Chinese Journal of Population Resources and Environment最新文献

{"title":"Breaking down the barriers to clean air: The effects of China’s Zero-Waste City policy on PM2.5 concentration","authors":"Wei Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.cjpre.2025.01.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjpre.2025.01.007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As urbanization accelerates globally, air pollution—particularly PM_2.5—is becoming an increasingly significant threat, not only to public health but also the environment. In-depth research on the impact of China’s Zero-Waste City pilot policy on PM_2.5 concentration offers valuable insights into the policy’s effectiveness and provides a potential model for environmental governance worldwide. This study employs panel data from 293 Chinese cities from 2014 to 2022 to systematically analyze the impact of the Zero-Waste City policy on PM_2.5 concentration using a difference-in-differences model. The findings indicate that the policy not only directly reduces PM_2.5 concentration but also indirectly curbs PM_2.5 emissions by enhancing green innovation and green economic efficiency. Moreover, the policy’s effects are found to be positively moderated by urban energy dependence and digital financial inclusion, while they are negatively moderated by the government debt ratio. Based on these findings, this study suggests that cities should actively develop their digital economy, reduce government debt, promote green innovation, and improve green economic efficiency, as doing so will enhance their implementation of environmental policies and promote sustainable urban development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":45743,"journal":{"name":"Chinese Journal of Population Resources and Environment","volume":"23 1","pages":"Pages 75-84"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143768331","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Supply chain integrated merger and acquisitions (M&As) and firm energy performance","authors":"Fengxiang Zhao ,&nbsp;Bo Wang ,&nbsp;Mei Yu","doi":"10.1016/j.cjpre.2025.01.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjpre.2025.01.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper examines the impact of upstream merger and acquisition (M&amp;A) activities driven by supply chain integration motives on firm energy performance. By developing a microlevel theoretical framework, we examine the intricate relationship between firms’ upstream M&amp;A strategies geared toward supply chain integration and their energy efficiency. We examine the impact of upstream M&amp;A activities on energy performance using data from Chinese listed companies from 2007 to 2021. Our findings reveal that upstream M&amp;A initiatives can enhance firms’ energy efficiency, although there are discernible variations in the effects observed for M&amp;A activities targeted downstream or within the same industry. By examining mechanisms, we elucidate the pivotal roles of input substitution effects and productivity enhancements through which upstream M&amp;As boost energy performance. Furthermore, our analysis underscores the catalyzing impact of M&amp;A activities in fostering collaborative innovation in green technologies among firms and suppliers, thus improving productivity and energy efficiency. We provide new microlevel evidence of the relationship between M&amp;A transactions and corporate energy efficiency from upstream and downstream perspectives.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":45743,"journal":{"name":"Chinese Journal of Population Resources and Environment","volume":"23 1","pages":"Pages 27-39"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143768327","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comprehensive index of extreme climate risk in China and urban sustainable development","authors":"Feng Dong ,&nbsp;Siqing Wang ,&nbsp;Guang Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.cjpre.2025.01.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjpre.2025.01.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Climate change severely challenges our ecosystem and society, affecting urban residents’ socioeconomic activities. Thus, assessing severe weather risk is crucial for evaluating urban sustainability; understanding trends, causes, and impacts on socioeconomic development; and supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13. Using meteorological data from 1980 to 2020, we investigate five disaster-causing severe weather events in China and construct a comprehensive index of extreme climate risk (CIECR) at the county, city, province, and national levels. The CIECR can identify high-risk regions and primary severe weather events and provide early warnings. We empirically test the impact of extreme climate risks on agricultural production, industrial structure, and labor employment. The results show high risks in Xinjiang, northern Inner Mongolia, and southern regions, with high temperatures, low temperatures, and high winds as the leading risks. At the national level, the extreme climate risk fluctuates, indicating climate warming. While risks reduce agricultural production and employment, they promote modern agriculture, industrial production, and urbanization. The novelty of the study lies in its development of the county-level CIECR, which can capture heterogeneity characteristics and provide microdata support for urban climate change research and efforts toward SDG 13. This study aids in mitigating climate risks; responding to climate change; and comprehensively analyzing the causes, trends, and impacts of extreme climate risks.