Decomposition of energy-related carbon emissions in Xinjiang and relative mitigation policy recommendations

Regional carbon emissions research is necessary and helpful for China in realizing reduction targets. The LMDI I （Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index I） technique based on an extended Kaya identity was conducted to uncover the main five driving forces for energy-related carbon emissions in Xinjiang, an important energy base in China. Decomposition results show that the affluence effect and the population effect are the two most important contributors to increased carbon emissions. The energy intensity effect had a positive influence on carbon emissions during the pre-reform period, and then became the dominant factor in curbing carbon emissions after 1978. The renewable energy penetration effect and the emission coefficient effect showed important negative but relatively minor effects on carbon emissions. Based on the local realities, a comprehensive suite of mitigation policies are raised by considering all of these influencing factors. Mitigation policies will need to significantly reduce energy intensity and pay more attention to the regional economic development path. Fossil fuel substitution should be considered seriously. Renewable energy should be increased in the energy mix. All of these policy recommendations, if implemented by the central and local government, should make great contributions to energy saving and emission reduction in Xinjiang.

澜湄开放教育及柬埔寨远程教育的未来

This journal article delves into the future of distance learning in Cambodia and the potential for collaboration with the Mekong-Lancang Open Education initiative. It explores how distance learning can successfully address the current issues the Cambodian educational system is currently facing. The article discusses the goals and opportunities for collaboration that the Mekong-Lancang Open Education initiative presents, as well as the difficulties and potential solutions involved in implementing distance learning in Cambodia. Moreover,the article also offers insightful case studies and best practices from other countries, offering valuable insights and lessons for Cambodia. Lastly, the article concludes with policy recommendations for the future of distance learning in Cambodia. Future research and studies should concentrate on continually evaluating and improving the Mekong-Lancang Open Education Initiative to ensure that it effectively meets the educational needs of students and educators.

Vocational Education from a Cross-national Perspective:Comparative Analysis of China,Germany,and the United States,with a Case Study of Zhaixing

This study delves into the current state and challenges of vocational education through a comparative study of cross-national vocational education and an analysis of the Zhaixing Academy case.The research reveals that vocational education reform can draw on the experiences of the German dual system,American community colleges,and Chinese vocational education reforms,with a focus on informal education pathways,practice-oriented teaching,and flexible training methods.The Zhaixing Academy case demonstrates the application of practice-oriented teaching approaches in the field of vocational education,emphasizing individual student development needs and the advantages of education outside formal institutions,offering new insights and references for the current Chinese education system.The study proposes that governments and education departments should increase investment in vocational education,encourage collaboration between enterprises and vocational education institutions,and support innovative practice-oriented education.In the future,Zhaixing Academy can continue to focus on education reform,expand the realm of practice-oriented education,promote its educational philosophy and methods,and contribute to the diversification and sustainable development of education.

MARKET READINESS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS FOR GREEN BUILDINGS:CASE STUDY FROM HONG KONG

This study is to assess developers’market readiness to green construction including their ideas on green construction,their understanding of current green building policies,their awareness and familiarity with green building and related industries,and the barriers they are facing for implementing green building projects.By eleven face-to-face semi-structured interviews with locally-based developers,the study finds that the Green Building Market in Hong Kong is basically ready in technology level.However,the motivation for green development is confined to commercial buildings for lease.Legislation is agreed by developers as an effective motivator to green building development.An effective mechanism to provide incentives for market players to adopt green voluntarily is explored in this paper.Expedited permits and density bonus are thought to be major incentives.

Policy Assessment and Recommendations for Forestry-based Ecological Poverty Alleviation: An Empirical Study from the Prefectures of Nujiang and Aba, Southwestern China

China has adopted a long-term campaign against poverty. In recent decades, there is an increasing understanding that ecological poverty alleviation can meet the dual goals of environmental protection and rural poverty reduction. China is pivoting towards forestry-based poverty reduction in the severely poverty-stricken areas. However, several key factors remain elusive, including the extent to which the poor people benefit from forestry programs, whether they are satisfied with the policies and whether the policies are effective for poverty alleviation. Based on data collected through a questionnaire survey of 79 households in the prefectures of Nujiang and Aba, southwestern China, the analytic hierarchy process(AHP) approach was used to examine the effectiveness of the forestry-based poverty alleviation policy. The results showed that four poverty alleviation pathways, including industry, employment, micro-finance and pairing assistance in villages, had obviously increased the incomes of the filing poor households and solved the problem of "Two Worries-free and Three Guarantees". The poor were satisfied with the forestry-based ecological poverty alleviation policies and these policies had good effects in fighting against poverty. However, there are still some shortcomings, such as a lack of active participation, imperfect targeted identification, lack of funds and limited sources of funds during the policy implementation. Our results highlight the importance of the forestry industry and the public welfare position in the alleviation of poverty in the poverty-stricken areas. Synergies between ecological protection and poverty reduction are possible through sound forestry-based policies. This article recommends five policies to simultaneously realize the potential of poverty alleviation and environment protection through forestry development.

