Search

Global warming has aroused the attention all over the world, because not only can it directly damage the living environment, but it can also impact on the social and economic development, of a region in an obvious and far-reaching way. In this paper, we builded a trans-log production function model incorporating variables, such as rainfall, labor force, technology and temperature to simulate how climate changes impacted on the regional economics. Time series data of the domestic economy of Nanjing, a city in the southeast China, between 1996 and 2017, were used to verify the production theory of trans-log production frontier. The results showed that: with the rainfall increased and the temperature declined, the climate impact on the economy and the absolute value of the output elasticity of the frontier diminished. In addtion, the climate change was also positively related to the capital investment. The larger variation of temperature negatively impacted on the economic development. • This paper builds a trans-log production function model. • Time series data are used to verify the production theory of trans-log production frontiers. • Analyzing the effect of climate change on the regional economy. • The larger variation of temperature negatively impacted on the economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Faced with the dual constraints of economic growth and energy conservation and emission reduction, the unified environmental regulation policy has posed a dilemma for China. First, this paper adopts the method of Metafrontier Malmquist-Luenberger (MML) to analyze the influence of technology gaps and pollution emissions on the total factor productivity (TFP) of Chinese industry in the period of 2000–2016. Second, from the perspective of heterogeneity, the paper uses the threshold model to investigate the nonlinear dynamic influence of different types of environmental regulations on the environmental total factor productivity (ETFP) of industrial sectors, attempting to identify the optimal intensity of the environmental regulation and tools combination. The results indicate that due to the presence of industry heterogeneity, the different types of environmental regulations exerted heterogeneous influences on the ETFP in different industries. In heavy-pollution industries, an excessively high intensity of environmental regulation weakened the technological innovation of these enterprises. In moderate-pollution industries, there was found a medium intensity of environmental regulation, with the command-and-control and market-based types of environmental regulation being quite well coordinated. Among slightly polluting industries, there was a significant "N-shaped" characteristic between the market-based type of environmental regulation and the ETFP. The outcomes further imply that considering the presence of obvious industry heterogeneity, the establishment of environmental regulations should avoid both the unified adoption of static standards and the blind increase of regulation intensity. Based on the characteristics and realities of different industries, flexible and dynamic regulatory standards should be adopted, and multiple regulation instruments should be used. Highlights • ETFP presented a pattern of progressive decrease going from slight-pollution industries to moderate-pollution industries and finally to heavy-pollution industries. • Different types of environmental regulations exert heterogeneous influences on the ETFP of industries. • Environmental regulations should avoid both the unified adoption of static standards and the blind increase of regulation intensity. • A balanced regulation system should be established to stimulate a more strategically based economic response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Cities do play significant roles in tackling global environmental changes. Decoupling economic growth from environmental pressures is critical for global sustainable development, however, few studies pay attention to the decoupling analysis at city level. This paper conducts a comparative study of the decoupling performance of economic output from CO 2 emissions between Beijing and Shanghai, the top two cities in China. In this paper, the decoupling trends and the decoupling effects are explored from a sectoral perspective, by combining the Tapio decoupling elasticity and the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) model. The results show that Beijing and Shanghai both experienced weak decoupling in construction, expansive negative decoupling in transport, expansive coupling in trade, and weak decoupling in others over the period 2000–2015. Moreover, agriculture appeared strong decoupling in Beijing, and recessive decoupling in Shanghai; industry showed strong decoupling in Beijing, and weak decoupling in Shanghai. The decoupling effects showed different magnitudes and patterns in industrial sectors between Beijing and Shanghai. Overall, per-capita GDP and population growth inhibited the decoupling, while energy intensity, industrial share, energy mix accelerated the decoupling process. Highlights • The decoupling of sectoral economic output from carbon emissions in Beijing and Shanghai are investigated. • Beijing's industry enjoyed better decoupling performance than Shanghai's industry. • Transport should be put more emphasis in further decoupling efforts. • Energy intensity is crucial effect accelerating the decoupling process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the background of high-quality development, the e-commerce industry needs to seek more comprehensive development, and the logistics industry should not only maintain higher efficiency, but also meet the requirements of green and low-carbon transportation. This study aims to investigate the link between the logistic density and the proportion of e-commerce transaction scale. There are few studies on how logistics density affects the development of e-commerce quantitatively. In order to solve this gap, this study establishes an impact model of high-quality growth of e-commerce, and based on Solow production model, constructs a calculation method of logistics density, and analyzes the impact mechanism of logistics density on the scale ratio of e-commerce transactions. Using the bidirectional fixed effect model, this paper makes an empirical analysis of the panel data of 31 provinces consisting of 248 observations and autonomous regions in China from 2014 to 2020. The results show that logistic density has a positive and significant impact on the growth of e-commerce, thus promoting the optimization of economic structure. The acceleration of logistics density decreases the expansion of the ecommerce. Finally, there are obvious regional differences between the development of e-commerce and logistics infrastructure in China. Finally, based on the empirical result, this paper puts forward recommendations for government and companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The metallurgy industry plays a very important role in China's economic growth. Due to its energy concentration, the energy consumption of the industry accounts for a large proportion of China's total energy consumption, and thus contributes to carbon emissions. Whether the metallurgy industry can successfully reduce emissions is related to the future of China's carbon emissions targets. In this paper, the logarithmic mean Divisia index model is used to analyze the change in China's carbon dioxide emissions from 1991 to 2014. The empirical results show that there are three main factors affecting the carbon dioxide emissions of China's metallurgy industry. The three factors are labor productivity, energy intensity and industry size. In addition, we further analyzed the deep motivation of carbon dioxide emissions in the industry, and calculated the future emission reduction potentials. Lastly, according to the empirical results, the paper proposes policy recommendations for the future emission reduction of China's metallurgy industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to global climate change and greenhouse gas emissions, China not only is under enormous pressure to reduce emissions from all over the world, but also confronts the problem of domestic energy shortage and ecological environment deterioration. Compared with other developed countries and regions, China has implemented an extensive development model over a long period, consuming large amounts of resources and sacrificing the environment. Therefore, how to reduce emissions and conserve energy is essential for the rapid development of China. To deal with this issue, this paper proposes the improved DEA models for measuring emission-reduction and energy-conservation (EREC) efficiency. Compared with other DEA models, the models in this paper consider not only the heterogeneity of energy management in varied regions, but also the technology gap between regions. In order to assess the level of technological development in different regions, this paper proposes a new technology gap ratio index (TGR). The proposed approach is applied for measuring the EREC efficiency of 211 Chinese cities. The results show that the overall EREC efficiency of Chinese cities is low, and the central area has the lowest EREC efficiency. There is significant technology gap between the regions; the technology level is the highest in the eastern region but the lowest in the northeastern region. We also reveal that managerial and technical factors are the two main sources for the loss of EREC efficiency in Chinese cities. The specific strategies of management and technology are suggested for all cities in different areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological sustainability of the Chinese economy is vital for China as well as for the world. By integrating environmental input-output analysis, emergy theory, and a complex network model into one framework, this paper explores Chinese sectoral ecological sustainability with the most recent 2012 input-output table. The results show that there are significant differences in emergy intensities among sectors. The non-metal mining sector is the most emergy-intensive sector at 6.06E+17 sej/10000 Yuan, followed by the metal mining sector. Additionally, output connections have a positive impact on the emergy yield ratio, input connections exert a negative impact on the emergy yield ratio, and PageRank centrality has a positive effect on the environmental loading ratio. This paper updates the Chinese sectoral emergy assessment, identifies key sectors in the Chinese ecological network, and analyzes the impact of network indicators on