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":45743,"journal":{"name":"Chinese Journal of Population Resources and Environment","volume":"23 1","pages":"Pages 62-74"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143768330","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Will peer effects exist on renewable energy development across China’s provinces?","authors":"Dequn Zhou ,&nbsp;Chenxi Zhang ,&nbsp;Siqi Zhao ,&nbsp;Hao Ding ,&nbsp;Qunwei Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.cjpre.2025.01.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjpre.2025.01.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Chinese government promises to reach the carbon emission peak by 2030 and achieve the carbon neutrality by 2060. Renewable energy development is important for achieving this target. Local governments’ behaviors and attitudes might be influenced by neighbors. Therefore, this study uses simultaneous autoregressive models (SAR) to examine the peer effects on renewable energy development across China’s provinces and explain the imbalanced renewable energy developments across regions in China. The results exemplified: ① The peer effects exist in China and the endogenous interaction is the main cause. ② The interaction between geographically adjacent provinces have greatest peer effects. ③ Both competition mechanism and learning mechanism induce the peer effects and the imbalanced development. This research introduces energy-related peer effects at the provincial level to reflect the preferences of governments and reveal the underlying mechanisms involved. It also provides suggestions to policy makers: ① Select developed provinces as the frontrunner to promote the renewable energy development in neighboring areas. ② Regional renewable energy development policies need to be considered. ③ Central government should consider adding “green growth indicators” into evaluation system to avoid the asymmetrical incentives policies between economic growth and environmental protection.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":45743,"journal":{"name":"Chinese Journal of Population Resources and Environment","volume":"23 1","pages":"Pages 1-14"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143768403","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Articulating the role of green finance and natural resources in the environment: Aggregate and disaggregate analysis of natural resources","authors":"Zhenxing Luo ,&nbsp;Nasir Mahmood ,&nbsp;Jianjun Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.cjpre.2025.01.009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjpre.2025.01.009","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Economic growth affects natural resources and the environment directly and indirectly; however, the exact role that natural resources play in environmental sustainability remains unknown. This paper revisits the relationship between natural resources and CO₂ emissions by considering the role of green finance vis-à-vis the aggregated and disaggregated analysis. Empirical panel data estimation analyzes a sample of emerging countries over the 2001–2019 period using the recently developed econometric cross-sectional auto-regressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL) technique. The findings show that natural resource components (natural gas, mineral rent, oil rent, and coal rent) are negatively associated with environmental pollution. In contrast, overall natural resource consumption helps reduce carbon emissions. However, we find that green finance contributes to carbon emission reduction. In contrast, education causes pollution by contributing to carbon emissions. We offer policy recommendations about the effectiveness of green financing for the sustainable use of natural resources in diminishing pollution.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":45743,"journal":{"name":"Chinese Journal of Population Resources and Environment","volume":"23 1","pages":"Pages 96-105"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143768333","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sustainable communal septic tank systems in informal settlements: The case of Lebak Siliwangi, Indonesia","authors":"Kudakwashe Ncube","doi":"10.1016/j.cjpre.2025.01.013","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjpre.2025.01.013","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study focused on realizing Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 for inclusive clean water and sanitation; in particular Target 6.3, which aims to reduce untreated wastewater by 2030 while promoting circular wastewater reuse and recycling globally. The main objective was to assess the adequacy and efficiency of communal septic tank systems in informal settlements while helping local planners and authorities in their decision-making regarding Target 6.3. Quantitative and qualitative approaches were employed with secondary data from previous researchers, and primary data were collected from field surveys, observations, and interviews with members of the local community. The research was delimited to two village administrative divisions known as Rukun Warga (Village Administrative Division, RW): RW 7 and RW 8 of Lebak Siliwangi Kampung in Coblong District, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. The findings were also compared with situations in other informal settlements in Brazil, Bangladesh, and Nairobi. The results indicated the inadequacy of communal septic tanks in informal settlements due to factors such as substandard system design, limited support and communication between authorities and residents, and the gap between septic tank availability and capacity vis-a-vis demand. Other limiting factors included limited land availability and irregular geomorphology, the latter of which affected the siting and operation of septic tanks due a lack of room for upgrades or expansion in response to continuous population growth. These findings illustrate the need to complement communal septic systems with flexible centralized or decentralized systems to achieve Target 6.3 of SDG 6.