Spatial–Temporal Evolution Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Industrial Pollution Control Efficiency in China

Study on Spatiotemporal Evolution Features and Affecting Factors of Collaborative Governance of Pollution Reduction and Carbon Abatement in Urban Agglomerations of the Yellow River Basin

Exploring spatiotemporal evolution features and factors affecting pollution reduction and carbon abatement on the urban agglomeration scale is helpful to better understand the interaction between ecological environment and economic development in urban agglomerations. In this study, we constructed an evaluation index system for collaborative governance of pollution reduction and carbon abatement in urban agglomerations. In addition, we employed the correlation coefficient matrix, the composite system synergy model, the Gini coefficient, and the Theil index to evaluate the level of and regional differences in collaborative governance of pollution reduction and carbon abatement in seven urban agglomerations in the Yellow River Basin from 2006 to 2020. Moreover, we explored the factors affecting collaborative governance of pollution reduction and carbon abatement in urban agglomerations in the basin. The following findings were obtained: (1) the order degree of collaborative governance of pollution reduction and carbon abatement in the seven urban agglomerations exhibited a significant growing trend, representing a spatial evolution feature of "high in the west and low in the east"; (2) the internal differences in collaborative governance synergy of pollution reduction and carbon abatement decreased in Lanzhou-Xining Urban Agglomeration, Hohhot-Baotou-Ordos-Yulin Urban Agglomeration, Central Shanxi Urban Agglomeration, Zhongyuan Urban Agglomeration, and Shandong Peninsula Urban Agglomeration, while the internal differences basically remained stable in Guanzhong Urban Agglomeration and the Urban Agglomeration along the Yellow River in Ningxia; (3) the variances in environmental regulation and industrial structure among urban agglomerations had a significant positive effect on collaborative governance of pollution reduction and carbon abatement in urban agglomerations in the basin, and the variances in economic growth had a significant inhibitory effect. In addition, the variances in energy consumption, greening construction, and opening-up had an inhibitory impact on collaborative governance of pollution reduction, but the impact was not significant. Finally, this study proposes various recommendations to improve collaborative governance for pollution reduction and carbon abatement in urban agglomerations in the basin in terms of promoting industrial structure upgrading, strengthening regional cooperation, and reducing regional differences. This paper represents an empirical reference for formulating differentiated collaborative governance strategies for pollution reduction and carbon abatement, comprehensive green and low-carbon economic and social transformation programs, and high-quality green development paths in urban agglomerations, which is of certain theoretical and practical significance.

Sustainable Development Efficiency of Cultural Landscape Heritage in Urban Fringe Based on GIS-DEA-MI, a Case Study of Wuhan, China

Cultural landscape heritage refers to the rare and irreplaceable cultural landscapes recognized by UNESCO and the World Heritage Committee. It is recognized as a "common works of nature and human beings" of outstanding significance and universal value, and is a type of world heritage. Dueto construction, land isincreasingly limited in urban and rural areasin the process of urbanization, and cultural landscape heritage faces a huge threat, especially larger culturallandscapeheritagelocated at the edgesof cities. However, most of the existing studies have mainly focused on the material protection of heritage but have not paid enough attention to the non-material aspects of heritage sites, failing to reveal the inseparable nature of heritage and land. Therefore, this study takes sustainable development efficiency as its analysis tool, examines two pieces of cultural landscape heritage (the Panlongcheng site and the Tomb of the King of the Ming Dynasty) in the urban edge area of Wuhan, China as examples, innovates and establishes a multidimensional evaluation method based on the GIS-DEA-Ml model, and compares the dynamic changes of the spatial development efficiency and non-spatial development efficiency of the above two cultural landscape heritage cases. The results show that: both the spatial development efficiency and non-spatial development efficiency of Panlongcheng from 2010 to 2019 are significantly higher than that of the Tomb. This method makes up for the deficiency of traditional subjective qualitative analysis. It can be used to study the development efficiency of cultural landscape heritage more objectively and comprehensively, and promote the overall sustainable development of material and intangible cultural heritage. It can provide the basis for early decision-making and post-implementation evaluation for the preservation and utilization of cultural landscape heritage under the background of urban renewal.

The Analysis of Carbon Emission’s Characteristics and Dynamic Evolution Based on the Strategy of Unbalanced Regional Economic Development in China

Analyzing the evolution law of carbon emissions is particularly important for the designation of policies on energy conservation and emission reduction. Based on the regional division of China, this paper uses a spatial panel model to find the causes of the differences in carbon emission, and the non-parametric model, logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) model and the extended STIRPAT model to analyze the relevant influencing factors in detail. From the studies in this paper, there come the following conclusions: (1) The environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) in the eastern region resembles the national EKC, demonstrating the same “N” pattern. However, the “upside-down U” pattern in the middle and western regions not only confirms the assumption of EKC in some Chinese regions but also demonstrates the effective restraint in high energy consumption and high emission levels when narrowing down the gaps between the central and western regions and the eastern regions. (2) In addition, good education can effectively suppress the increase in carbon emission, and every 1% increase in the proportion of educated people (college and above) results in emission reduction, respectively, by 0.22%, 0.51% and 0.44% in the eastern, central and western regions of China. (3) Significantly, the effect of tertiary industry structure on carbon emissions is positive, reflecting the trend of “deterioration” of China’s industrial structure over long time scales. This study functions positively in understanding the evolutionary pattern of regional carbon emissions and proposing differentiated policies on emission reduction.

Human Health, Environmental Quality and Governance Quality: Novel Findings and Implications From Human Health Perspective

Human health and wellbeing are intimately linked to the state of the environment. The current study emphasizes the role of environmental quality, government policies, and human health. This paper provides a detailed literature review of existing findings regarding our key variables of interest. The results argue that the implications of poor government policies and environmental pollution for rising economic development have led to poor environmental quality and health issues for humans. Based on earlier investigations, the present study reviewed the state-of-the-art review and determined innovative insights for outdoor and indoor environment difficulties. This study provides a detailed review of human health, environmental quality, and governance quality. In addition, the study conducts an empirical analysis using the annual data of low-income countries from 1996 to 2020. Government actions and health systems must be modified immediately to address these rising concerns successfully. The report offers policy recommendations for addressing health, governance, and environmental change mitigation issues, all of which are directly or indirectly related to the study. This article presents an overview of environmental change's health impacts and explores how health hazards may be reduced or eliminated through effective adaptation strategies.