Health Disparities among the Western, Central and Eastern Rural Regions of China after a Decade of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Programming

Summary： Health disparities between the western, central and eastern regions of rural China, and the impact of national health improvement policies and programming were assessed. A total of 400 counties were randomly sampled. ANOVA and Logistic regression modeling were employed to estimate differ- ences in health outcomes and determinants. Significant differences were found between the western, central and eastern rural regions in community infrastructure and health outcomes. From 2000 to 2010, health indicators in rural China were improved significantly, and the infant mortality rate （IMR）, mater- nal mortality rate （MMR） and under 5 mortality rate （U5MR） had fallen by 62.79%, 71.74% and 61.92%, respectively. Central rural China had the greatest decrease in IMR （65.05%）; whereas, western rural China had the greatest reduction in MMR （72.99%） but smallest reduction in U5MR （57.36%）. Despite these improvements, Logistic regression analysis showed regional differences in key health outcome indicators （odds ratios）： IMR （central： 2.13; western： 5.31）, U5MR （central： 2.25; western： 5.69）, MMR （central： 1.94; western： 3.31）, and prevalence of infectious diseases （central： 1.62; western： 3.58）. The community infrastructure and health outcomes of the western and central rural regions of China have been improved markedly during the first decade of the 21st century. However, health dis- parities still exist across the three regions. National efforts to increase per capita income, community empowerment and mobilization, community infrastructure, capacity of rural health facilities, and health literacy would be effective policy options to attain health equity.

The research priorities of Resources and Environmental Sciences

The great challenges of sustainable development highlight an urgent need to systematically understand the mech-anisms linking humans and nature.Resources and Environmental Sciences are a broad and practical discipline focused on coupled human and natural systems.They aim to study the formation and evolution of resources in the earth system,the drivers of various environmental problems,processes and relationships between resources and the environment,particularly under the combined impacts of natural conditions and human activities.The major resources and environmental problems drive the discipline development;international science programmes guide the direction of the discipline;interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary integration promotes new branches of the discipline;and technological progress results in a research paradigm shift.Facing the critical research re-quirements of strengthening trans-and interdisciplinarity,breaking through the key technology,targeting major environmental and disaster issues,and supporting sustainable development,nine critical scientific issues should be focused on climate change impact and adaptation,petroleum and mineral resources,water cycle and water re-sources,soil and land resources,ecosystems,remote sensing and geographic information science,environmental science and technology,disaster risk,and global and regional sustainable development.Suggestions to enhancing funding systems,improve talent cultivation,develop scientific platforms,and strength international cooperation are provided in this study to support scientific policymaking.The promotion of Resources and Environmental Sci-ences enables a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of economic development and environmental changes relevant to assure a more sustainable global development.

Pesticide Residues and Government Regulation in China─Evidence from Pesticide Residues in Fruits and Vegetables

China is a big producer and exporter of fruits and vegetables,and pesticide residues are an important factor affecting the quality and safety of fruits and vegetables and their export trade.In this paper,we analyzed the pesticide residue data on fruits and vegetables in 32 major Chinese cities between 2012—2019,the export data of Chinese fruits and vegetables and the role of pesticides in foodborne diseases.The results showed that pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables(PRFV)partial excess of maximum residue standard(MRL)and residues of banned pesticide were still widespread in China.By comparing the standards of pesticide residues in the European Union and China and addressing the agricultural situation in China,this paper analyzed the main causes of PRFV in China and put forward some policy suggestions for strengthening government regulation of pesticide application in agricultural products.

An Overview of Big Data Industry in China

The year of 2011 is considered the first year of big data market in China.Compared with the global scale,China's big data growth will be faster than the global average growth rate,and China will usher in the rapid expansion of big data market in the next few years.This paper presents the overall big data development in China in terms of market scale and development stages,enterprise development in the industry chain,the technology standards,and industrial applications.The paper points out the issues and challenges facing big data development in China and proposes to make polices and create support approaches for big data transactions and personal privacy protection.

