper, a comprehensive indicator system for sustainable WEF nexus assessment was constructed based on theme-based frameworks and nexus thinking, and the combination weighting method based on game theory (GT-CW), the improved TOPSIS method based on gray relation degree (GRD-ITOPSIS), and the coupling coordination model were proposed for integrated assessment. The sustainability of WEF nexus in 30 regions of China from 2010 to 2019 was assessed and the spatiotemporal differences of the coupling coordination degree of sustainable WEF nexus were analyzed. The results revealed that the sustainability of WEF subsystems evidently affected the overall sustainability of regional WEF nexus. The change range of sustainable WEF nexus in different years was slightly lower than that of a single subsystem. The sustainability of WEF subsystems were highly coupled, and the WEF nexus in each region was within the coordinated development range. However, most eastern regions were at the intermediate coordinated development stage, and some western regions maintained at primary coordinated development stage for a long time. According to the results analysis, specific policy recommendations were proposed. The findings of this study can provide a useful reference for developing countries to improve resource management and promote sustainable development. [Display omitted] (1) Sustainable water-energy-food nexus in 30 regions of China was assessed. (2) Combination weighting method was optimized by game theory. (3) TOPSIS method was optimized by gray relation degree. (4) The synergy among WEF nexus were analyzed by coupling coordination degree. (5) The WEF nexus in each region was within the coordinated development range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: With China's rapid development, e-wastes issue has become increasingly critical. Without appropriate collection and treatment, e-wastes will bring serious environmental challenges. This paper reviews e-wastes collection in Dalian, China. Our findings show that although the Dalian municipality has made progress in improving the collection rate of e-wastes, several challenges still exist, including unclear responsibilities of stakeholders for e-waste collection in laws and regulations; high collection costs for formal treatment plants; and the lack of appropriate infrastructure, especially collection centers. As part of the research study, we identify several potential solutions for policy makers to overcome these challenges. The initiatives used by Dalian can provide implications for other municipalities in China as well as in other developed and developing countries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper investigates the energy service companies (ESCOs) in China from the perspective of technological capability (TC) development. The conventional capability development model of manufacturing in emerging economies has been adapted to examine the four dimensions of TC (investment, production, linkage and innovation) through a qualitative analysis of multiple case studies. Small and medium-sized private ESCOs can perform well based on investment and production capabilities to develop energy management software competence. Large state-owned ESCOs can develop more advanced linkage and innovation capabilities and serve large-scale businesses with more specialist services. For small and medium-sized ESCOs, competitiveness, customers and related business strategy are the primary drivers of TC development. These drivers are essential for large ESCOs, but government support and pressure are also important. The framework developed can be used to research ESCOs and other service providers in other developing countries. • Energy Service Companies have different levels of technological capabilities. • The development of these capabilities is driven mainly by internal factors. • The basic technology level depends on investment and production capabilities. • Development starts with the investment and production of simple technologies. • The advanced technology level requires linkage and innovation capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With China's rapid urbanization and the improvement of living standards, the number of black-odor water bodies in cities increase over time bring a huge threat to urban environment, city image, and the health of residents. Although water quality of rivers has achieved remarkable improvements due to a series of related policies, there are still some unreasonable mechanisms and insufficient supervision. In this paper, using descriptive statistics, we introduce the current situation of black-odor water bodies and analyze the governance mechanisms of black-odor water bodies at the national and provincial levels. We found that there are more black-odor water bodies in east and south-central China, compared to other areas. The causes of black-odor water bodies varies from economic development and natural environment. Then, we explore measures taken by governments at different levels in the treatment of black-odor water bodies and their governance performance. As the largest developing country, China's experience in the treatment of black-odor water bodies may be a reference for other developing countries. • Black-odor water bodies are widely distributed in all regions of China, and main causes are economy and environment. • The central government provides an overall plan, and the local government formulates a more detailed treatment plan. • We analyzed the regional policies differences from marketization, governance capabilities, and public participation. • Some suggestions are proposed for improving the efficiency of treating black-odor water bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental concern is one of the driving forces behind residential industrialization policies in developing countries. Using manually collected data on prefabrication policies in Chinese provinces and the province-level data from China Construction Industry Yearbooks, this paper investigates the effects of China's prefabrication policies on the performance of the construction industry in Chinese provinces. The difference-in-differences (DID) and the synthetic control methods are used in the analysis. The effects of two kinds of prefabrication policies (directive vs. supportive) in China are investigated. And the results show that supportive prefabrication policies significantly increase the labor productivity of construction firms and decrease the usage of construction materials whereas directive policies without substantive supporting measures do not have the above effects. The results imply that only the government policies with substantial incentives/supporting measures can encourage the widespread use of the modern prefabricated methods of construction that not only