Is economic fitness helpful in achieving environmental sustainability in BRICS economies?A risk exposure perspective

A country’s ability to create complex goods and diversify its lines of products is essential for addressing all types of vulnerabilities.Quantifying a country’s vulnerability to extreme climatic events,such as droughts,superstorms,and other natural disasters,and its capacity for successful adaption,is an essential global need that has been ignored.This study examines the role of economic fitness(EF)in addressing climate change risk ex‐posure in BRICS countries in the context of the environmental Kuznets curve using panel data from 1995 to 2015.Panel threshold methodology is employed to ascertain the nonlinear relationship between EF and climate change risk exposure(i.e.,Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative Country Index(ND-GAIN)).In addition,empirical associations were estimated using panel-corrected standard errors,Driscoll-Kraay standard errors,and feasible generalized least squares estimation techniques.These findings demonstrated an inverted N shaped link between EF and ND-GAIN.Moreover,even after controlling for significant ND-GAIN influencing variables such as gross domestic product per capita,financial development,and urbanization,our robustness checks revealed significant and consistent findings.

The Impact on Environmental Kuznets Curve by Trade and Foreign Direct Investment in China

Based on data of trade, foreign directinvestment (FDI), economic development andenvironmental conditions in China’s 30 provincesbetween 1990-2002, this paper deals with the impacton Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) of tradeand FDI in China. The results show no direct impacton EKC of trade, on the one hand. However, tradecontributes significantly to economic growth, andhas played a positive role in introducing advancedpollution prevention technology and environmentalmanagement methodology to China. Therefore, aproactive trade policy will help solve the environmentalpollution problem brought by economic growth. Onthe other hand, there is a positive correlation betweenFDI and pollutant emission, which proves that FDIdoes have some negative influence on environmentin China due to hasty introduction of foreign capitaland inadequate environmental management systemin China.

An Empirical Study on the Environmental Kuznets Curve for China's Carbon Emissions:Based on Provincial Panel Data

Based on the Environmental Kuznets Curve theory, the authors choose provincial panel data of China in 1990-2007 and adopt panel trait root and co-integration testing method to study whether there is Environmental Kuznets Curve for China＇s carbon emissions. The research results show that： carbon emissions per capita of the eastern region and the central region of China fit into Environmental Kuznets Curve, but that of the western region does not. On this basis, the authors carry out scenario analysis on the occurrence time of the inflection point of carbon emissions per capita of different regions, and describe a specific time path.

Green technical innovation, environmental expenditure, and the environmental Kuznets curve:a dynamics model

The relationship between the emission of pollutant and economic growth has attracted a lot of attention in the environmental debate of the recent decades. Based on some theoretical and empirical research on environmental Kuznets curve （EKC）, this paper introduces the environmental technical innovation and environmental investment into Salow growth model to discuss the relationship between GDP per capital and the emission of pollutant By the dynamic simulation and parameters analysis, the results of the model indicate： （1） when ＂green＂ technical progress and environmental investment are fixed, the relationship between GDP per capital and the emission shows the linear relationship; （2） ＂green＂ technical progress can lead to the positive growth rates with a decreasing level of emission, which is compatible with an EKC; （3） the proportion of the environmental investment can lead the different growth rates and level of emission. These results can explain that developing countries are ＂too poor to be green＂.

Probe into Environmental Kuznets Characteristics and Causes of Wastewater, Waste Gas, and Solid Wastes in Wuhan City

Environmental Kuznets characteristics and causes of waste water, waste gas, and solid wastes in Wuhan city was researched; By comparing the variation of “three wastes”, i.e. waste water, waste gas, and solid wastes, the model between standardized per capita GDP and values of “three wastes” discharge was established and the causes were analyzed based on the theory of environmental economics. The results show that 1) the total amount is fluctuantly increasing, but the discharges of the three kinds are temporarily different, 2) the curve conforms to the three-power function, in which the curve descends from 1985 to 1994, and the curve preliminary shows the environmental Kuznets characteristics from 1995 to 2001, 3) the simulated calculation illustrates that the turning point of this environmental Kuznets curve would be over 25007.25 Yuan per caprta, and 4) the economic development, changing of industry structure, energy resource structure, and environmental policies are the main factors leading to the Environmental Kuznets Curve in Wuhan city.