Analysis of Hongdao Clam Industrial Structure Based on Industry Chain

The vertical and transverse structures of Hongdao clam industry are described and analyzed objectively based on the perspective of industry chain. On the basis of field investigation,the key nodes of Hongdao clam industry chain,including nursery,breeding,processing,transportation and sale,are analyzed. It can be concluded that the development of clam industry chain is unbalanced,especially the deep-processing capacity is not strong,and the development of supporting industy lags behind. The horizontal industry chain of clam needs to be further improved. The corresponding suggestions are put forward: strengthening research on new nursery technology in later period,further extending the horizontal industry chain of clam,mining the depth of clam-related leisure industry,and upgrading service level of leisure travel.

China's Economic Structure:Changes and Challenges

This paper elaborates the changes in key aspects of China's economic structure including industrial structure, demand structure, regional structure, income distribution and foreign trade, discusses the challenges confronting China's economic structure, and proposes policy recommendations on addressing these challenges.

Structural characteristics and drivers of greenhouse gas emissions at county-level and long-time scales:A case study of the Anji County,China

To achieve carbon neutrality,the Chinese government needs to gain a comprehensive understanding of the sources and drivers of greenhouse gas(GHG)emissions,particularly at the county level.Anji County in eastern China is a typical example of an industrial transformation from quarrying to a low-carbon economy.This study analyzed the decoupling types and structural characteristics of GHG emissions and the driving factors of carbon dioxide(CO_(2))emissions in the Anji from 2006 to 2019,and explored the differences between countylevel and provincial-level or city-level results.It was observed that energy-related activities are the main source of GHG emissions in Anji and that economic development is the driving factor behind the increasing CO_(2)emissions.However,industrial transformation and upgradation coupled with the alternative use of clean energy limit the growth of GHG emissions.This study details the GHG emissions of county during the industrial transformation stage and provides corresponding policy recommendations for county governments.

Low-carbon development policies and achievements in the context of the livestock sector in China

Rapid growth and a vast transition of Chinese livestock industry driven by economic incentives make it become an important contributor on climate change over the last four decades.This study first analyzes the evolving lowcarbon livestock development policies and regulations,then an assessment and explanations of the achievements and non-achievements are provided.The findings reveal that China began to pay attention to low-carbon development policy starting in the early 1990s.However,only after the cyclic and green concept became the main sustainable development policy,China began to move seriously toward low-carbon livestock development.Several policy instruments were introduced,including moderate scale,feed optimization,manure resource utilization,facility and equipment allocation rate,energy conservation and substitution.Overall,achievements were made in introducing such policies.However,due to the large share of standard agriculture and regional resources,and environmental diversity,such policies may have little effect in practice.The divergence between the policies and actual practices are explained,and important policies applicable to all developing countries are also recommended.

Theoretical Mechanisms and Suggestions for Fostering the Economic Resilience of Chinese Cities from the Perspective of Urban Social Networks

Uncertainties are becoming more and more diverse around the world,and risks and impacts affecting the healthy development of cities are increasing.Fostering urban social resilience is not only a proactive countermeasure to growing external pressures and potential impacts,but also an important starting point for growth.This article analyzes the impact mechanisms of three important types of urban social networks-degree centrality(DC),closeness centrality(CC),and betweenness centrality(BC)-between residents,and organizations on the economic resilience of cities from the perspective of social networks.It summarizes the challenges faced in enhancing economic resilience under the social network perspective,including unbalanced resource allocation,sparse social contact networks,weak social bottom lines,lack of social trust,and insufficient innovation capabilities.On this basis,this article makes suggestions such as strengthening the construction of social networks,promoting urban economic restructuring to enhance the adaptability and innovation capabilities of cities,fostering diverse urban social networks,optimizing information dissemination mechanisms,strengthening the construction of urban social credit systems,and improving the social security system in order to fostering the resilience of through the perspective of social networks.

Comparison of Curriculum Settings and Academic Freedom in the Higher Education Systems of China and India

This study conducts a comparative analysis of curriculum settings and academic freedom within the higher education systems of China and India.It explores the differences and similarities in curriculum structures,the extent of academic freedom,and the influencing factors such as politics,economy,society,and culture.The research reveals that while both countries value academic freedom,the practical implementation varies significantly due to differing political and social contexts.China’s curriculum is characterized by a more structured and specialized approach,whereas India emphasizes flexibility and diversity.The study also highlights the impact of globalization and the need for international cooperation in higher education.Policy recommendations are provided to enhance curriculum diversity,protect academic freedom,balance resource distribution,and strengthen international collaboration.The limitations of the study include data constraints and the dynamic nature of educational policies,suggesting areas for future research such as long-term policy impact and interdisciplinary education.

