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Abstract The rapid increase in per capita energy consumption is likely to be an important factor affecting the sustainable development of China's economy. In this study, the convergence of per capita energy consumption, which is an important inherent characteristic of China's energy consumption, is investigated using panel data for the period 1994–2014 for 30 Chinese provinces. To control for the potential spatial dependence in energy consumption per capita and introduce dynamics, appropriate spatial dynamic econometric models are employed. The empirical results indicate that there are both absolute and conditional β-convergences in per capita energy consumption across provinces. In addition, there is also evidence for an inverted U-shaped relationship between per capita energy consumption and per capita GDP. Therefore, per capita energy consumption would increase when economic development is relatively low. However, per capita energy consumption may decrease after a threshold level of economic development is reached. Among the factors that potential influence provincial energy consumption, the ratio of secondary industry value-added to GDP and the spatial correlation of energy consumptions in neighboring provinces are positively related to energy consumption per capita, while population density and per capita foreign direct investment do not affect energy consumption per capita significantly.

Abstract This study develops an integrated analytical framework, based on LMDI method, to identify the driving factors of energy and water (EW) nexus in Beijing from both economy- and sector-wide perspectives. The notable findings are: (1) The service and urban household sectors contributed most to the increase of energy use while the agriculture sector played a dominated role in the large decline of water use in Beijing from 2002 to 2017. Service and urban household were the key sectors of EW nexus. (2) Both economy- and sector-wide factors exerted synergistic effects on EW use, although their contributions to water-saving were much higher than energy-saving. Regarding economy-wide factors, production expansion considerably increased both EW use in Beijing, with the contribution degrees of 129.9% and 276.2%, respectively, and population expansion also played an important role in increasing EW use, with the contribution degree of 10.3% and 32.9%; while efficiency improvement and industrial structure adjustment led to much more water-saving of 261.7% and 145.1% than energy-saving of 56.6% and 5.6%, respectively. As to sector-wide factors, production expansion of industry and service sectors, and income improvement of urban household contributed to a considerable increase in both energy and water use, and the contribution degree are 58.3%, 65.7% and 28.5% for energy use as well as 61.0%, 79.8% and 22.8% for water use, respectively, whereas efficiency improvement of industry sector effectively curbed the increase of energy and water use, with the contribution degree of −50.5% and −76.7%, respectively. (3) The only trade-off between energy- and water-saving occurred in the efficiency improvement of the agriculture sector. (4) More attention should be paid to reducing EW use in the service and urban household sectors through efficiency improvement and behavior guidance for EW saving.

Over years of intensive cultivation and imbalanced fertilizer use, the soils of the Indian subcontinent have become deficient in several nutrients and are impoverished in organic matter. Recently, this region has started emphasizing a shift from inorganic to organic farming to manage soil health. However, owing to the steadily increasing demands for food by the overgrowing populations of this region, a complete shift to an organic farming system is not possible. The rice–wheat cropping system (RWCS) is in crisis because of falling or static yields. The nations of this region have already recognized this problem and have modified farming systems toward integrated nutrient management (INM) practices. The INM concept aims to design farming systems to ensure sustainability by improving soil health, while securing food for the population by improving crop productivity. Therefore, this paper was synthesized to quantify the impact and role of INM in improving crop productivity and sustainability of the RWCS in the context of the Indian subcontinent through meta-analysis using 338 paired data during the period of 1989–2016. The meta-analysis of the whole data for rice and wheat showed a positive increase in the grain yield of both crops with the use of INM over inorganic fertilizers only (IORA), organic fertilizers only (ORA), and control (no fertilizers; CO) treatments. The increase in grain yield was significant at p < 0.05 for rice in INM over ORA and CO treatments. For wheat, the increase in grain yield was significant at p < 0.05 in INM over IORA, ORA, and CO treatments. The yield differences in the INM treatment over IORA were 0.05 and 0.13 Mg ha−1, respectively, in rice and wheat crops. The percent yield increases in INM treatment over IORA, ORA, and CO treatments were 2.52, 29.2, and 90.9, respectively, in loamy soil and 0.60, 24.9, and 93.7, respectively, in clayey soil. The net returns increased by 121% (INM vs. CO) in rice, and 9.34% (INM vs. IORA) and 127% (INM vs. CO) in wheat crop. Use of integrated nutrient management had a positive effect on soil properties as compared to other nutrient management options. Overall, the yield gain and maintenance of soil health due to INM practices over other nutrient management practices in RWCS can be a viable nutrient management option in the Indian subcontinent.

Green credit encompasses financial instruments and services utilized to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and facilitate adaptation to global climate change. Establishing a long-term stable green credit institution is crucial to promoting carbon abatement goals. This study uses the difference-in-difference (DID) model to discuss the impact of green credit policy (GCP) on environmental performance based on the China industrial enterprise data. Our results show that GCP inhibits the pollution emissions and improve firm environmental performance. This improvement effect is attributed to a reduction in production scale, and financing constraints. Moreover, GCP increases the firms' exit risk from market and promotes the technological innovation of incumbent firms. Economic growth target constraints trigger a positive moderation role in the implementation of GCP. Heterogeneity results show that such improvement effect is more pronounced in state-owned firm, large-scale firms, and high R&D intensity firms. Importantly, our findings also suggest the environmental monitoring effect of green credit is dependent on the institutional quality. Only in a sound market environment can GCP effectively improve firm environmental performance. Finally, we propose to build a systematic incentives and constraints mechanism to achieve the sustainable development. The conclusions of this paper provide empirical evidence and policy implications for the implementation of GCP.

