Balancing Carbon Emission Reductions and Social Economic Development for Sustainable Development: Experience from 24 Countries

The impact of human carbon emissions on climate has generated widespread global concern. We selected 24 countries as research objects and analysed the changes in carbon emissions in different countries between the establishment of emission reduction actions in 1990 and 2014. Then, we selected 19 factors representing four categories(economy, population, technology and energy) to explore the key factors that led to changes in carbon dioxide(CO2) emissions in different countries. Emission reduction actions since 1990 did not lead to marked improvements, and only five countries(Russia, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and France) achieved reductions in carbon emissions. The factors that influenced CO2 emissions varied among countries. In most developing countries, reductions in CO2 emissions were caused by reductions in poverty and inherent natural conditions. Moreover, the extent of influence of a given factor on CO2 emissions differed among countries. The global economic crisis may cause similar fluctuations in CO2 emissions in many countries. Adjustments to energy and industrial structures are the main reason for the reduction in carbon emissions, whereas economic growth and urbanization are the two major contributors to the growth of carbon emissions. According to historical carbon emissions data, a green energy revolution must be implemented to address global climate change and ensure the sustainable development of human societies.

Economy Function in the Mode of Sustainable Development

To implement the previously formulated principles of sustainable economic development, all solutions of the linear system of equations and inequalities, which are satisfied by the vector of real consumption, are completely described. It is established that the vector of real consumption with the minimum level of excess supply is determined by the solution of some quadratic programming problem. The necessary and sufficient conditions are established under which the economic system, described by the “input-output” production model, functions in the mode of sustainable development. A complete description of the equilibrium states for which markets are partially cleared in the economy model of production “input-output” is given, on the basis that all solutions of system of linear equations and inequalities are completely described. The existence of a family of taxation vectors in the “input-output” model of production, under which the economic system is able to function in the mode of sustainable development, is proved. Restrictions were found for the vector of taxation in the economic system, under which the economic system is able to function in the mode of sustainable development.

Impact of taxes on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development:Evidence from Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD)countries

Multiple ecological and socioeconomic problems have occurred worldwide,raising the awareness of sustainability.This study aims to examine the impact of taxes on Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs)in the context of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD)countries.This research used effective average tax(EAT),tax on personal income(TPI),tax on corporate profits(TCP),and tax on goods and services(TGS)as the variables of taxes,and employed secondary data from 38 OECD countries covering 2000–2021.The study also used Breusch-Pagan Lagrange Multiplier(LM),Pesaran Scaled LM,Bias-Corrected Scaled LM,and Pesaran Cross-sectional dependence(CSD)tests to analyze the existence of crosssectional dependency.Then,we established the stationarity of variables through second-generation panel unit root tests(Cross-sectional Augmented Dickey-Fuller(CADF)and Cross-sectional Im,Pesaran,and Shin(CIPS)),and confirmed the long-run cointegration of the variables by using secondgeneration panel cointegration test(Westerlund cointegration test).The results showed that EAT,TPI,TCP,and TGS are positively associated with SDGs.However,the change in TPI has a smaller effect on SDGs than the change in EAT or TCP or TGS.The result of panel causality indicated that EAT,TPI,and TGS have a unidirectional causal relationship with SDGs.The study also found that TCP has a bi-directional causal relationship with SDGs.Moreover,the finding indicated that the OECD countries need to focus on tax policies to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.This study is based on the theory of optimal taxation(TOT),which suggests that tax systems should be designed to maximize social welfare.Finally,we suggests the importance of taking a comprehensive approach for the managers and policy-makers when analyzing the impact of taxes on SDGs.