increase the labor productivity but also save construction materials. • Supportive prefabrication policies increase labor productivity of construction. • Supportive prefabrication policies decrease material usage in construction. • Effects of directive prefabrication policies are not statistically significant. • Supportive prefabrication policies have larger effects on public-listed firms. • Robustness check using synthetic control method confirms results of DID analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tackling the issue of Greenhouse Effect requires global action and a combined international effort from both developed and developing nations. Allocation of the total emissions reduction target among various entities is an issue of both theoretical importance and practical significance. Based on efficiency analysis, this paper proposes a methodology to develop an iterative procedure that can realize the disaggregation of emissions allowance. We use China as a typical case to illustrate our methodology, and disaggregate China's national reduction target of carbon dioxide emissions into targets applicable at the provincial level. Our results indicate that economically well-developed entities exhibit smaller percentages in carbon reductions. In contrast, less-developed entities should lower their carbon emissions by significant amounts, since their economic growth rates do not align with the huge amounts of ecological consumption. By implementing the proposed allocation scheme, the cross-performance of all involved entities will achieve the best state. The proposed method is readily applicable to general scenarios including nations, industries and enterprises. The results could support decision makers in developing an equitable and easy-to-operate allocation scheme of emissions allowance among various entities. The findings from the case study can be generalized to a global level that economic development and emissions status quos affect the scales of emissions reduction. • A new method is developed to decide how to equitably allocate emissions allowance. • The method is applicable to general scenarios like nations, industries and firms. • The allocation plan makes all participants achieve the best cross-performance state. • Economic development and emissions status quos affect emissions-reducing scales. • Findings of the case study in China support the hypotheses and can be generalized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A quantitative measure of performance that integrates national-level carbon emission profiles with key parameters of social and economic wellbeing can provide an effective management tool for policy interventions. This paper constructs non-parametric evaluation and decomposition models using hybrid measure and meta-frontier techniques. The proposed models are employed to estimate the wellbeing performance of carbon emissions (WPCE) and identify the sources of WPCE inefficiency. Empirical analyses based on the Group 20 (G20) countries for the 2000–2015 period shows the worst performance is in the BRICS country group (i.e. Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) – known for rapid growth – whereas the developed and the developing economies of the G20 group show positive trajectories of performance. As for China, its performance measure of WPCE was the lowest among the G20 indicating significant potential for further improvement. The analysis also highlights the role of managerial failure as the primary driver of inefficiency, more important than technological inefficiency in explaining efficiency loss within the G20 countries. This critical finding – the relevance and importance of managerial capability – suggests the need for a high level of attention to governance and managerial capacity to ensure continued improvements in performance on carbon emissions and human wellbeing. A lesson to be drawn from this study is that China's policies to promote a low carbon economy can benefit from increased priority given to low-carbon technological innovation for the energy system transition and enhancement of environmental governance and managerial capacity to achieve a long-term sustainability. • Welfare performance of carbon emissions (WPCE) are evaluated for G20 countries. • A hybrid non-parametric evaluation and meta-frontier techniques are employed. • Developing countries performed the best followed by developed and BRICS countries. • Gaps of WPCE are non-negligible and sources of performance loss are divergent. • Policy implications for China drawing on the cross-country comparisons are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By considering the impacts of cleaner production (CP) on China's pulp industry, the synergistic effects of the capacity replacement policy on the focal sector and supply chain (SC) in China have been evaluated by taking into account its economic, eco-environmental, and social dimensions. The obtained results demonstrated that, when only focal enterprises were analysed on the nationwide scale, the capacity replacement policy was practical from economic and environmental perspectives, but sustainable problems manifest when we considered the five sustainable characteristics of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM). Furthermore, CP become not 'clean' when the SC of the reed pulp production was considered. The closure of small reed pulp mills (the focal sector) had destructive effects on reed harvesting (the supplier sectors), which intensifies the internal pollutant cycle (especially eutrophic pollutants) and accelerated the dying process of the lake and wetland. Hence, CP optimisation must necessarily include the SC and sustainability. From the obtained data, a win-win solution was proposed to apply the principles of SSCM to the optimisation of CP performance, which could be expressed as CP + SSCM→CPSSCM. CPSSCM not only provided a theoretical basis for CP implementation that current issues pertaining to SSCM. In addition, a conceptual model of CPSSCM was suggested and specific recommendations were provided for the underdeveloped countries by taking into account the main challenges posed by small-medium enterprises during CPSSCM implementation. It was also shown that implementing the proposed strategy might have wider implications in terms of controlling both the external discharge of pollutants and internal pollution of lakes. Image 1 • CP policy may be not "clean" when supply chain of reed pulp production is considered. • "Sustainable" principle and "supply chain" should be considered in CP strategy. • Integration of CP and SSCM is recommended: CP + SSCM→CPSSCM. • CPSSCM can be a win-win solution for both CP and SSCM. • CPSSCM can solve contradicts between reed pulp production and lake eco-environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]