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Abstract The technology heterogeneity in the construction industry causes difficulties for an unbiased evaluation of safety performance. The non-parametric and two-hierarchy frontier data envelopment analysis (DEA) model was constructed according to the inputs and outputs of China’s provincial construction industry in 2017. Safety performance and its potential as well as undesirable output potential were analyzed from the aspect of technology gap and management efficiency. The results showed that the average safety performance in China's provincial construction industry was calculated to be 0.715, which was caused by technology gap and management efficiency. Northwest China has good performance in technology gap ratio and Central China performs well in management efficiency. Meanwhile, the strategies to improve safety performance in China's provincial construction industry were developed. In addition, potential of the safety technology gap and safety management efficiency took up 70.18% and 29.82% in terms of the undesirable output control. East, Central, South and Southwest China are the main areas needing to strengthen accident prevention practice. The findings can be used to help scholars understand the condition of safety performance in China's provincial construction industry, and provide guidelines to evaluate the performance in construction safety considering production technology heterogeneity.

Abstract The technology heterogeneity in the construction industry causes difficulties for an unbiased evaluation of safety performance. The non-parametric and two-hierarchy frontier data envelopment analysis (DEA) model was constructed according to the inputs and outputs of China’s provincial construction industry in 2017. Safety performance and its potential as well as undesirable output potential were analyzed from the aspect of technology gap and management efficiency. The results showed that the average safety performance in China's provincial construction industry was calculated to be 0.715, which was caused by technology gap and management efficiency. Northwest China has good performance in technology gap ratio and Central China performs well in management efficiency. Meanwhile, the strategies to improve safety performance in China's provincial construction industry were developed. In addition, potential of the safety technology gap and safety management efficiency took up 70.18% and 29.82% in terms of the undesirable output control. East, Central, South and Southwest China are the main areas needing to strengthen accident prevention practice. The findings can be used to help scholars understand the condition of safety performance in China's provincial construction industry, and provide guidelines to evaluate the performance in construction safety considering production technology heterogeneity.

This work was aimed to comprehensively evaluate the potential for sustainable development of China's shale gas industry. It will contribute to the sustainable development of China's energy and economic. Factors of resource, technology, economy and environment were selected to develop the DPSIR framework evaluation indicators in system for shale gas based on the previous research. Next, The PPFCI (projection pursuit fuzzy clustering model) technique was developed by combining the projection pursuit model with a fuzzy clustering iterative model. So that it can deal with the multi-source, high-dimensional, fuzzy data of the proposed evaluation indicators. And then, the RAGA (accelerated genetic algorithm based on real coding) algorithm was developed to run the PPFCI technique. The results show that core technical capability, investment in projects of prevention of geological disasters, and ecological environment damage indicators were the key factors affecting the sustainability of China's shale gas industry. The potential for sustainable development of China's shale gas industry was relatively low. And it was unbalanced in different provinces. The potential for sustainable development of the southwest region was better than the northwest region. Among them, the development of Sichuan was more stable than Chongqing, with a 99% probability of maintaining a stable and sustainable development state, while Chongqing province has a 15%-20% probability to fluctuate towards the poles.

This work was aimed to comprehensively evaluate the potential for sustainable development of China's shale gas industry. It will contribute to the sustainable development of China's energy and economic. Factors of resource, technology, economy and environment were selected to develop the DPSIR framework evaluation indicators in system for shale gas based on the previous research. Next, The PPFCI (projection pursuit fuzzy clustering model) technique was developed by combining the projection pursuit model with a fuzzy clustering iterative model. So that it can deal with the multi-source, high-dimensional, fuzzy data of the proposed evaluation indicators. And then, the RAGA (accelerated genetic algorithm based on real coding) algorithm was developed to run the PPFCI technique. The results show that core technical capability, investment in projects of prevention of geological disasters, and ecological environment damage indicators were the key factors affecting the sustainability of China's shale gas industry. The potential for sustainable development of China's shale gas industry was relatively low. And it was unbalanced in different provinces. The potential for sustainable development of the southwest region was better than the northwest region. Among them, the development of Sichuan was more stable than Chongqing, with a 99% probability of maintaining a stable and sustainable development state, while Chongqing province has a 15%-20% probability to fluctuate towards the poles.

Abstract This paper provides the first estimates of China's global developmental finance institutions in general and China's policy bank lending to foreign governments for energy in particular. According to the China Global Energy Finance database, between 2000 and 2017, China Development Bank (CDB) and China Export-Import Bank (CHEXIM) provided $225.75 billion in overseas energy development finance. We find that: China's ‘policy banks’ and funds have doubled the availability of global development finance –and hold more assets than the major Western-backed MDBs operating in developing countries. With the onset of a new family of funds and multilateral development banks co-financed by China, China is poised to be the largest development lender in the world as Western-backed MDBs appear stagnated in their ability to increase their capital bases. China's global energy portfolio is heavily exposed to country, macroeconomic, climate, and social risks, however. To mitigate such risks and meet the broader sustainable development challenge for the 21st Century, China's development finance will need to shift the composition of its global energy lending in a significant manner.