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":45743,"journal":{"name":"Chinese Journal of Population Resources and Environment","volume":"23 1","pages":"Pages 121-131"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143768336","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Design of a sustainable development path in Chenzhou based on a knowledge graph","authors":"Qiuli Lv ,&nbsp;Lijie Gao ,&nbsp;Longyu Shi ,&nbsp;Houbo Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.cjpre.2024.11.009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjpre.2024.11.009","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sustainable urban development involves many fields with complex data types and rich semantic relationships, such as the economic, societal, and ecological fields. Knowledge graphs provide a new means for sustainable urban development research by leveraging their strengths in the construction of knowledge networks and display of knowledge associations. Focusing on Chenzhou, a resource-based city serving as a China’s Innovation Demonstration Zone for Sustainable Development Agenda, this study adopted a top-down approach, applying the “seven-step” and “skeleton” methods to construct an ontology for sustainable urban development through manual editing. A knowledge graph was constructed for Chenzhou’s sustainable development, comprising 515 nodes, 3 209 relations, and 28 157 attributes. Sustainable measures and pathways were proposed based on this knowledge graph. The results showed that Chenzhou’s future sustainable development should focus on innovation, growth, emissions reduction, centering around high-quality and sustainable development. Promoting the transfer and transformation of scientific and technological achievements, accelerating the optimization and upgrading of industrial structures, and enhancing talent cultivation and recruitment will foster new quality productive forces, providing strong momentum and support for the high-quality and sustainable development of Chenzhou. To accelerate the green economy transition, Chenzhou should improve the market-oriented allocation system for resources and environmental factors, explore the “gross ecosystem product + eco-environment-oriented development” project implementation model, encourage enterprises to adopt environmental, social, and governance principles, and foster synergies between supply and demand. Furthermore, coordinating Chenzhou’s low-carbon city pilot projects and constructing carbon sequestration pathways that leverage nature-based solutions will help implement the “dual carbon” actions and enhance the city’s ability to respond to climate change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":45743,"journal":{"name":"Chinese Journal of Population Resources and Environment","volume":"22 4","pages":"Pages 455-468"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143156846","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Spatial network characteristics and drivers of carbon emission reduction capability in urban agglomerations: A case study of Shandong Province","authors":"Shu Tian,&nbsp;Yujie Zhang,&nbsp;Yue Xu,&nbsp;Yuan Xu,&nbsp;Shuo Yang,&nbsp;Qingsong Wang,&nbsp;Xueliang Yuan,&nbsp;Qiao Ma","doi":"10.1016/j.cjpre.2024.11.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjpre.2024.11.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Synergistic carbon emission reduction at the urban scale is an inherent requirement for China to realize its carbon emission reduction commitments and promote sustainable and regional synergistic development. Using 16 prefectural cities in Shandong Province as an example, this study defines and quantifies the regional carbon emission reduction capacity (CERC) based on the synergistic development of carbon emission reduction, environmental protection, and economic growth objectives. The spatial network characteristics of the (CERC) and its drivers were analyzed using social network analysis and quadratic assignment procedure regression methods. The results revealed that the spatial correlation of the CERC among prefectural cities has been increasing over the years. Jinan-Zibo-Qingdao is the center of the network, while the spatial linkage strength in the southwest and northeast of Shandong Province is weak. Geospatial distance and scientific development differences have a significant negative effect on the intensity of spatial association, while differences in economic and informatization developments have a considerable positive impact. Environmental regulatory differences and transportation differences are not significant. This study offers a methodological reference for similar studies in other countries or regions. At the same time, the findings provide a scientific basis for the government to rationally allocate urban resources and promote regional synergistic carbon emission reduction.