sectoral emergy performance. These analyses will be useful in updating the guide for adjusting industrial structure in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2020, China formally proposed the goal of achieving carbon peaking in 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality in 2060. Since then, widespread attention has been devoted to determining when and how this goal will be achieved. This paper creatively puts forward the view of low-carbon digital economy from the perspective of resource flow, digital flow and energy flow, and studies the synergy effect of low-carbon digital development by constructing the synergy model of low-carbon digital development economic and social development. Based on theoretical research, this paper constructs a synergy model and evaluation index system between low-carbon digital development and economic and social development, and an empirical analysis was conducted based on data related to regional low-carbon digital development and economic and social development in China from 2014 to 2019. The empirical results show that the development of China's low-carbon digital economy is the main driving force for future economic and social development. The effects of low-carbon digital economy on economic and social development varied across regions due to their different regional development patterns. The spatial pattern shows a trend of "high in the east and low in the west". Further, if the low carbon economy and the digital economy included in the stimulus policies can play a synergistic role, it will be able to play the greatest role in promoting economic and social development. And such a scenario is used as a practice in different regions of China in future. The research conclusion of this paper enriches the discussion on the construction of ecological civilization and the construction of a community with a common future for mankind. The conceptualized model of low-carbon digital economy and economic-social development. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The commercial sector is one of the key sectors in China’s economic transformation and carbon emissions control. This paper applies VAR and STIRPAT models to investigate the major influencing factors of CO 2 emissions in China’s commercial sector over the period 1980–2014. According to the empirical results, per capita GDP, urbanization and energy structure have positive effects on CO 2 emissions while energy intensity has negative effect on CO 2 emissions in the long term. Besides, per capita GDP ranks as the most important driving factors of CO 2 in China’s commercial sector, followed by urbanization, energy structure and energy intensity in that order. This paper argues that reducing energy intensity and improving energy structure are the means to realize CO 2 emission reductions in the commercial sector in the short and long term, respectively. Besides, this paper forecasts that CO 2 emissions in China’s commercial sector will be 1942 Mt by 2030, which is huge and about half of the CO 2 emissions of the European Union in 2014. The findings have important implications for policy-makers to enact CO 2 emission reduction policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eco-innovation has become a core engine for long-term stable economic development, as well as a fundamental way to ease the tension between economic growth and environmental resources management. Through the construction of a measurement index system, this paper evaluates the level of regional eco-innovation in 30 Chinese provinces from 2000 to 2014. This paper also employs panel data analysis to study the factors that influence Chinese regional eco-innovation. The results show that, during the observation period, the levels of eco-innovation increased significantly overall. However, the regional comparison of the eco-innovation index revealed an obvious, gradually decreasing distribution pattern from east to west. Factors such as technology push, market pull, and environmental regulation pull have positive but differentiated influences on the eco-innovation throughout China and among the eastern, central and western regions. Based on these heterogeneous influences and the targets of ecological civilization construction, promoting the regional synergy of technology push, market pull, and environmental regulation pull is necessary to improve the level of eco-innovation in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of environmental degradation, sustainable development has become a common goal across the globe. Making a scientifically based investment scheme is of great significance to promote the sustainable development of China's economy. However, there is scarce research related to such an investment scheme of sustainable development. This paper proposes a new inverse data envelopment analysis method with undesirable outputs to make several scientifically based investment schemes from different perspectives, namely, the natural, regulation, and optimal perspectives. By this method, decision makers can scientifically forecast the specific amount of investment based on their actual sustainable development objectives, which is conducive for reducing the blindness of investment in the future. In addition, a new ideal perspective is defined to guide a definite direction for improving the level of sustainable development. Combined with the gray forecasting model GM(1,1), the methods proposed by this paper were then applied to analyze the investment problem for China's sustainable development during the 2015–2024 period. The results show that: the unbalanced distribution of labor investment and the excessive investment in capital and energy are serious barriers to China's sustainable development in the short term; and in the long term, the demand for investment in labor and capital will continue to increase along with a lower demand for energy investment, and that appropriately strengthening environmental regulations will not affect the overall demand for investment. Meanwhile, improvement directions for improving China's sustainable development are discussed, and the results show that most of developing and undeveloped regions in China have great potential for improvement. Finally, some suggestions are proposed in order to create better conditions for China's sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The green transformation of economic growth mode is one of the keys to promote high-quality development. This paper starts with the collaborative agglomeration of manufacturing and producer services, demonstrates the impact of collaborative agglomeration on industrial pollution emission through theoretical analysis, and then uses panel data of 285 prefecture level cities in China from 2004 to 2019 to verify the relationship between them. The results show that collaborative agglomeration significantly increased industrial pollution emission, but the effect mainly existed in small and medium-sized cities, cities with more development zones, cities with provincial high-tech industrial parks and the observation range from 2009 to 2015. The results of subdividing producer services show that transportation, warehousing and postal services, finance, information transmission, computer services and software industries have intensified industrial pollution emission in the collaborative agglomeration with the manufacturing industry. Mechanism analysis shows that collaborative agglomeration fosters the city's "low-level innovation preference" and promotes the expansion of the number of enterprises characterized by the entry and extension of the duration of highly polluting enterprises. It objectively forms a "quantity-priority orientation", thus increasing industrial pollution emission. The above conclusions mean that the development of urban industry at this stage should be based on quality and efficiency, rather than pursuing the disordered expansion of quantity. This paper provides beneficial policy implications for reducing local governments' blind behavior and awakening the awareness of environment-friendly economic growth. • Collaborative agglomeration increases industrial pollution emission. • The effect of emission increase varies with different urban and industrial characteristics. • "Low-level innovation preference" and "quantity-priority orientation" are important mechanisms. • The entry and long-term existence of high polluting enterprises led to "quantity-priority orientation". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An adequate response to global climate change and low carbon economy development has become a worldwide concerned subject. As one of the energetically most intensive industries, construction industry is a key area to promote decarbonization, which is an important path to realize national strategic goals on carbon reduction in China. This paper focuses on low carbon technology integration management, and analyzes the existing research status of green building or low carbon buildings on the related evaluation indexes, then proposes an evaluation system framework for the low carbon technology integration innovation from the perspective of the system management. It points out, that t he evaluation of low carbon technology innovation should be conducted by a smarter managing of system resource input, the process control and the system comprehensive performance as an output . Furthermore, based on the questionnaire survey and the exploratory factor analysis result on the selected indexes, this paper implements a rough set method to identify the weight of all the indexes and found that:(1) managers focus more on the affordable input of the beginning stage and the management control in the middle period of the innovation, instead on the output performance in the later stage . This indicates, that the management control during the front stages is more essential than this during the later ones; (2) the constructed evaluation framework, from the system perspective, can properly reflect the integrity, multi-level stakeholder structure and technology integration in low carbon projects , which could support the decision-maker into considering the complexity of construction and evaluation of the technology innovation performance from multi-level perspective; (3) the combined methods, adopted with exploratory factor analysis and rough set evaluation to determine the evaluation index and its weights, could well reflect the overall performance of low carbon project evaluation, the selected indicators have certain scientific and practical effectiveness , which could provide references for enterprise on LCT innovation management. as an