Reducing harm to the ocean: From environmental governance to the development of marine ecological civilization

Abstract

It is of paramount importance to promote the green transformation of economic development patterns in coastal areas, so as to synergistically protect the marine environment and promote high-quality economic development. Adopting Green Economic Efficiency (GEE) as a comprehensive indicator and employing the Staggered Difference-in-Differences (DID) method, the current study deeply investigates the impacts and underlying mechanisms of the development of National Marine Ecological Civilization Demonstration Zones (NMECDZs) on the green transformation of coastal cities. The research findings are as follows: (1) The development of NMECDZs significantly improves the GEE of pilot cities, effectively mitigating the negative impact on marine ecosystems from the beginning. (2) Significant heterogeneity in the actual effects is observed due to differences in regional industrial agglomeration levels, new infrastructure development, and energy structures. Specifically, the positive impact is notable only in cities with higher levels of industrial agglomeration and new infrastructure development, as well as those with less reliance on coal as a primary energy source. (3) In terms of mechanisms, NMECDZs primarily promote the green transformation of coastal regions through two pathways: fostering clean technological innovation and facilitating industrial structure upgrading. Based on the research findings, policy recommendations are proposed from two aspects: institutional innovation in marine environmental protection and technological innovation-driven strategies for high quality regional development.