中国上市环保核查制度改革的效果及影响因素

Impact and influencing factors of environmental verification system reform in China

环境规制改革是实现国家治理体系和治理能力现代化在环境监管领域的着力点,对于全面实现生态文明建设、有效改善地方环境规制失灵问题具有重要意义。为此,原环境保护部于2014年对上市环保核查制度进行改革调整。该研究以此为准自然实验,基于2012—2017年我国沪深A股上市公司数据,采用双重差分模型验证新环境规制能否提升重污染企业环境责任表现,并从地方环境监管主体的角度运用三重差分模型探究影响改革效果的因素。研究发现:环保核查制度改革后,相比其他企业,重污染企业的环境表现显著改善。通过促使重污染企业承担环境责任,该制度也推动了当地环境质量的好转,体现为省份工业废水化学需氧量、工业二氧化硫排放量和PM 2.5年均浓度分别下降1290、12170 t和0.848μg/m^(3)。进一步分析发现:在地方政府更重视环境保护、对环保配置更多资源的地区,以及在法制环境和媒体发展更健全完善的地区,制度改革效果更好。研究结论表明,地方政府能否履行环境监管职责取决于规制机构的目标偏好和行为逻辑以及第三方监督机制。重视可持续发展的地方政府能够促进当地企业环境治理责任意识的增强,而正式的环境规制能否发挥作用,与当地法制建设和媒体发展等非正式制度环境紧密相关。这为我国环境规制体系变革的有效性提供了经验证据,也为进一步增强地方政府环境监管职能提供有益启示。据此,从提高企业对绿色发展的认识和实践、提高地方政府的环保偏好和监管水平、提高公民的环境意识和参与能力三个方面提出相关政策建议。

In order to solve the problem of local environmental regulation failure,China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection made a reform of the environmental protection verification system in 2014.Based on the data of China’s A-share listed companies from 2012 to 2017,this paper took the reform as a quasi-natural experimental object and used the methods of DID and DDD to explore the improvement effect on corporate environmental responsibility and regional influencing factors.The empirical results showed that after the reform of environmental verification system,the environmental performance of heavily polluting enterprises improved significantly compared with other enterprises.The reform also promoted local environmental quality by stimulating heavy polluting companies to assume environmental responsibility,which was reflected in the decrease of industrial wastewater COD,industrial SO 2 emissions and PM 2.5 by 1290 t,12170 t and 0.848μg/m^(3) respectively.Further research showed that in areas where local governments paid more attention to environmental protection and allocated more resources to environmental protection,the effect of this reform was better;in areas where legal environment and media environment were more developed,this reform was more effective.The research conclusions showed that the environmental supervision of local governments depended on their preferences and third-party supervision mechanisms.Local governments that attached importance to sustainable development would make local enterprises enhance the awareness of environmental responsibility,and whether formal environmental regulations could play a role was closely related to the informal institutional environment such as local laws and media.This paper provides empirical evidence for the effectiveness of China’s environmental regulatory system reforms and has useful implications for local governments to strengthen environmental supervision.Accordingly,relevant policy recommendations are put forward from three aspects:improving enterprises’awareness and practice of green development,improving local governments’environmental preference and supervision level,and improving citizens’environmental awareness and participation capabilities.