Relationship between Sustainable Land Use and Rural Economic Development:A Case Study of Meining Village,Pingma Town in Guangxi

For a long time,rural economic development has put economic benefits in the first place,ignoring the impact of unreasonable land use on local land resources and ecological environment,which is not conducive to the long-term high-quality development of local economy and sustainable land use.There is an urgent need to study the relationship between sustainable land use and rural economic development in order to achieve the coordinated development of the two.By using the methods of literature research and field investigation,this paper studies Meining Village,Tiandong County,Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.The study found that farmers tend to plant pure eucalyptus forest,single land use structure,short-term rotation planting model and traditional afforestation and land preparation technology are not conducive to sustainable land use in forest areas,and affected by economic and educational factors,farmers livelihood is relatively simple,so the development of rural economy will be restricted.In view of the above problems,this paper puts forward the following solutions:changing the land use model of Meining Village to promote sustainable land use;introducing advanced science and technology and diversified livelihood ways to promote the sustainable development of rural economy;building a virtuous circle of sustainable land use and rural economic development.

Sustainable Economic Development:The Necessary Dialogue between Environmental Law and Economics

This article aims to analyze the distinction between the concepts of economic growth,economic development,sustainable development and environmental justice;the inter-action between Environmental Law and Economics in the paradigm of environmental justice,and what is the purpose of such interaction;and environmental justice as a possible solution to the installed state of environmental imbalance.To this end,the concepts of economic growth,economic development,sustainable development and environmental justice are investigated;Complexity Theory and its transdisciplinary approach;and environmental justice as a new order capable of reversing a state of installed environmental imbalance.To obtain the results desired by the research,the method of approach to be followed will be the empirical-dialectical,using bibliographic research,having as a reference system of the Law and Economics of Richard A.Posner.In conclusion,it is pointed out that there is a need for a new development model,which,based on transdisciplinarity,should seek solutions in favor of socioeconomic-environmental balance for present and future generations,as a way of overcoming the state of environmental imbalance installed,as well as all the economic,political,cultural,social and environmental impacts caused by it.

Rural sustainable development:A case study of the Zaozhuang Innovation Demonstration Zone in China

Sustainable development is the central theme of modern global development.With the arrival of the urban era,the vulnerability and instability of rural areas have significantly increased,and rural sustainable development faces serious challenges.To address these issues,the study took the Zaozhuang Innovation Demonstration Zone in China under the National Sustainable Development Agenda as a case,combined with economic,social and land use data during 2016-2020,and applied Granger causality test method to explore the theoretical and practical pathways of“innovation-driven rural sustainable development”.The results showed that rural sustainable development and economic sustainability displayed a trend of synergistic change,with“explosive”growth from 2018 to 2020.The social sustainability steadily increased from 2016 to 2020.Ecological and spatial sustainability continuously declined during the study period.Moreover,the rural innovation capacity of the Zaozhuang Innovation Demonstration Zone displayed rapid growth during 2016-2020.Although the rural innovation capacity of the Zaozhuang Innovation Demonstration Zone has rapidly improved,it has a weak driving effect on rural sustainable development and economic sustainability.There are two primary challenges that must be overcome to ensure the rural sustainable development of the Zaozhuang Innovation Demonstration Zone.The first challenge is the imbalance among the multi-dimensional relationships in the process of rural sustainable development,and the second challenge is the weakening of rural innovation capacity to drive rural sustainable development.To overcome these challenges,this study proposed a systematic pathway for rural sustainable development in the Zaozhuang Innovation Demonstration Zone from multidimensions,such as policy actions,technologies,projects,and institutional guarantees,and formed a universal and representative“Zaozhuang model”.This study expands the theoretical foundation of rural sustainable development and provides theoretical and practical support for innovation-driven rural sustainable development.