industry with a multi-level technologies integration, the single Technological adoption or innovation cannot satisfy the economic transformation requirements of the modern construction industry development. An integration innovation management evaluation model is needed for the sustainability evaluation in the construction practice. Its development is the main scientific objective of this study, by taking into consideration the entire life cycle assessment and various other factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sustainable economy through the rational spatial expansion of coastal areas is an increasingly essential global topic. This paper aims to explore the mechanism by which supporting cities influence the spatial expansion of economic development zones (EDZs) in 264 coastal EDZs of China during 1995–2020. Meanwhile, the effects of variations in the distance between supporting cities and coastal EDZs and different city scales are considered. The results provide new explanations for realizing the sustainable development of the coastal economy by planning EDZs at a suitable location from the supporting city. The supporting cities' economic strength can significantly contribute to the spatial expansion of coastal EDZs. The influence shows a distance decay law when the distance is less than 47.692 km, between 47.692 and 58.039 km, and greater than 58.039 km, with impact coefficients of 0.479, 0.393, and 0.212, respectively. The average spatial scale of coastal EDZs varies in an "inverted U–shape" with increasing distance. The average spatial scale of the urban general radiation type (47.692 km ≤ distance <58.039 km) is the largest. Supporting cities' scale affects the economic radiation range of supporting cities. The results suggest three implications for the future development of coastal EDZs. 1) Building the EDZ while incorporating practical development needs; 2) Scientifically planning the spatial layout of EDZs; 3) The synergistic development of supporting cities, transportation hubs, and EDZs. [Display omitted] • Supporting cities can promote coastal economic development zones' expansion. • The contribution of supporting cities to zone expansion shows a distance decay law. • The average spatial scale of coastal zones shows an "inverted U-shaped" change. • Supporting cities scale affects the economic radiation range by supporting cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The rapid economic development of China has intensified the country's environmental problems such as pollution and waste. As industry is the main contributor to environmental deterioration, the development mode of industry has attracted attention from the government and the public. In this paper, we have assumed that the industry is permitted a fixed total amount of pollution in order to avoid excessive pollution. If one province shows increased pollution, other provinces are required to reduce pollution by the same amount to maintain the total level of pollution. However, so far, few studies have considered such competition over outputs. This paper presents a new data envelopment analysis approach, which considers both the fixed and the variant sum desirable outputs in the performance improvement of a decision making unit, to evaluate the environmental efficiencies of China's industry from 2007 to 2011. The analysis results demonstrate that some economically developed provinces have better performance than less developed provinces; in particular, all efficient provinces are the developed ones. The Chinese government should focus on the increasing differences in environmental efficiencies among regions and take measures to address them. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The coordination relationship and the balance of development between green finance and environmental performance are crucial to guaranteeing sustainable development under circumstances of economic transition. The current paper demonstrates the construction of index systems pertaining to green finance and environmental performance. Based on a panel dataset of 30 Chinese provinces from 2008 to 2019, the coupling coordination degree model, spatial autocorrelation model, and spatial panel model are used to analyze the spatial-temporal characteristics and driving factors of the coordinated development of green finance and environmental performance across the country. The results show that, first, an overall upward trend in the green finance index appeared, with most high-value areas located in the eastern regions. In terms of environmental performance, the number of provinces with efficient environmental performance values rose from 3 to 17. These provinces were mainly distributed in the eastern and central regions. Second, the coupled coordination of green finance and environmental performance rose from mild incoordination to primary coordination during the study period, with marked spatial autocorrelation and a downward trend from east to west. Finally, industrial structure, economic development level, and environmental regulations were found to positively impact the coordinated development of green finance and environmental performance, while population density exerted an inhibiting effect on it. These effects differ across regions. The paper concludes with several policy implications, offered to guide the coordinated development of green finance and environmental performance. [Display omitted] • The provincial green finance and environmental performance are calculated. • The coordinated degree of green finance and environmental performance (GFEP) is estimated. • The driving factors of GFEP are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, countries have actively promoted green economic transformation. Formulating reasonable and effective environmental regulation policies is an important way to realize this transformation. Based on a policy of raising standard sewage charges in China, this paper selects the panel data of 30 provinces from 2000 to 2018 and adopts the multi-time Differences-in-Differences (DID) method to empirically examine the effect of raising environmental costs on industrial green total factor productivity (GTFP). This paper finds that industrial GTFP is significantly increased by raising standard sewage charges. The conclusion is still valid after alleviating the endogenous problem and conducting robustness tests. The policy gives a boost to industrial GTFP in Eastern and Western regions, but not significantly in Central regions, according to the heterogeneity test. Further analyses of its transmission process reveal that raising environmental costs can promote industrial green growth, mostly via technological and structural effect. As a result, if all provinces can optimize and upgrade their industrial structures and improve their levels of technological innovation when faced with increasingly strict environmental regulations, they will be able to better change the model of economic growth and realize green industrial development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: It is widely acknowledged that China’s economic miracle has been achieved at the expense of its natural capital and environment. In order to deal with this problem, the circular economy (CE) has been chosen as a national policy for sustainable development. National laws and regulations have been enacted to facilitate the implementation of CE and national CE demonstration projects have been initiated such that national benchmarking activities could be completed. China is the first country to release nationally focused CE indicators so that objective and credible information on the status of CE implementation can be recognized. These CE indicators are valuable metrics for policy and decision-makers and can help achieve CE goals and outcomes. This unique indicator system has not been communicated to international communities. This paper aims to more broadly introduce this unique national CE indicator system. China’s CE efforts are first detailed with various provisions of the national indicator system. A critical analysis of such an indicator system is presented. We show that certain benefits can be gained, but substantive revision is also needed due to the lack of a comprehensive set of sustainability indicators which should include social, business indicators, urban/industrial symbiosis, absolute material/energy reduction, and prevention-oriented indicators. Concerns related to barriers on implementation are also presented in this paper. The knowledge gained from Chinese efforts on CE indicators are valuable to both developed and developing nations seeking to implement sustainable development measures within their regulatory policies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Given the importance of water resources in China's economic development, in this paper, the relationship between water use and economic growth is investigated using panel data from 29 provinces in China from 1999 to 2014. Building upon the theoretical framework of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC), this study estimates the possible linkages by a) adopting both a conventional single-polynomial model and simultaneous equation model (SEM) for the analysis; the latter addresses the potential bilateral causality between water use and economic development, b) evaluating the comprehensive effects of socio-economic factors, including industrial structure, population scale, trade openness and the amount of local water resources, and c) testing water use in aggregate and by sector. The results indicate that the relationship between per capita water consumption and per capita GDP in China is "N" shaped. In contrast, there is evidence for the positive contribution of industrial water use to economic development, while the impacts of both total and non-industrial water consumption on per capita GDP are nonlinear. Moreover, trade openness and per capita water resource are both positively correlated with water consumption, and an increase in the population density would cause the demand for industrial water use to increase. The findings also suggest that simultaneity between water use and economic growth should be considered in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the economic transformation and regional economic restructuring of China, there is a significant inter-regional transfer trend of industries among the eastern, central, western and northeastern regions. The industrial transfer is able to change the spatial distribution of regional energy intensity by affecting the regional industrial structure, thus impacting the convergence of energy intensity. This