环境规制对我国能源效率影响的研究——基于省际数据的实证分析

Study on the Impact of Environmental Regulation on Energy Efficiency in China——An Empirical Analysis based on Provincial Data

治理环境污染、提高能源效率是实现经济社会可持续发展的必然要求。本文基于政府环境规制视角,从显性和隐性两个方面构建衡量环境规制强度的指标体系,采用熵值法分别测算显性环境规制强度和隐性环境规制强度,并依据2015年中国省域的相关数据实证分析了环境规制对能源效率的直接影响和间接作用。计量结果表明:我国能源效率水平整体偏低,地域差异明显;当前由于遵循"成本效应",显性环境规制不利于能源效率的提高,而隐性环境规制对能源效率有正向影响;以科技发展水平作为中介变量,显性环境规制没有对科技发展水平形成倒逼机制,而隐性环境规制通过影响科技发展水平,对能源效率产生间接的促进作用。因此研究认为:我国各地区应继续加强显性环境规制强度,促使其对科技发展水平产生倒逼作用;因地制宜构建绿色多样的环境规制体系;完善公众参与环境保护机制,提高公众节能减排意识。

Controlling environmental pollution and improving energy efficiency are inevitable requirements for achieving sustainable economic and social development. Based on environmental regulations from governments,an indicator system is constructed in the paper to measure the environmental regulation intensity from both the explicit and the implicit aspects,and Entropy Method is used to calculate the explicit environmental regulation intensity and the implicit environmental regulation intensity respectively. Based on the relevant data of China’s provinces and regions in 2015,the direct and indirect effects of environmental regulation on energy efficiency are empirically analyzed. The result shows that the energy efficiency level of China is generally low,and regional differences are obvious. Due to the ‘cost effect’,explicit environmental regulations is not conducive to the improvement of energy efficiency,while implicit environmental regulations have positive effects on energy efficiency. Taken the development level of science and technology as the intermediary variables,explicit environmental regulation does not form an adverse mechanism to the level of scientific and technological development,while implicit environmental regulation indirectly promotes energy efficiency by affecting the level of scientific and technological development. Therefore,the study believes that all regions in China should continue to strengthen the intensity of explicit environmental regulation,and promote its impact on the level of scientific and technological development,build a green and diverse environmental regulation system according to local conditions,improve public participation in environmental protection mechanisms,and raise public awareness of energy conservation and emission reduction.