Quantitative estimation and influencing factors of transboundary air pollution from the perspective of regional heterogeneity

Abstract

Transboundary air pollution (TAP) imposes high health and economic burdens on neighboring regions, further causing the issue of environmental injustice. In this study, changes in PM_2.5 concentrations resulting from TAP across various provinces in China were quantitatively analyzed, and the quadratic assignment procedure (QAP) method was employed to explore influencing factors from a regional heterogeneity perspective, with the aim of reducing the impact of transboundary pollution. The results reveal the following: (1) The impact of TAP continued to decrease in all provinces. Compared with those in other regions, inland central cities were more significantly affected. (2) Hebei and Jiangsu were identified as the primary pollution sources, and they exported significant amounts of pollutants to neighboring provinces. In contrast, Shaanxi and Chongqing were the main recipients. The reason for this finding is that TAP is influenced by both geographical proximity and regional development differences. (3) Disparities in the total factor energy efficiency played a crucial role in determining pollution spillover in the short term. In the long term, reducing the gaps in environmental regulations between regions constituted the core element for mitigating TAP. Additionally, the subregional regression analysis results indicated that differences in the industrial structure positively affected the broker and net spillover sectors. On the basis of these findings, targeted policy recommendations for regional collaboration, balanced spatial development, and differentiated governance were formulated.