paper established a spatial Durbin panel model, and used the relevant data of thirty administrative regions of China from 2004 to 2017 to empirically study the impacts of industrial transfer on regional energy intensity. The results showed that: (1) As a whole, the energy intensity of China's regions was low in the southeast region and high in the northwest region, and there was a significant positive spatial autocorrelation among the energy intensity of different regions. (2) There was β -convergence in the regional energy intensity. It indicated that, on the one hand, the differences in the energy intensity of China's different regions were being gradually narrowed; on the other hand, the energy intensity of each region would converge to its own steady state. (3) The industrial transfer and economic development could promote the convergence of the regional energy intensity. • China's economic transition and regional economic restructuring promoted industrial transfer. • The regional energy intensity showed a decreasing trend from northwest to southeast. • Industrial transfer could promote the convergence of energy intensity. • A spatial Durbin panel model was used to prove the regional energy intensity convergence of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has the largest electricity system in the world, which is undergoing a critical market reform. Based on the panel data in 2000 to 2016 of China, this paper tries to explain theinconsistency between electricity consumption and economic growth. For example, in 2015, GDP growth rate was close to 6.9% but with only 2.9% growth in electricity consumption. However, in 2018, a 6.6% growth in GDP required an 8.5% electricity growth. The results explain the reasons for inconsistency and identify the key factors. We find that the increase in inventory, fixed capital and industrial electricity consumption will narrow the gap when economy grows faster than electricity consumption, and widen the gap on the contrary. Heterogeneity exists among regions, the model and variables seem most convincing in explaining the situation in the western region, which is most similar to the full sample of China. Feedback effect is also observed between electricity consumption and economic growth in most parts of China by Granger test. The findings provides suggestions for the policy makers in making power planning, in an effort to avoid large power shortage or surplus. • Inventory, fixed capital and industrial electricity consumption will impact the deviation. • Impacts on deviation in western region are most similar to the full sample, and eastern region goes opposite. • Feedback effect is observed between electricity consumption and economic growth in most parts of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many years, China has invested effort into achieving resource conservation and environmentally friendly economic development. The measures implemented include promoting technological innovation, market-oriented reform and industrial structure adjustment. But there are open questions: What have the effects of these measures been? Have they helped China achieve win-win development in terms of its resources, environment, and economy? This paper aims to answer these questions by using a newly proposed global three-hierarchy meta-frontier Luenberger index that can quantify the effects of promoting technological innovation, industrial restructuring, etc., on economic growth, energy conservation and emissions reduction. The results show that (1) during 2001–2016, China's energy efficiency, economic efficiency, and emissions efficiency improved, indicating that China's efforts have brought about the win-win development of resources, the environment, and the economy; (2) the implemented measures have heterogeneous effects on economic growth, energy conservation, and emissions reduction. The implemented measures are generally beneficial to energy conservation and emissions reduction but potentially harmful to the economy; (3) the effects of these measures on economic growth, energy conservation and emissions reduction across China's regions and provinces are also quite different, indicating that local provincial governments should have a clear understanding of their own characteristics before implementing the relevant policies and measures. • A global three-hierarchy meta-frontier Luenberger index was proposed for the study. • It can quantify the effects of China's efforts on economy, energy, and emissions. • Results show that China's efforts have brought about a win-win development. • There are the heterogeneities of China's pathways to economic growth, energy conservations and emissions reductions. • The future strategies for China's win-win development should take the heterogeneities into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates the linkages among total Sulphur dioxide (SO 2) emissions, total GDP and energy efficiency using China's provincial panel data from 2002 to 2015. We investigate total emissions rather than per capita emissions or ambient concentrations since it is total emissions that the environment cares about. Energy efficiency is estimated using stochastic frontier analysis and decomposed into both persistent and transient efficiency. We then investigate the long-run dynamics among SO 2 emissions, economic growth, and energy efficiency by employing the panel-based error correction model and taking the effects of cyclical variations into account. Our analysis shows that GDP has a positive impact on total SO 2 emissions in the short run and gains in energy efficiency have a significant negative effect on emissions in the long run. By controlling the effects of the business cycle, the effects of GDP on emissions remain positive in both the short and long run. The cross-sectional analysis provides similar insights. We argue that economic growth itself is an emission generator. Therefore, the government needs to establish a long-run strategy to curb emissions by improving energy efficiency. Image 1029 • We estimate the linkages among sulphur dioxide emissions, GDP and energy efficiency. • Energy efficiency is estimated by SFA and decomposed into persistent and transient efficiency. • We employ the panel-based error correction model with cyclical variations and structural break. • GDP has a positive impact on emissions in both the short and long run. • Gains in energy efficiency affects emissions negatively in the long run. [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 With the surging urbanization process and rapid economic growth in the service industry, carbon emissions released by the commercial building sector have become critical for China's national action towards meeting the "Post Paris" mitigation target. This paper is the first to confirm whether carbon intensity in the commercial building sector decouples from the economic development in service industry via the decomposition and decoupling methods at both the scales of the nation and the top five urban agglomerations [Jing-Jin-Ji (JJJ), Yangtze-River-Delta (YRD), Pearl-River-Delta (PRD), Yangtze-River-Middle-Reach (YRMR), and Cheng-Yu (CY) urban agglomerations] in China during the 2000–2015 period. The key findings indicate the following. The nationwide decoupling status was weak from 2001 to 2005 and then strong from 2006 to 2015. At the scale of urban agglomeration, only four states were observed in the decoupling status, and the order of the decoupling statuses across the different urban agglomerations is as follows: JJJ > CY > YRD > PRD > YRMR (2001–2005), YRD > JJJ > PRD > CY > YRMR (2006–2010), and YRD > YRMR > JJJ > CY > PRD (2011–2015). The carbon Kuznets curves of the commercial building sector successfully reveal the causes of the different decoupling paths across different urban agglomerations. The growing decoupling effects can be attributed to the rapid development of energy conservation projects in the commercial building sector over the past decade. Overall, it is expected that our contribution covers the research gap of decoupling carbon intensity in the commercial building sector from economic growth in the service industry, and our efforts constitute a significant contribution to the analysis of the carbon emission peak in the Chinese commercial building sector. Graphical abstract Decoupling elasticities of carbon intensity in the China's commercial building sector at the scales of the nation and urban agglomerations from 2001 to 2015. Image 1000 Highlights • Presenting the decoupling analysis integrating decomposition and decoupling methods. • Decoupling analysis of commercial buildings and the service industry was performed. • The case areas were China's top five urban agglomerations during the 2000–2015 period. • The decoupling levels of the five urban agglomerations were ranked and analyzed. • A pathway to achieve more significant decoupling effects was discussed and proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Coordinating the dilemma of economic development and reducing carbon emissions is of great significance to reaching China's energy-saving and emission-reduction targets. This paper investigates the decoupling relationship between economic growth and carbon emissions from the construction industry of China's 30 provinces, and uses the standard deviational ellipse method to explore the spatial evolution of carbon emissions and the economy. The results indicate that the economic development levels of most provinces were positively correlated with carbon emissions. The spatial differences in the decoupling state of provincial construction industry are significant, and the decoupling states of the same type exhibited a certain spatial aggregation phenomenon. Furthermore, the spatial distribution of the output value and carbon emissions exhibited a northeast-southwest pattern. The weighted mean centers of both were located in the east and moved towards the northwestern region. These results may provide a basis for assessing regional construction carbon emissions and formulating strategies for the coordinated development of low carbon emissions in the construction industry. Highlights • The standard deviational ellipse method is employed. • It studies the spatial pattern of economic growth and carbon emissions. • It demonstrates the dynamic evolving trend of the decoupling relationship. • It can further promote carbon emission reduction at the provincial level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Since the beginning of China's reform and opening up in late 1970s, the contradiction between environmental quality and economic development has become increasingly