Opportunity and shift of nitrogen use in China

It is never an easy task for China to feed 1.4 billion people with only 7%of the world's arable land.With nearly 30%of the world's nitrogen(N)fertilizer applied,China achieves high crop yields while facing N pollution result-ing from excessive N input.Here,we calculate the farmland N budget on the national and regional scales.The N use efficiency(NUE)in China increased by 28.0%during 2005-2018.This improvement is due to the reduction in fertilization and the improvement of crop management.The fragmented farmland is changing to large-scale farmland with the increase in cultivated land area per rural population and the development of agricultural mech-anization.This opportunity brings more possibilities for precision farmland management,thus further improving NUE.The goal of an NUE of 0.6 may be achieved in the 2040s based on the current development trend.This striking N use shift in China has important implications for other developing countries.

Relationship Between Economic Growth and Water Environmental Quality of Anshan City in Northeast China

Based on the decomposition model of environmental quality and univariate regression model,the relationships of industrial wastewater drainage with economic scale,economic structure,and technological level in Anshan,a mining city in Northeast China,were studied. The results showed that,due to scale effect,the drainage of three important industrial wastewater pollutants(COD,NH3-N and petroleum) increased 8505t,671t and 384t,respectively,and due to structure effect,those pollutants drainage increased 3996t,174t and 120t from 2001 to 2006. While due to technological effect,the drainage of COD,NH3-N and petroleum reduced 4452t,458t and 331t,and due to cross effect,those pollutants drainage reduced 7270t,575t and 476t simultaneously. Meantime,the relationships between household consumption structure and domestic sewage discharge were analyzed,and domestic sewage discharges in different income levels were also compared. The results showed that,the domestic sewage discharges would increase 376t with 1000 yuan(RMB) increased in the traffic and communication consumption,and they would be 344t,219t,428t,1873t,respectively,in housing consumption,food consumption,medical consumption,miscellaneous commodity consumption. The proportion of domestic sewage discharge increased for high income residents significantly,but reduced for lower income residents. The industrial wastewater pollutants drainage tends to be reduced by technical progress,while domestic sewage discharge will be a more important factor for urban water environment quality.

The Environmental Impacts of Informal Economies in China: Inverted U-shaped Relationship and Regional Variances

This paper aims to the debate on the nexus between informal economies and the environment by investigating the long-term dynamic impacts of China’s informal economies on pollution and considering regional differences in informal economies’ pollution.This paper uses the Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes(MIMIC) model to estimate the size of informal economies and employs econometric models to examine their relationships to pollution based on provincial-level panel data from 2000 to 2017. The results indicate that informal economies’ effects on environmental pollution are not purely positive or negative. Rather, our model indicates that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between informal economies and pollution in the long run in China;this means that the level of environmental pollution increases at first and then decreases with the growth of informal economies. Further analysis shows that while this inverted, U-shaped relationship is significant in different regions of China, it is affected by different environmental impact factors. The paper concludes by discussing the policy implications for environmental protection and sustainable development.

Correlation Analysis between Economic Growth and Environmental Quality

With the rapid development of the economy,China’s environment has been damaged severely,which has attracted much attention from scholars and the local government.The concept of green development has been an underlying trend since 2012,and it is of great significance to explore the relationship between economic growth and environmental quality.Huzhou is a prefecture-level city under the jurisdiction of Zhejiang Province,and it is one of the 27 cities in the central area of the Yangtze River Delta.In recent years,this city develops well not only in economic development but also in maintaining a green environment.In the paper,the back propagation neural network is used to evaluate the local environmental quality.Meanwhile,the panel model is exploited to analyze the relationship between economic growth and environmental quality.All the data presented in the paper range from the year 2008 to 2018.Theoretical analysis indicates that the evaluation value of environmental quality,the emissions of industrial SO2,and waste water exhibit an inverted U-shaped relationship with economic growth.As for the regression results,the inflection point of income in the environmental Kuznets curve of the model which takes the evaluation value of the environmental quality as a dependent variable is higher than that of the model which takes the SO2 emission as an independent variable.The research result would help the local government to take appropriate countermeasures to improve the environment and economy.

Study on the Decoupling Indicators between Economic Development and Environmental Pollution

Decoupling theory and application are introduced firstly, and then the status and prospect of decoupling relation between environmental pollution and economic growth are analyzed. Finally, choice criteria and connotation of decoupling indicators are studied.

Has China-ASEAN Trade opening increased China’ s carbon emissions?