Abstract This paper provides the first estimates of China's global developmental finance institutions in general and China's policy bank lending to foreign governments for energy in particular. According to the China Global Energy Finance database, between 2000 and 2017, China Development Bank (CDB) and China Export-Import Bank (CHEXIM) provided $225.75 billion in overseas energy development finance. We find that: China's ‘policy banks’ and funds have doubled the availability of global development finance –and hold more assets than the major Western-backed MDBs operating in developing countries. With the onset of a new family of funds and multilateral development banks co-financed by China, China is poised to be the largest development lender in the world as Western-backed MDBs appear stagnated in their ability to increase their capital bases. China's global energy portfolio is heavily exposed to country, macroeconomic, climate, and social risks, however. To mitigate such risks and meet the broader sustainable development challenge for the 21st Century, China's development finance will need to shift the composition of its global energy lending in a significant manner.

Abstract China's carbon emissions have been ranking first in the world. This study filled in the gaps in research, decomposed carbon intensity from the perspective of time, space and industry. A decoupling effort model based on factor decomposition models was constructed to analyze the driving factors of carbon emissions and economic decoupling, which builded a foundation for achieving sustainable economic development. Using the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index method (LMDI), the paper measured the carbon emission intensity of 29 provinces and cities in China from 1998 to 2019, and decomposed the decoupling effect between GDP and carbon emission on the basis of factor decomposition by tapio. The results showed that: (1) Carbon intensity declined first, then rise lightly, and finally declined steadily. For the primary industry and the tertiary industry, the carbon intensity declined steadily, while the carbon intensity increased accordingly to the overall carbon intensity. In terms of spatial evolution, the regional differences between different provinces decreased correspondingly. (2) The cumulative contribution rates of these three effects, i.e., technological progress, industrial structure and regional scale were 106.3299%, −15.1486% and 8.8188%, respectively. There were obvious differences of these cumulative contribution rates of carbon intensity among different provinces. (3) From the perspective of industrial, technological progress effect is the largest contribution for carbon intensity in the secondary industry. The Industrial structure effect mainly affects the primary and tertiary industries; and no significant difference in regional scale effect. (4) The decoupling effect gradually improved, and technological progress has played an absolute leading role in promoting the decoupling effect. Based on the research results, the key policy recommendation are put forward as follows: (1) Further improve the technological level and support clean technology enterprises. (2) Promote industrial upgrading in backward industrial provinces (3) Promote regional assistance and the introduction of high-quality foreign investment.

Abstract China's carbon emissions have been ranking first in the world. This study filled in the gaps in research, decomposed carbon intensity from the perspective of time, space and industry. A decoupling effort model based on factor decomposition models was constructed to analyze the driving factors of carbon emissions and economic decoupling, which builded a foundation for achieving sustainable economic development. Using the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index method (LMDI), the paper measured the carbon emission intensity of 29 provinces and cities in China from 1998 to 2019, and decomposed the decoupling effect between GDP and carbon emission on the basis of factor decomposition by tapio. The results showed that: (1) Carbon intensity declined first, then rise lightly, and finally declined steadily. For the primary industry and the tertiary industry, the carbon intensity declined steadily, while the carbon intensity increased accordingly to the overall carbon intensity. In terms of spatial evolution, the regional differences between different provinces decreased correspondingly. (2) The cumulative contribution rates of these three effects, i.e., technological progress, industrial structure and regional scale were 106.3299%, −15.1486% and 8.8188%, respectively. There were obvious differences of these cumulative contribution rates of carbon intensity among different provinces. (3) From the perspective of industrial, technological progress effect is the largest contribution for carbon intensity in the secondary industry. The Industrial structure effect mainly affects the primary and tertiary industries; and no significant difference in regional scale effect. (4) The decoupling effect gradually improved, and technological progress has played an absolute leading role in promoting the decoupling effect. Based on the research results, the key policy recommendation are put forward as follows: (1) Further improve the technological level and support clean technology enterprises. (2) Promote industrial upgrading in backward industrial provinces (3) Promote regional assistance and the introduction of high-quality foreign investment.

Abstract The ecological footprint is a measure of the resources necessary to produce the goods that an individual or population consumes. It is also used as a measure of sustainability, though evidence suggests that it falls short. The assumptions behind footprint calculations have been extensively criticized; I present here further evidence that it fails to satisfy simple economic principles because the basic assumptions are contradicted by both theory and historical data. Specifically, I argue that the footprint arbitrarily assumes both zero greenhouse gas emissions, which may not be ex ante optimal, and national boundaries, which makes extrapolating from the average ecological footprint problematic. The footprint also cannot take into account intensive production, and so comparisons to biocapacity are erroneous. Using only the assumptions of the footprint then, one could argue that the Earth can sustain greatly increased production, though there are important limitations that the footprint cannot address, such as land degradation. Finally, the lack of correlation between land degradation and the ecological footprint obscures the effects of a larger sustainability problem. Better measures of sustainability would address these issues directly.