Analysis on the Environmental Factors of Sustainable Economic Development

1. China’s environmental problems 1) Serious water pollution. Water is most indispensable to people’s life. Contaminated water will seriously affect people’s normal life and cause environmental degradation, putting people in the danger of catching various diseases. Therefore, everyone should save water and make full use of it. However, in China, water pollution is getting worse. China has abun-

Socio-economic development of countries based on the Composite Country Development Index(CCDI)

World experience indicates the existence of significant imbalances in the development of countries.The problem of assessing the rational development of the regional and national economy is becoming urgent,since such assessments can prevent development imbalances across countries.The aim of this study is to elaborate a methodology to assess the countries’socio-economic development by integraring 12 modern indices of socio-economic development into the Composite Country Development Index(CCDI).The methodology of this research was based on a set of key indices that described socio-economic development level in four fields(social development,digital development,economic development,and environmental security)and then these indices were integrated into the CCDI.The study further applied factor analysis and R-Studio software to define the gaps of social and economic development in 59 selected countries using the trigonometric function of the angle sine.The correlation analysis confirmed the existence of a close interrelation among the studied countries.This paper noted that due to the emergence of new priorities,it is necessary to revise the assessment methodology of socio-economic development level and expand them to cover the decisive factors.This was confirmed by the results obtained,demonstrating various combinations of the development level in the four fields and their impact on the CCDI.The scientific contribution of this research is to form a methodology(e.g.,the CCDI)for evaluating the socio-economic development level of countries in the world.

Countermeasures for the Protection and Sustainable Development of Forestry Resources

Firstly,the problems of the protection and sustainable development of forestry resources were analyzed,such as lack of overall planning for the protection of forestry resources,insufficient investment in the protection of forestry resources,etc.Afterwards,the corresponding countermeasures were proposed,such as making overall planning for sustainable forestry development,increasing the investment in the protection of forestry resources,improving the forestry management system,etc.

Economy Equilibrium and Sustainable Development

The structure of technological mappings is studied and it is shown that for an important class of technological mappings there exists a continuous strategy of the behavior of firms as arbitrarily close in terms of profit. The latter is important for building the theory of economic equilibrium, which is an important tool for building the theory of sustainable economic development. Theorems of the existence of economic equilibrium under conditions of uncertainty and under general assumptions about the structure of supply and demand have been proved.

STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN URBANIZATION PROCESS IN CHINA

This paper reviewed the development of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) in China, expounded its functions and regional characteristics, and discussed the targets of SEA in the process of urbanization,and the main assessment indicators, procedures, techniques and methodologies of SEA. It concluded that SEA could be improved by the following recommendations: incorporating SEA in decision-making process, selecting experimental units for SEA trial run, and developing strategic evaluation tools and techniques. SEA can provide appropriate and up-to-date information on the impact of human activity on environment in the process of urbanization, and develop a plan of action targeting implementation of intervention for the rehabilitation and preservation of the ecological stability of a city. Therefore, SEA can be a supporting tool for decision-making toward achieving sustainable development.

Poverty Reduction,Environmental Protection and Ecosystem Services:A Prospective Theory for Sustainable Development

Poverty reduction and environmental protection are two global tasks for sustainable development.The study perspective has changed over time,from narrowly focusing on poverty reduction to comprehensively strengthening human-welfare.We reviewed key references targeting the theoretical content and practical approach relying on poverty,environment protection and ecosystem services.We discussed the contradicting views on the relationship of poverty and environmental degradation,and then illustrated the study progress of a cutting-age topic-ecosystem services which pave a way to address poverty reduction and environmental protection together.At last,we investigated essential factors that affect the development and environmental protection.Considering the evolution of the concept of poverty,we found that the environment has occupied an increasing proportion in the cognizance of poverty.The relationship between poverty and environmental degradation is regional uniqueness.In practical aspect,projects based on the management and valuation assessment of ecosystem services draw researchers′attention all over the world.The appropriate scale,essential economic incentives,morality,law and social equality are key factors affecting individuals′decisions which directly relate to the sustainable development.