This study uses carbon emission data at the provincial level in China between 1998-2018 and the proportion of the total import and export trade between provinces and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN)in GDP to measure the level of China-ASEAN trade openness.It examines the impact of China ASEAN trade openness on carbon emissions and its transmission mechanism,and selects the RMB/USD exchange rate as an instrumental variable to address the endogeneity of China-ASEAN trade openness variables.The impact of China-ASEAN trade openness on China’s environment is estimated within a two-stage least squares framework.The results show that trade openness between China and ASEAN positively impacts China’s environment and can facilitate carbon emission reduction.The scale,structural,and technology effects brought by China-ASEAN trade liberalization jointly promote China’s carbon dioxide emission reduction.An inverted“U”relationship is found between economic growth and environmental quality in China,and some provinces and municipalities have now crossed the inflection point of the curve,in which carbon emi ssions decrease with an increase in per capita wealth.

Nexus between CO2 Emissions and Economic Growth, Industrial Production, and Foreign Direct Investment in Vietnam: Symmetric ARDL Approach

Vietnam’s economy has been developing strongly in recent years;however, it is necessary to examine the impact of its economic activities on environmental quality. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between CO2 emissions and economic growth, industrial production, and foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam. The ARDL estimation was used to process the dataset from World Bank. Results showed that economic growth, industrial production, and FDI have an impact on CO2 emissions in the long run in Vietnam. Granger Causality test also indicated that there is a causal relationship between economic growth, industrial production, and CO2 emissions in Vietnam from 1990 to 2018, at 5% statistical significance level. Proposed solutions to reduce CO2 emissions but still promote economic growth toward the green growth orientation and zero carbon target attainment are as follows: 1) reduce the use of fossil energy in industrial manufacturing and replace it by renewable energy sources;2) use modern technology for all production sectors in economy;and 3) develop a legal framework for FDI projects selection and choose foreign investors with modern and low carbon emission technology.

The Environmental Kuznets Curve and Spatial Pattern of Environmental-Economy in China:Evidence from a Panel Cointegration Test

基于中国1985～2007年30个省级行政区环境污染与经济增长面板数据,运用面板协整工具和动态最小二乘法(DOLS)对环境库兹涅茨曲线进行了实证检验。结果显示我国工业废气污染、工业废水污染和工业固体废弃物污染变量与经济增长变量之间存在长期协整关系,且变量间均呈现出显著的倒U形环境库兹涅茨曲线关系,而EKC转折点并没有出现在过低的水平上;其后基于检验结果探讨了我国环境-经济空间格局,部分东部发达省区已经越过或接近3种污染物EKC的转折点,然而我国大部分的中西部省区并未越过EKC转折点甚至距离较远。目前我国仍面临巨大的环境压力,在减排方面需要花费巨大的经济成本。我国环境经济政策的制定应根据各种不同情况因地因时制宜。

The effects of PM_(2.5)concentration on residents'health from the perspective of spatial economics

Ambient air quality is an important part of the ecological environment.Based on panel data from 192 countries for the period 2010–2016,our study applies spatial geography elements in a spatial panel model to analyze whether PM_(2.5)harms residents'health.We find a positive correlation between PM_(2.5)concentration and the prevalence of tuberculosis.Empirical testing shows that if residents live in environments with high PM_(2.5)concentrations for an extended period,it increases their probability of contracting tuberculosis.PM_(2.5)concentration and economic growth have an environmental Kuznets curve(EKC)relationship.Furthermore,PM_(2.5)concentration and prevalence of tuberculosis in different countries have a positive spatial correlation during the study period.The values of PM_(2.5)concentration in adjacent areas are similar,because PM_(2.5)can cross borders through airflow and as economic development levels in adjacent regions are similar.When regulating haze pollution,we should adopt regional joint governance,consider the specific characteristics of different regions,and coordinate these regulations with environmental protection policies to realize the goal of“lucid waters and lush mountains.”

The Micro-foundations of the Environmental Kuznets Curve

This paper presents a simple and straight-forward static model of the micro-foundations of the environmental Kuznets curve, in which the relationship between income and pollution depends on the relative magnitudes of the diminishing income-compensated price elasticity of environmental amenity and increasing marginal propensity to earn environmental amenity out of non-environment income. The smaller the income-compensated price elasticity and the larger the marginal propensity to earn out of non-environment income, the earlier the turning point emerges. This key feature of our model generalizes the specific features of many existing models and generates many of their implications.

Economic Globalization and Industrial Pollution

In order to study the relationship between economic globalization and industrial pollution, this paper developed the theoretical framework and used simultaneous equations. The result shows that economic globalization has influences on the industrial pollution mainly by the direct effect of scale, structure and technology as well as the indirect effect of income and policy. Considering all the factors, economic globalization, especially foreign direct investment (FDI), will reduce industrial pollution, in which technology spillover effect plays an important role.