acute. As the main driving force of development, China's fixed asset investment (FAI) has grown rapidly. In the meanwhile, China's energy consumption surged and the environmental pressures mounted. The surge in FAI may have great influences on the environmental quality. On the one hand, the rapid increase in FAI facilitated the development of the secondary industry especially energy- and pollution-intensive industries, which brought about significant amount of energy-related pollution. On the other hand, growing investment on environmental investment is expected to slow environmental deterioration. Moreover, the environmental quality and domestic investment may have potential spatial correlations. In this paper, after fully accounting for the spatial dependence, the relationship between domestic investment and environmental quality in China is quantitatively investigated. Using CO 2 and SO 2 as two representative pollutants, the estimation results indicate that the spatial dependence indeed exists, and total effects of FAI on pollutant emissions are positive. However, there is no evidence that environmental protection investment had expected effects to effectively curb pollutant emissions in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Modeling the driving factors and spatial nexus of carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions may be complicated by the fact that trans-provincial transportation of energy- and pollution-intensive products, maybe or to a large extent, transports their emissions to the exporting provinces due to the frequent occurrence of bilateral economic-trade ties and the asynchrony of economic development in China. In this paper, a spatial econometric tool is utilized to examine to what extent CO 2 spillover depends on provinces' bilateral geographical and economic linkages. Besides, different subgroups are built to estimate and compare the degree of spatial interactions among regions under five definitions of spatial dependency, to determine how the spatial effects of CO 2 emissions behave among our selected subgroups. The results demonstrate an N-shaped relationship, either before or after grouping, which shows a strong correlation against the effectiveness of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis. Additionally, the results show that economic linkage significantly outperforms all the other linkages in capturing the spatial dependencies between provinces, and the spatial dependence of CO 2 emissions in the high-energy structure group is far greater than that in the low-energy structure group. Our results suggest that even though considering the spatial aggregation effect, the economic relations behind CO 2 emissions can also capture the spatial features more accurately, providing valuable references for policymaking and carbon emission reduction. Highlights • Bilateral economic relations affect CO 2 emissions by the spatial dependence. • Economic spatial neighborhoods excel at capturing spatial dependence of CO 2. • The effect of spatial dependence varies under different energy consumption level. • Spatial dependence effect is more remarkable with high energy consumption level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The trilemma of economic growth, energy sustainability and environmental protection is facing China's urban sustainable development. In this paper, the ecological network analysis is applied to evaluate the whole metabolic processes of urban energy system. Then, a hierarchy analysis is conducted to diagnose and describe the energy's impacts on the whole energy metabolic processes, and reflect the dynamics and evolution of urban energy metabolic system. Using Beijing as a case study, results suggest that Beijing's strongest energy metabolic flows are electricity→service and electricity→ industrial energy use. Meanwhile, the main inflow to electricity has switched from raw coal in 2008 to natural gas in 2016. The hierarchy analysis indicates that the impacts of Natural gas and other energy are increasing while that of raw coal is decreasing. These results also suggest that Beijing's current achievements on urban energy system optimization mainly rely on structural variation in industries. It is considered that the future optimization should concentrate on promoting clean energy utilization in Beijing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract As a significant basic industry for the national economic development, coal chemical industry is one of the main contributors to energy consumption and CO 2 emission. In this paper, the CO 2 emission in the time series of 2020 and 2030 was calculated and the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) method was employed to explore the driving forces of CO 2 emission change. According to the industry development, the CO 2 emission in 2020 and 2030 was tentatively predicted. The results show that China's coal chemical industry has experienced a significant increase in CO 2 emission, from 177.87 million ton CO 2 (MtCO 2) to 427.19 MtCO 2 in 2005–2015, with an average annual growth rate of 9.16%. Currently, the coal-to-ammonia industry is the largest contributor. According to the decomposition analysis, the economic growth and energy intensity are the two positive factors and the industry structure is a negative factor to carbon emission change. In 2020, the CO 2 emission will be 617.34 MtCO 2 under slow development scenario and 759.69 MtCO 2 under rapid development scenario. In 2030, the CO 2 emission will reach 1041.90 MtCO 2 and 1440.13 MtCO 2 under slow and fast development scenarios, respectively. The coal-to-olefins industry will take the place of coal-to-ammonia and turn to be the largest one in 2020 and 2030 if no CO 2 capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies are adopted. It is probable that the contribution from coal-to-methanol will also play important role for CO 2 emission due to its rapid development. In addition, by 2030, if coal-to-natural gas industry develops as planned, its CO 2 emission will significantly increase, which has the potential to be equivalent to that of olefins industry. Highlights • The CO 2 emission evolution trend in China's coal chemical industry is analyzed. • The major driving factors of CO 2 emission change are identified and the effect sizes of various factors are evaluated. • The CO 2 emission in 2020 and 2030 is forecasted. • Policy implications to policymakers are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In recent years, urban energy efficiency has received much attention from researchers. However, ignorance of the competitive relationships among regions results in inaccurate energy efficiency. Game cross-efficiency data envelopment analysis (DEA), which can account for the competitive relationships, is a reliable method to measure energy efficiency. First, this paper applies game cross-efficiency DEA to analyze the urban total factor energy efficiency (UTFEE) of 26 Chinese prefectural-level cities from 2005 to 2015 under environmental constraints. Then, a comparative analysis and a concrete analysis are conducted based on the urban energy efficiency. Finally, a Tobit model is used to examine the effects of 10 potential influence factors. The measurement results show that the urban energy efficiency considering the competitive relationship is lower than the traditionally calculated efficiency. Additionally, the urban energy efficiency did not improve during the research period. Furthermore, regression analysis suggests that economic development and city scale can promote urban energy efficiency, while government expenditure, industrial structures, energy prices, foreign investments, research investments and production endowment have negative impacts on urban energy efficiency. According to our results, some implications of theory and practice are discussed for researchers and policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Due to high-speed and extensive economic development, increasing urbanization, and booming industry in China, there is a growing public concern over PM 2.5 pollution. The identification of possible sources of PM 2.5 is a basis for studying air pollution. In this paper, the contribution of PM 2.5 from both combustion and non-combustion sources is calculated using the selected tracers of SO 2 , CO and NO 2. Changes in the characteristics of natural and anthropogenic PM 2.5 sources were analyzed by combining the use of satellite imagery and the Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model. The results showed that the PM 2.5 in Xi'an and Lanzhou originated from combustion sources, the contribution of non-combustion sources increased from east to west, high values appeared in Zhangye and Jiuquan (over 70%). In Lanzhou, Zhangye and Jiuquan, PM 2.5 was mainly from anthropogenic sources during non-episode periods, and from natural sources (namely, dust storms) during episode days, and the proportion from natural sources increased from east to west. In addition, in our research, although the sources of PM 2.5 in the four cities are different, they all face the problem of excessive PM 2.5 concentration, and its pollution control problem is worth studying. Graphical abstract Image [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract By building a green economy development index to measure the level of green economy development, taking 150 renewable energy listed companies of China for example, this paper constructs a threshold effect model to investigate the non-linear relationship between renewable energy investment and the green economy development index from the perspective of green credit. Results mainly show that: firstly, the impact of renewable energy investment on the green economy development index includes dual threshold effects from green-credit, the effect is divided into three stages: promoting, restraining and promoting successively. Secondly, for large-sized companies, the impact of renewable energy investment on the green economy development index includes one threshold from green-credit, with the effect coefficients at each stage being 0.1034 and −0.0113, successively. However, for medium, small, and micro sized enterprises, the impact of renewable energy investment on the green economy development index includes dual threshold effects from green credit, with the effect coefficients at each stage being 0.1310, −0.0033, and 0.0244, successively, and the inhibition effect not being significant. Thirdly, our results also find that improving expenditure on environmental pollution control and adjusting industry structure are conducive to increasing the green economy development