Resource and Environmental Quality Changes and Adjustment Principles for Sustainable Development in Rapidly Developing Coastal Region of Southeastern China

Problems in water-land resources and environmental quality increase with the fast economic development in the coastal region of southeastern China. This region has the highest density in population, industry and towns in China, and the large export-oriented economy makes itself a strategic importance while China enters into international markets. The problems facing to this region include arable land reduction, land degradation aggravation, high percentage of built-up land with high rate of expansion, expanded non-point pollution, deteriorated water quality, decreasing biodiversity, destroyed ecosystems, severe air pollution, frequently occurred acid rain, and multi-pollutants. The important research fields in the near future should include a) influence of high-intensity exploitation of resources on changes of environment quality and its feedback; b) interface processes, key mechanisms and adjustment principles for degradation of water-, land-, and air-resources and environmental quality; c) evolvement processes and nurturing theory of biodiversity and ecological resources; and d) spatio-temporal variation and human-induced effects on regional resources and environment quality. Strategies for sustainable development in the region are as follows: a) controlling to ensure basic cultivated land area; b) enforcing remediation of polluted water environment, and controlling non-point pollution; c) strengthening ecological construction and ecological security; and d) controlling multi-pollution and preventing trace toxic pollutants.

Quantitative Evaluation of Sustainable Development and Eco-Environmental Carrying Capacity in Water-Deficient Regions:A Case Study in the Haihe River Basin,China

Quantitative assessment of development sustainability could be a challenge to regional management and planning, especially for areas facing great risks of water shortage. Surface-water decline and groundwater over-pumping have caused serious environmental problems and limited economic development in many regions all around the world. In this paper, a framework for quantitatively evaluating development sustainability was established with water-related eco-environmental carrying capacity （EECC） as the core measure. As a case study, the developed approach was applied to data of the Haihe River Basin, China, during 1998 through 2007. The overall sustainable development degree （SDD） is determined to be 0.39, suggesting that this rate of development is not sustainable. Results of scenario analysis revealed that overshoot, or resource over- exploitation, of the Basin＇s EECC is about 20% for both population and economy. Based on conditions in the study area in 2007, in order to achieve sustainable development, i.e., SDD〉0.70 in this study, the EECC could support a population of 108 million and gross domestic product （GDP） of 2.72 trillion CNY. The newly developed approach in quantifying ecoenvironmental carrying capacity is anticipated to facilitate sustainable development oriented resource management in waterdeficient areas.

Problems and countermeasures of sustainable development in Fujian Province in the new century

Fujian province is one of the coastal provinces with rapid economic growth after the reform and opening to the outside world. Being one of the two basic strategies of China in the new era, sustainable development plays a directive role in the coordinated development of socio-economy, natural resources and ecology of Fujian. This paper analyses some important issues influencing sustainable development in Fujian in the next 20 years, such as the sustainable development of economy, investment environment improving and further opening to the outside, urbanization and coordinated development of city system, rational exploitation of natural resources, environmental conservation and ecological rehabilitation, and narrowing intraprovincial gap. Corresponding countermeasures are put forward.

Existing Problems in Energy Exploitation and Eco-environment Sustainable Development and Their Countermeasures in Northern Shaanxi

The exploitation of coal, petroleum and natural gas in northern Shaanxi not only promoted the rapid development of economy, but also brought about enormous pressure to fragile ecology and resulted to severe water pollution, water and soil loss, vegetation destruction and other ecological environmental problems, so many countermeasures were put forward according to these problems, such as greatly developing circular economy, conducting cleaner production in petroleum enterprises, continuously renewing mining technology and so on.

Sino British cooperation for urban environmental enhancement and sustainable development

This paper gives an overview of the presentations and discussions at the Sino British Workshop on Urban Environmental Enhancement and Sustainable Development held in Beijing from September 9—11, 1998. It summarises the contributions from both the Chinese and British sides to the four major themes of urban sustainability: integrated environmental assessment, water pollution and management, urban transportation and its impacts on air quality, and environmental technology. It also identifies many areas of common interest for further collaboration.