Abstract The goal of environmental regulations is to reduce pollutant emissions without substantial hamper to economy. However, the impacts of environmental regulations on economic activities and pollutant emissions have been under intense debates. In this paper, we attempt to empirically investigate the roles of economic development in the heterogeneous impacts of environmental regulations on green productivity in a panel of China's cities. To test the heterogeneous impacts, we use a partially linear functional-coefficient (PLFC) model which allows the effects of environmental regulation vary with economic development. This paper further constructs an alternative efficiency indicator to explore the orders of impacts on green productivity or solely reducing pollution. Based on the thresholds from PLFC, we divide the cities into 6 groups to discuss the priorities in environmental strategies. We find that economic development is the preconditions for environmental regulation to work. Only when the GDP per capita is higher than 42,142 RMB, can environmental regulations promote green productivity; while a higher GDP per capita over 51,586 RMB enables the goal of reducing pollution ahead of schedule. Our results demonstrate that environmental regulations in 9% of cities promote green productivity, and 40% could reduce pollution without hampering economic outputs.

Energy poverty is a multidimensional and complex phenomenon, and several indicators have been developed to evaluate and quantify it. However, often greater complexity does not mean greater precision. In the case of Chile, the Energy Poverty Network established the Three-dimensional and Territorial Indicator of Energy Poverty (EPTTI in Spanish) to assess the energy poverty situation of Chilean families. The EPTTI is based on a multidimensional approach with 10 indicators. Although, their evaluation involves resources that may hinder a practical application. This study analyzed the consistency between the individual responses of an indicator and the adapted EPTTI evaluation, using a database of 641 families. The results show that the excessive energy expenditure and the type and energy source of heating systems indicators are the variables with the greatest influence on energy poverty assessments. These results served to both propose simplified approaches for energy poverty assessment with the indicator, and establish policies of action that regional governments should address to reduce the situation of energy poverty Confort ambiental y pobreza energ´etica (+CO-PE)” of the University of the Bío-Bío, the Thematic Network 722RT0135 “Red Iberoamericana de Pobreza Energ´etica y Bienestar Ambiental” (RIPEBA) National Agency for Research and Development (ANID, in Spanish) Thematic Networks of the CYTED Program for 2021 Universidad de Granada / CBUA

Abstract Different levels and patterns of development in various cities lead to disparities in respect to responsibilities for carbon reduction, particularly within the urban agglomeration and peripheral cities. An assessment of the inequality of industrial carbon emissions between cities can quantitatively explain interregional differences regarding low-carbon activities. This research was conducted to assess inequalities related to total industrial carbon emissions per capita within the urban agglomeration and peripheral cities in the Pearl River Delta during the period 2005–2015. A Kaya-Theil model was utilised to evaluate the effects which represented the primary driving factors that caused the carbon-inequality changes in industrial carbon emissions. The findings revealed that the inequalities in carbon emissions per capita in the urban agglomeration and peripheral cities showed an overall decline, and the within-group inequality component produced patterns that were similar to those of the entire inequality. Further decomposition identified the industrial energy intensity effect as the primary contributor to carbon inequality in both regions during the period. However, the effect varied across the regions. The impact of the inequality associated with industrial energy intensity showed a decline, though the regional inequality of the peripheral cities was greater than that observed in the urban agglomeration, particularly over the first five years, after which the inequality stabilised. Furthermore, the effect of industrial energy intensity is the main reason for the observed increases in inequalities within the urban agglomeration. The findings offer support for regionally differentiated carbon reduction policies for urban sustainability, and lead to policy implications.

The vigorous development of green finance has become a national strategy in China. Green finance is gradually becoming a key driver of high-quality economic development and a key area of concern for China’s economy and ecological environment. Based on the panel data of 30 Chinese provinces from 2001 to 2019, we analyzed the impact and mechanism of vertical fiscal imbalance (VFI) and green finance (GF) on high-quality economic development (HQD) and then used the fixed-effect model and spatial Durbin model for empirical testing. We found that GF can significantly contribute to HQD, but VFI has a negative moderating effect in contrast to the positive effect of GF on HQD. This negative moderating effect is strongest in the central region. According to the analysis of the spatial econometric model based on geography, economy, and the nested spatial weight matrix, we found that the local GF has a negative spatial transmission effect on the HQD of other regions. Therefore, it is recommended that the coordinated development of green finance among regions be promoted, while affairs and expenditure responsibilities be reasonably distributed between the central and local governments to drive HQD effectively.

AbstractThis paper employs a simultaneous equation model based on the model of Huang and Labys(2003) to describle the interactions among a set of variables such as economic growth, foreign trade, FDI and environmental pollution. An empirical test is made by using Chinese regional panel data in 1993-2007. The results indicate that export-oriented economy is good for local environments on the whole, and Environment Kuznets Curve holds true in China while Pollution Haven Hypothesis does not.© 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of RIUDS