index. Highlights • Non-linear relationship between renewable energy investment and green economy development is explored here. • Dual threshold effects from green-credit on renewable energy investment and green economy development exists. • Medium, small, and micro sized enterprises are the dominant forces of green economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Economic development has promoted urbanization in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region. With the improvement of living standards, residential consumption have become an important contributor to regional carbon emissions. Using an input-output model, we calculated direct and indirect carbon emissions from both urban and rural residential consumption in the BTH region from 2002 to 2012, and then explored the main factors contributing to indirect carbon emissions from residential consumption using a structural decomposition analysis. Results showed that direct carbon emissions from residential consumption increased from 47.13 million tons (MtC) in 2002 to 123.34 MtC in 2012 and indirect carbon emissions from residential consumption increased from 210.36 MtC in 2002 to 550.00 MtC in 2012. Carbon emission intensity and residential consumption level were the main factors affecting indirect carbon emissions during 2002–2012, with varying effects in different sub-regions. Carbon emission intensity played negative effects in Beijing (−37.19 MtC) and Tianjin (−55.39 MtC), positive effects in Hebei (92.89 MtC). Residential consumption level played positive effects in the three sub-regions (79.94 MtC in Beijing, 31.91 MtC in Tianjin and 155.52 MtC in Hebei). Increases in intermediate demand, residential consumption level and population size enhanced indirect carbon emissions. Based on the analysis, this paper contributed to carbon emission reduction strategies in the BTH region. Highlights • Direct carbon emissions from residential consumption increased to 123.34 MtC in 2012. • Indirect carbon emissions from residential consumption increased to 550.00 MtC in 2012. • Carbon emission intensity and residential consumption level were the main impact factors. • Intermediate demand, residential consumption level and population size played positive effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The imbalance and insufficiency of China's regional economic development has led to huge differences in regional energy efficiency. Reducing the differences in regional energy efficiency has become an urgent energy issue in China. The constant absorption of foreign direct investment (FDI) has brought advanced technologies to China, which has an important impact on China's energy efficiency. To explore whether FDI can reduce regional energy efficiency differences, this paper investigates the existence of energy intensity convergence while incorporating foreign direct investment (FDI). Since existing research on regional energy intensity convergence lacks of consideration of the data spatial dependence, we focus on spatial econometric model to test energy intensity convergence. We use panel data of 30 provinces in China over the period of 2005–2014 to test energy intensity convergence by β convergence model. The empirical results show that considering the spatial dependence of the data, FDI can promote the formation of conditional energy intensity convergence. Further analysis found that the spillover effect of FDI plays an important role in this formation. In addition, the convergence speed accelerates after considering the spatial dependence. Finally, the spillover effect of FDI, which is global, inhibits the declining speed of energy intensity during the research period. The scale effect of FDI and energy rebound effect plays an important role in the effect of FDI on energy intensity. These results show that guiding foreign investment more reasonably in each province in China can make contributions to the reduction of energy efficiency differences. Highlights • Use spatial econometric approach to test the convergence of energy intensity. • FDI can promote the convergence of energy intensity. • The spillover effect of FDI plays an important role in the formation of energy intensity convergence. • The effect of FDI on energy intensity has brought a rebound effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring multi-goal sustainable development paths is a global concern. To date, little is known about the characteristics of and logic behind the evolution of China's land use policies (LUPs), especially when they are linked to China's governance philosophy of an ecological civilization (EC). An EC is a unique development concept in China that emphasizes human-nature coexistence alongside economic progress. Therefore, we examine the evolutionary process of China's LUPs in the context of an EC. We identify meaningful shifts that have occurred in those policies, as well as reveal the logic behind the changes. Based on staged text mining of 220 national LUPs initiated in China between 1986 and 2021, by disclosing the changes in the number, foci, goals, concepts, measures, and reform methods of LUPs, this paper provides an overview and four-dimensional deconstruction of the country's LUP evolution in the context of an EC. Three major findings emerge from text mining. First, China's LUP has evolved through three stages, with modifications in the number, dominant foci, and themes of the policies across each stage. Second, comprehensive and significant alterations have transpired in the orientation, goals, concepts, measures, and reform approaches of the policies. Third, the transformation in LUP has transpired centering on four dimensions: improving economic efficiency; balancing production, living, and ecology; promoting social equity; and conserving ecology. These four aspects accord with four governance concepts of an EC—efficient development, symbiosis of humans and nature, social harmony, and green development. We also discuss how China's LUP evolution offers a valuable case for exploring sustainable development at a global level. [Display omitted] • Ecological civilization (EC) and land use policies (LUPs) are interactive in China. • Key changes of China's LUP are tracked by text mining. • An overview and deconstruction of China's LUP evolution are provided under an EC. • Four concepts of an EC are matched with four evolutionary benchmarks of LUP. • China's LUP provides a case for exploring multigoal sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-quality economic development focuses on achieving effective qualitative improvement and reasonable quantitative growth in the economy, which is the essential way for China to achieve sustainable development. This paper aims to investigate the role of financial development in the impact of foreign direct investment on high-quality economic development. GDP and green total factor productivity are used to measure the quantity and quality of economic development, respectively. We construct benchmark panel regression models, nonlinear interaction term models, and panel threshold models to examine the threshold effect of FDI on high-quality economic development based on the scale, structure, and efficiency of financial development. A series of tests are conducted to check the robustness of the estimates. Our results show that green total factor productivity in China is primarily driven by green technology progress. Additionally, foreign direct investment has a positive impact on China's high-quality economic development, with a threshold effect and nonlinear characteristics. Specifically, the scale of financial development affects the influence of foreign direct investment on the quantity of economic development, while the efficiency of financial development affects its influence on the quality of economic development. Furthermore, the structure of financial development affects both the quantity and quality of economic development. This study presents novel findings that contribute to understanding the role of financial development in the impact of foreign direct investment on high-quality economic development. Likewise, our research has implications for achieving high-quality development. The introduction of foreign direct investment under the high-quality development of the economy should comprehensively consider financial development. • The impacts on high-quality economic development of financial development and FDI were discussed. • The scale, structure and efficiency of financial development were considered. • Both quantity and quality of economic development were focus on. • The green total factor productivity in China was measured. • Policy implications of introducing FDI in China were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the background of the gradual scarcity of terrestrial resources and the increasingly fierce competition for global marine resources, the task of green development of marine economy and green transformation of marine industry is imminent. Carbon finance is a product of low-carbon economic development and a derivative of green finance. It is an effective way to alleviate the global climate crisis and promote the transformation of the global economy to a low-carbon economy to achieve sustainable development. Studying the mechanism of carbon finance on the development of marine economy will help to grasp the influencing factors of the green transformation of the marine industry in an all-round way, better promote the sustainable development of China's marine economy, and realize the strategy of marine power at an early date. Based on this, this paper selects China's data from 2006 to 2020, and uses the AHP-entropy method to select 26 indicators from five levels: economic growth, energy conservation and emission reduction, marine ecology, structural adjustment and scientific and technological innovation to construct a comprehensive evaluation index system for the green transformation of China's marine industry. Based on the PLSR model, the impact of carbon finance on the green transformation of China's marine industry is empirically analyzed, and the results show that: (1) The comprehensive score of China's marine industry green transformation from 2006 to 2020 fluctuates and rises: from 2006 to 2009, the comprehensive score of China's marine industry green transformation is low, and the transformation effect is not obvious. From 2009 to 2012, the comprehensive score of green transformation of the marine industry improved significantly. From 2012 to 2018, the comprehensive score of China's marine industry green transformation fluctuated little and showed a slow growth trend, while China's marine