Regional Distribution and Pollution of Energy-lntensive Industries in China

This paper investigates the regional distribution and pollution of energyintensive industries in China. Through the analysis of provincial panel data collected during 1998-2008, this work estimates the drivers of pollution in 30 of China＇s provincial-level divisions. The paper concludes that while China＇s energy-intensive industries are heavily distributed in eastern and central China, the speed of development toward central and western China has, in recent years, risen continuously. Industries located in eastern China do, however, remain the primary polluters in the country. Notably, regional agglomeration of energy-intensive industries plays a positive role in energy conservation and pollution control in China. This paper also finds that patterns of pollution in China follow the environmental Kuznets curve （EKC） with strong inter-provincial discrepancies.

Air Pollution, Environmental Regulations and Economic Growth——Estimation of Simultaneous Equations Based on Panel Data of Prefecture-Level Cities

The article selects the panel data of 289 prefecture-level and above cities in China from 2003 to 2017, establishes simultaneous equations and uses the 3 SLS estimation method to study the relationship between air pollution and economic growth. On the whole, industrial sulfur dioxide and soot emissions have an inverted U-shaped relationship with per capita GDP, and the increase in sulfur dioxide emissions has played a significant role in hindering economic growth. From a regional perspective, the sulfur dioxide emissions in the eastern and western regions conform to the environmental Kuznets curve, and the per capita GDP at the turning point in the western region is significantly lower than the overall national level. The smoke and dust emissions in the eastern, central and western regions all conform to the environmental Kuznets curve, while the per capita GDP at the turning point in the western region is significantly lower than that in the eastern and central regions. In the eastern region, both sulfur dioxide and smoke and dust emissions significantly hinder economic growth,and this hindrance is mainly caused by the spatial transfer of labor. Through further analysis, it is found that environmental regulations can significantly suppress the negative impact of air pollution on economic growth. Finally, the article puts forward some suggestions, such as environmental governance according to local conditions and strengthening environmental regulations.

Evolution in disparity of PM_(2.5)pollution in China

The spatial disparity of air pollutants is one of the key influential factors for environmental inequality.We quantitatively evaluated the evolution of PM_(2.5)spatial disparity in China during 2013–2020,and investigated the associations between PM_(2.5)spatial disparity and economic indicators.Differences in PM_(2.5)between more-and less-polluted cities declined over time,suggesting decreased absolute disparity.However,the more polluted cities in 2013 remained so in 2017 and 2020,and vice versa,indicating persistent relative disparity.PM_(2.5)pollution levels increased with higher GDP per capita in less-developed areas of China,but such negative effects weakened over time,while economic development tended to promote cleaner air in developed areas of China.Therefore,policies to improve air quality and promote economic development simultaneously are needed in China to reduce the disparity of air pollution and promote all people to enjoy environmental equality.

Changes in the Energy Consumption Carbon Footprint for Gansu Province

Energy consumption is one of the main human activities driving global climate change, and therefore research on the carbon footprint of energy consumption is of great significance. In this paper, concepts and methods relating to the carbon footprint of energy consumption were used to calculate total carbon footprint, carbon footprint of each type of energy, output value of the carbon footprint and its ecological pressure from 1990 to 2009 in Gansu Province, northwestern China. The ridge regression function within the STIRPAT model was applied to study the quantitative relationship between carbon footprint and economic growth and at the same time verify the existence of an Environmental Kuznets Curve. A decoupling index was introduced to further explore the dynamic relationship between economic growth and carbon footprint. We found that the total carbon footprint increased from 0.091 ha per capita in 1990 to 0.191 ha per capita in 2009 and fol owed a lfuctuating rising trend. Coal and oil occupy the dominant position within the carbon footprint composition, while natural gas is of little effect. The output value of the carbon footprint increased from 11 800 CNY per ha in 1990 to 25 100 CNY per ha in 2009, representing an average annual growth rate of 4.1%. The ecological pressure intensity of the carbon footprint increased to 0.24 in 2009, and remains much lower than developed provinces Jiangsu and Shanghai, due to the vast area of woodland in Gansu. Development of a low-carbon economy in Gansu remains hindered by limited energy, a fragile ecological environment and irrational energy structure. Population and GDP per capita growth were the main factors driving the increasing carbon footprint; the impact of population is 3.47 times of that of per capita GDP. Regression analysis and decoupling index analysis have proved the existence of the Environmental Kuznets Curve for economic growth and carbon footprint, but 33 years are required to reach the inlfection point.