Eco-economic evolution, emergy evaluation and policy options for the sustainable development of Tibet

As economies and ecological support systems become more interdependent, new disciplines are needed to 'bridge the gap' of understanding between societies and nature. It is now clear that neither ecology nor economics alone can address the problems of our global commons. New measures of wealth, of value, of contributions and production are needed that acknowledge the 'natural capital' and 'ecosystem services' provided from healthy environments. A new interface is now being recognized termed 'eco-economics'. It is an ambitious and necessary attempt to understand the affairs of humanity and nature as a single, interdependent system. New tools are being invested to measure wealth. services and production fairly and equitably. In this report we use systems analysis approach to study the combined ecological-economic system of Tibet We use an alternative measure of value, based on real contributions to system performance, termed EMERGY, spelt with an 'M'. It is an accounting unit of total contributions, direct and indirect. used in generating a product or service. It is a concept derived from understanding whole systems, their interactions and interdependence, and the resources driving and maintaining them. This broader approach will help us to investigate Tibetan resources utilization and potentialities and exchange. Emergy analysis allows comparison and incroporation of environmental costs and benefits with variables of traditional economic costs and benefits to provide a more comprehensive perspective for public policy directives. Through this research, we think: 1) China has made a great effort in making Tibet develop from a closed regional system to a more and more opened regional system which is very important to the sustainable development of Tibet. 2) The increase of economic development and population growth has a close relationship with the total emergy storage and use in transportation. Education in modern science and technology increased the shared emergy of Tibetans to modern science and technology and stimulated the process of matching material and energy imports from outside with local resources. 3) There is great potential to develop hydropower and geothermal reserves that may stimulate not only economic development but also the better use of environment. 4) The better trained population can increase the empower of Tibet eco-economic system. Future development needs all kinds of talent exchanges with the outside system to develop education. 3) Compared with the Tibet economic system, Taiwan economic system is much more competitive. GNP and emergy use are very useful functions for comparing the competitive power of different ecological economic systems.

Environmental management and sustainable development in forested mountain areas of northeast China

This paper studied the sustainable development through a reasonable management of the social, economic and natural environment in a forested mountain area of northeast China. In order to show the local people how to manage their most important forest resource, we analyzed the life-history process of the key species and the influencing factors that were associated with the forest regeneration and sustainability. Pollination and fertilization were mainly affected by weather conditions. Light intensity under the forest canopy was the key factor that controlled seedlings growth and saplings survival. Periodic seeds setting caused the fluctuations of rodents and other related animals in the food chain. Squirrels played a very important role in the forest regeneration, theses animals were the absolutely indispensable components of the forest ecosystem. How to understand the co-evolutionary relationships among species in the forest ecosystems was very important for the conservation of biodiversity and maintenance of ecosystem itegrity. In conservation of the natural resources, we studied the social and economic environment of the forested mountain area. It is very hard to effectively protect the forest resources and maintain the normal life of the local people under the regime of the “unified administration and enterprise system”. Reforms are needed both in administrative institutions and in enterprise management. In the end, this paper proposed that we should not only protect the trees, the related animals, the ecological habitats, and the whole forest ecosystems, but also consider the human activities and their basic requirements so as to realize a sustainable development in the forested mountain areas.

Modeling Indicator Systems for Evaluating Environmental Sustainable Development Based on Factor Analysis

Indicator systems of environmental sustainable development in the Poyang Lake Basin are established from 51 elementary indexes by factor analysis, which is composed of four steps such as the factor model, the parameter estimation, the factor rotation and the factor score. Under the condition that the cumulative proportion is greater than 85%, 5 explicit factors of environmental sustainable development as well as its factor score by region are carried out. The result indicates some impact factors to the basin environmental in descending sort order are volume of water, volume of waste gas discharge,volume of solid wasters.the degree to comprehensive utilization of waste gas, waste water and solid wastes, the emission volume of waste gas, waste water and solid wastes. It is helpful and important to provide decision support for constituting sustainable development strategies and evaluate the sustainable development status of each city.