economic transformation grew steadily at a low speed. In 2019–2020, due to the impact of the epidemic, the speed of transformation has decreased again. (2) The carbon ratio and the green credit balance of commercial banks have a role in promoting the green transformation of China's marine industry, while the carbon trading volume and carbon intensity have a restraining effect on the green transformation of China's marine industry. From the perspective of effect, carbon intensity has the strongest effect, followed by carbon ratio, carbon trading volume is slightly weaker, and the role of green credit balance of commercial banks is the weakest. Based on the research conclusions, relevant policy recommendations were put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The literature on financial development and carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions is extensive. However, previous studies have not found the impact of financial development on trade-embodied CO 2 emissions. Therefore, we build a dynamic panel model based on the extension of the STIRPAT model to verify the overall and indirect impact of financial development. We calculate trade-embodied CO 2 emissions of 30 provinces in China in 2000–2014 using the single region input-output model (SRIO) by eliminating the impact of imported intermediate products on CO 2 emissions embodied in exports (EXC). In order to measure financial development in China more comprehensively, we use financial scale development, financial efficiency and financialization to define it. Results show that the environmental Kuznets curve is confirmed at the level of China's provinces. In most provinces, EXC began to increase in 2006 and decline in 2010, but CO 2 embodied in net exports (EC) began to decrease in 2005 and increase in 2010. The results of overall impact indicate that different financial development indicators have different effects on EC. But they all reduce EXC. The results of indirect impact through imitation innovation (IC) and independent research and development (RD) find that financial scale development increases EXC , however, financial efficiency and financialization decreases EXC. Financial scale development and financial efficiency can decrease EC , but financialization increases EC. The results of indirect impact through FDI show that financial scale development and financial efficiency can decrease EXC and EC. Financialization decreases EXC , but the impact of financialization on EC has obvious threshold characteristics. When the level of financialization is lower than the threshold value, financialization will reduce EC. There is regional heterogeneity in the impact of financial development on trade-embodied CO 2 emissions. The conclusions of this paper are of great reference value for improving the level of financial development so as to realize the development of China's green trade. Highlights • We take financialization into consideration to reflect level of financial development. • Calculate regional trade-embodied CO 2 emissions in 2000–2014 in China using SRIO model. • Verify the overall and indirect impact of financial development on trade-embodied CO 2. • Different financial development indicators have different effects on trade-embodied CO 2. • There is regional heterogeneity in the impact of financial development on trade-embodied CO 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-Carbon Consumption Behavior (HCCB) of urban residents is one of the main obstacles to the goals of low carbon development in China with the rapid development of the national economy. Among all the uptrend influences, the one caused by conspicuous consumption is worth more attention. In this paper, a structural equation model was applied to analyze the impact path of conspicuous consumption motivation on HCCB. Multiple group analysis was then used to test the moderating effect of individual face conscious and demographics on the impact. Our data originated from a social study of Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, China (n = 351). The results indicated four leading aspects. First, the raising habitual HCCB is mainly affected by three points, materialistic hedonism, interpersonal mediation and social status demonstration, and the influence is reduced in successively. While communication of belonging to/dissociation from a group and ostentation have little effect on habitual HCCB. The second, purchased HCCB of residents is mainly impacted positively by materialistic hedonism, and other factors have weak influence on it. The third, face consciousness has a significant moderating effect on the relationship between residents’ conspicuous consumption motivation and HCCB. People with strong face consciousness are more affected by the social status demonstration and interpersonal mediation; those with weak face consciousness are only driven by material hedonism. The last, gender, marital status, age, education level, and household monthly disposable income have significant moderating effects on the relationship. Among them, the HCCB from males, young people, married persons, highly educated people, and higher income groups is more affected by materialistic hedonism, interpersonal mediation, and social status demonstration, while from females with lower education, and lower income groups is more likely to be driven by social status demonstration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With its continuing socio-economic development, China faces the challenge of meeting the growing energy demand. Industrial parks with combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) achieve better comprehensive economic and environmental benefits due to energy cascade utilization. A new enterprise entering an industrial park with CCHP needs to select a reasonable cold and heat source scheme (CHSS). Therefore, this paper presents a method for new enterprises to select an appropriate CHSS. This method is based on comprehensive economic and environmental benefit, using minimal annual average cost in operation optimization mode as a quantitative indicator, and the calculation process uses the improved differential evolution algorithm using the MATLAB software. Finally, a cloud computing center of an industrial park with CCHP in Chongqing is used as a case study to assess the method. Results show that the scheme of lithium bromide absorption refrigerator driven with steam can be accepted by the cloud computing center only steam price below 112.6yuan/t, which can promote energy cascade utilization in the industrial park. This method assists new enterprises entering the industrial park in selecting their energy system scheme. In addition, the method can assist energy supply enterprises to determine energy trade prices and also expand their user base. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the past three decades, the notion of sustainable cities has become central in planning and managing urban areas in the world and the large-scale city formation has been formed in big cities. As a result of economic growth and urban transformation, Shanghai, a major Chinese international metropolis, faces ongoing issues with resource waste and low energy utilization. Therefore, this paper aims to consider the availability of water for energy production from a consumption-based perspective and estimate the water footprint of the energy supply using a regional input-output analysis approach for Shanghai. As a result, we conclude that the water footprint of the energy supply of Shanghai is about 1.28 billion m 3 in 2007, with 46.1% of water used for electricity and heat supply. The total water withdrawal by the energy sector is about 2.35 billion m 3 and additional water withdrawal needed is about 35% of the total water withdrawals by the energy sector in Shanghai. Furthermore, an energy self-sufficiency scenario was developed, and the scenario analysis reveals that 55% more water would be required to ensure a self-sufficient energy sector. To guarantee future regional energy security, it is important to manage water resources effectively by allocating water resources among sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities have been one of the most important areas of CO 2 emissions. It is increasingly important to research the effect of urbanization on CO 2 emissions, especially in large emerging and developing economies, due to the indispensable need for understanding the effect of urbanization on CO 2 emissions, evaluating carbon reduction tasks and providing the scientific basis for low-carbon urbanization. Utilizing a balanced panel dataset in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), China, during the period of 2000–2010, this paper employed data envelopment analysis (DEA) window analysis and a spatial lag panel Tobit model to investigate the effect of urbanization on CO 2 emissions efficiency (the ratio of the target CO 2 emissions to the actual CO 2 emissions). The results show that the average CO 2 emissions efficiency was 0.959 in 2010, and CO 2 emissions efficiency ranged from 0.816 to 1 and exhibited spatial clustering in the region. The larger potential of CO 2 emissions reduction appeared in Zhenjiang and Yangzhou, indicating that more CO 2 emissions reduction tasks should be allocated to these two cities. Urbanization has negative effects on improving CO 2 emissions efficiency, and there is a U-curve relation between CO 2 emissions efficiency and urbanization, indicating that CO 2 emissions efficiency decreases at the early stage of urbanization, then increases when urbanization reach a high level. There is spatial spillover effect among the prefecture-level cities, suggesting that different prefecture-level governments should coordinate with each other to improve CO 2 emissions efficiency in the whole area. Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita also plays a markedly positive role in improving CO 2 emissions efficiency. This research highlights the effect of urbanization on CO 2 emissions efficiency and the importance of improving CO 2 emissions efficiency in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid economic growth and urbanization in China have resulted in the dual threats of shortage of water and pollution of water. It is increasingly acknowledged that the efficiency of water resource system is influenced by not only the Water Use (WU) process, but also the process of Wastewater Treatment (WT). This paper considers both WU and WT as an integrated two-stage WUWT system to provide more comprehensive efficiency evaluation. In the first stage (WU subsystem), there are two parallel units, economic and social WU sub-minors, which consume water and capital to produce economic and social benefits. Meanwhile, the undesirable wastewater inevitably arises, which is treated in the second stage (WT subsystem). In order to assess the performance of the integrated WUWT system, an extended mixed network structure two-stage Slacks-Based Measure (SBM) Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model is developed to measure the detailed efficiencies and spot the weak link of the system. For case study, the provincial panel data during 2006–2015 of China are selected to verify the applicability of the proposed approach. Discussion is made from both time- and region-perspectives: over the ten years, the WU efficiencies are often higher than the WT efficiencies, so more actions should be carried out to improve the process of WT; from 2006 to 2011, social WU efficiencies are often lower than economic WU efficiencies, but the social WU efficiency has been improved after 2012; in terms of the overall efficiencies, the economically and socially developed provinces also have the higher efficiencies. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that the integrated WUWT system is efficient if and only if both WU and WT subsystem are both efficient, and the WU subsystem is efficient if and only if both economic and social WU sub-minors are efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's ongoing transition to a modern urban-centered economy is accompanied by ambitions of sustained economic growth as well as promises of environmentally sustainable futures for its cities. In this paper we critically assess how these two ideas are combined and translated into realities on the ground by examining three low-carbon development projects in Shanghai: Anting New Town, Dongtan Eco-City, and Hongqiao CBD's low-carbon transportation hub. By mobilizing insights from the academic field of Sustainability Transitions – specifically on expectations, experimentation and innovation journeys – we show how the original plans derailed and why until now there has been limited success in living up to the promises of sustainability. To realize the promises more fully in future projects we identify three broad lessons for the actors involved: they should nurture a set of parallel pathways, foster a more experimentalist mindset, and learn to embrace uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The surge in energy consumption and CO 2 (carbon dioxide) emissions is exacerbating global warming. The Chinese government has promised to reduce CO 2 emission by 60%–65% per unit of GDP over the 2005 level by around 2030. Analyzing the factors influencing CO 2 emissions is one of the key aspects involved in effectively reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In this paper, we add climatic factors based on socio-economic factors, and adopt the extended STIRPAT model to investigate the mechanism driving emissions by the co-action of natural and socio-economic factors. The results show that the 1995–2014 emissions in China's Zhejiang province had an upward trend with growth rates varying between intermediate periods. The order of the factors' elasticity coefficients is urbanization rate (0.181) > GDP per capita (0.180) > population (0.177) > energy intensity (0.170) > trade openness (0.170) > cooling degree days (0.127) > mean temperature anomaly (0.116). Economic development and urbanization were the main factors promoting CO 2 emissions in 1996–1999, while economic development and foreign trade were the main factors in 2000–2014. Policy makers should pay more attention to keeping a healthy pace of economic development, introducing more low energy consumption and low pollution enterprises and encouraging technological innovation. Improving the quality of urbanization, guiding a sustainable lifestyle, adjusting the structure of foreign trade and curbing energy intensity are also expected to reduce emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The city is an important component in the construction of circular economy (CE), and after years of development, assessment of urban CE and calculation of an urban circular development index (UCDI) is an important task that the Chinese government has faced. However, existing research into the indicator system and evaluation methods is not enough to support calculation and subsequent publishing of UCDI. Building off current research into CE, its index systems and its evaluation, this paper puts forward an evaluation index system for urban CE development (UCDI) that uses an improved entropy methodology combining expert and entropy weightings. The index was calculated for 40 cities that were part of China's pilot CE cities program for alternating years in the five year period between 2012 and 2016 (that is, the index was calculated for 2012, 2014 and 2016). The study found that the level of urban CE increased significantly over the five year period, with that in the CE pilot cities growing at a faster rate than the national average. Results show that a certain relationship exists between UCDI, urban types and economic development, but has little relationship with industrial structure. Finally, recommendations for the promotion of urban CE are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A better understanding of the economy-material-emissions nexus is fundamental in order to reveal the interactions between human development and the natural environment, and more importantly, to design integrated de-carbonization and de-materialization policies. In this paper, we conducted a decoupling analysis of fossil fuel-induced CO 2 emissions and in-use material stocks in infrastructure to economic growth at the provincial level in China and investigated the trilateral causal relationships among the three indicators. The results show that the average elasticity of CO 2 emissions and material stocks to economic growth was smaller than 1, representing a status of relative decoupling. However, in many less developed provinces in central and western China, we observed increasing trends of elasticity in the past three decades, which suggest their economic growth became more tightly linked to CO 2 emissions and the accumulation of material stocks. Granger tests suggest that in the long run there existed a unidirectional causality running from CO 2 emissions, economic growth and urbanization to material stocks. In the short run, a bi-directional causality between CO 2 emissions and economic growth and a unidirectional causality from material stocks to CO 2 emissions were detected. Policy implications for the de-carbonization and de-materialization transition include enhancing renewable energy utilization, upgrading industries to less carbon-intensive ones, developing compact cities, prolonging the lifespan of infrastructure, and strengthening the life-cycle carbon management of infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to its combination of superior natural conditions and abundant resources, the Pearl River Delta (PRD), China, is densely populated, with concentrated industry and rapid development. The PRD is also one of the most threatened estuaries in the world, as it has been exposed to an increasing series of crises related to water resources. Water conflict, water pollution, and saltwater intrusion have all increased dramatically in the past few decades, which pose a threat to regional water security and impose constraints on regional development. The goal of this paper is to analyze the causes and impacts of some of the water resource crises faced by estuaries under dramatically changing environments, based on studies in the PRD. The PRD is centered around the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) and is the second most economically active district in China. Rapid economic development and a population boom have resulted in an average annual growth rate of 1.43% in water resource demand, which has further accelerated water pollution by a substantial growth in sewage discharge. Water pollution results in the impairment of the ecological functions of the water, and the standard rate of water function areas in the PRD remains under 50%. Large-scale and uneven sand excavations not only decreased the river discharge from upstream but also allowed more tidal prisms to enter, which triggered severe saltwater intrusion. Meanwhile, sea-level rise and changing wind patterns also contribute to increasingly severe saltwater intrusion, which was characterized by gradual increases in salinity, as well as more prolonged periods of higher salinity that exceeds acceptable thresholds occurring earlier in the year. This study is intended to bring attention to these challenging issues and provide some of the information needed to advance research into sustainability assessment of the water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emission in China is currently the largest in the world. Considering that the transport sector, it is one of the major contributors, its CO2 emissions and their main driving factors have become the focus of many scholars. However, majority of the existing studies usually investigates CO2 emissions using the averaging method (i.e., ordinary least squares method). In fact, the data distribution of socio-economic variables is often non–normal, with the tail having hidden important information. In order to overcome the shortcomings of existing research, this paper uses a quantile regression approach to explore the main driving forces of the difference in CO 2 emissions under high, medium and low level of development. The results show that the effect of economic growth on CO 2 emissions in the 25th–50th quantile provinces is higher than those in the other quantile provinces due to the differences in fixed–asset investment and motor vehicles. Energy intensity has a similar story owing to different R&D funding and R&D personnel investments. The influences of urbanization in the upper 90th and 75th−90th quantile provinces are higher than those in the other quantile provinces because of the differences in human capital accumulation and patented technology. Freight turnover produces the same effect, which is due to the differences in freight transportation and transport mode. However, the impacts of passenger turnover in the lower 10th and 10th−25th quantile provinces are the highest in all the quantile provinces. Therefore, in the process of emission reduction, the relevant departments should be concerned about the heterogeneous effects of these driving forces on the different quantile provinces, rather than adopting the “one–size–fits–all approach”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]