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":45743,"journal":{"name":"Chinese Journal of Population Resources and Environment","volume":"22 4","pages":"Pages 376-388"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143156729","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Digital intelligence and synergy of pollution reduction and carbon reduction: “Dividend” or “gap”?","authors":"Jiajia Li ,&nbsp;Xianfeng Han ,&nbsp;Tonglei Zhang ,&nbsp;Jian Xiao ,&nbsp;Longtao Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.cjpre.2024.11.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjpre.2024.11.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>At the intersection of the “dual carbon” goal and the era of digital intelligence (DI), exploring the synergy between pollution and carbon reduction (SPCR) within the context of DI is important for promoting a comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development. This study, based on urban panel data from 281 prefecture-level cities in Mainland China from 2010 to 2020, developed a DI indicator system for these cities and employed a double machine learning algorithm for the first time to investigate the intrinsic mechanisms and incentivizing effects of DI on SPCR. The results showed that: ① DI significantly promotes SPCR. ② Mechanism tests demonstrated that DI can indirectly enhance SPCR by optimizing resource allocation and reinforcing government interventions. ③ Further analysis showed that the impact of DI on SPCR was more substantial in regions with lower levels of economic and environmental competition. Moreover, the SPCR driven by DI exhibited heterogeneity, characterized by stronger effects in “resource-based cities &gt; non-resource-based cities” and “non-capital economic zones &gt; capital economic zones”. The conclusions of this study hold significant implications for fully harnessing the synergy between digitization and intelligence to empower SPCR. In addition, the findings are valuable for the government’s integrated promotion of the “dual carbon” goal and the “digital China” strategy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":45743,"journal":{"name":"Chinese Journal of Population Resources and Environment","volume":"22 4","pages":"Pages 389-398"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143156732","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Is there a peer effect on corporate ESG performance? Evidence from China’s capital market","authors":"Longsheng Xi,&nbsp;Hongjie Bian,&nbsp;Xingyu Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.cjpre.2024.11.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cjpre.2024.11.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Corporate ESG performance is an important way for stakeholders to understand the corporate environment, social responsibility, and governance behavior. Under China’s implementation of the “carbon peak and carbon neutrality” dual carbon strategic background, ESG has become an important tool to promote the achievement of the “dual carbon” goals and high-quality development. How enterprises can reasonably and effectively improve their ESG performance and promote their green and sustainable development has become a major practical problem that urgently needs to be solved. Based on social learning and dynamic competition theories, this study takes Shanghai-Shenzhen A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2021 as research samples, empirically tests whether there is a peer effect in the ESG performance of listed companies in China, and examines the generation mechanism and influencing factors of the peer effect in the ESG performance of enterprises. The results show that: (i) There is an industry and regional peer effect on the ESG performance of enterprises, where the average ESG performance of other enterprises in the same industry and region, except for the focus enterprise, significantly affects the ESG performance of the focus enterprise.This core conclusion still holds true after robustness tests such as instrumental variable method, propensity score matching method, and first-order difference method to eliminate endogeneity issues, replace key measurement indicators, and control for macro factors. (ii) The mechanism analysis results show that the “information learning” and “competitive pressure” mechanisms promote the peer effect of ESG performance. (iii) Further research has found that institutional investors’ attention and government environmental regulations positively and significantly impact the peer effect of corporate ESG performance. (iv) Heterogeneity analysis shows that the ESG performance peer effect is more significant for large-scale, eastern, and state-owned enterprises than for small-scale, central, western, and non-state-owned enterprises. This study expands the boundaries of current ESG theory and empirical research, and the conclusions provide important policy implications for governments and enterprises.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":45743,"journal":{"name":"Chinese Journal of Population Resources and Environment","volume":"22 4","pages":"Pages 423-435"},"PeriodicalIF":3.9,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143156805","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}