Lessons from the British Early Childhood Education and Qualification Certification System for Early Childhood Education in China

This paper explores the early childhood education systems in the United Kingdom(UK)and China,providing valuable insights and lessons for improving early childhood education in China.It discusses key aspects of education philosophy,teacher training and professional development,qualification certification and standards,policy recommendations,and future prospects.The UK’s emphasis on child-centered education,the use of play-based learning methods,and the recognition of the importance of social and emotional development serve as valuable lessons for China’s early childhood education system.Additionally,the paper highlights the need for unified national standards and certification,higher entry requirements for teachers,ongoing professional development,practical experience for teachers,and diverse certification pathways.The future of early childhood education in China includes raising the social status of early childhood educators,integrating digital education and technology,promoting interdisciplinary education,enhancing collaboration between families and schools,and addressing the needs of special children.

Theoretical Considerations of Vocational Education School-Enterprise Cooperation Alliances Based on Institutional Mechanism Innovation

In the current global economic landscape, vocational education plays a vital role in nurturing technical and vocational skills while serving as a driving force for societal development and innovation. However, the vocational education sector faces challenges related to educational quality, employment rates, and alignment with industries. School-enterprise cooperation alliances have emerged as crucial mechanisms to enhance vocational education. This paper explores theoretical considerations of vocational education school-enterprise cooperation alliances, emphasizing institutional and mechanistic innovation. The study investigates key aspects, including formation, development, operational models, and effects and evaluations of such alliances. Through comprehensive research, this paper aims to provide theoretical support and policy recommendations for the sustainable advancement of vocational education school-enterprise cooperation alliances. The research’s significance lies in its potential to influence collaboration between educational institutions and businesses, impact students’ career development, and contribute to societal economic growth.

Impact Analysis of Green Procurement Policy for Forest Products in France and Its Reference

In order to combat illegal logging and associated trade and promote sustainable forest management, major developed countries, including France, have implemented green procurement policy for forest products. This paper described the background of why France implements green procurement policy for forest products, analyzed the basic content of the policy, and made a comprehensive assessment of the impact of green procurement policy on suppliers, processors, eco-environment and competitiveness of forest products. Finally, with the experiences from French implementation of the green procurement policy for forest products, the paper put forward policy recommendations for China to implement green procurement policy for forest products.

Expert insights on Malaysia’s residential solar-energy policies:shortcomings and recommendations

Malaysia has a long way before achieving the 20%renewable-energy penetration by 2025.Currently,merely 2%of the country’s electricity is generated by renewable energy sources including solar power.Unlike the abundant literature about solar energy,qualitative studies that focus on experts’opinions on the weaknesses of residential solar-energy policies have received less attention,particularly in the context of Malaysia.Understanding the flaws in the existing policies would lead to creating a better policy framework for solar-energy development.Thus,this study aims to identify the shortcomings of the current government initiatives and policies that deter solar photovoltaic adoption among households from experts’perspectives.Experts also provide recommendations for better future policy design and implementation.This study employs a qualitative research approach(via semi-structured interviews)in collecting experts’viewpoints.Key concerns emerging from the interviews include insufficient financial support,lack of awareness programmes and subsidized electricity tariffs.Also,interviewed experts suggest sufficient financial incentives,increased public awareness programmes and comprehensive legislation aimed at safeguarding consumer interests as a means to raising solar-energy adoption in the country.This underlines the need for policymakers to create public awareness,provide financial support and develop regulatory measures aimed at managing solar companies for the sake of solar development in Malaysia.

POLICIES AND REGULATIONS FOR PROMOTING MANURE MANAGEMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION IN CHINA:A REVIEW

Livestock numbers in China have more than tripled between 1980 and 2017.The increase in the number of intensive livestock production systems has created the challenges of decoupled crop and livestock systems,low utilization of manures in croplands,and subsequent environmental pollution.Correspondingly,the government has enacted a series of policies and regulations to increase the sustainability of livestock production.This paper reviews the objectives of these policies and regulations and their impacts on manure management.Since 2017 there have been two policy guides to speed up the appropriate use of manures,three action plans for increasing manure recycling,and one technical guide to calculate nutrient balances.Requirements of manure pollution control and recycling for improved environmental performance of livestock production systems were included in three revised environmental laws.Most recent survey data indicate that the utilization of livestock manures was 70%in 2017,including that used as fertilizer and/or for production of energy.The targets for manure utilization are 75%in 2020 and 90%in 2035.To achieve these targets and promote‘green livestock production’,additional changes are needed including the use of third-party enterprises that facilitate manure exchange between farms and a more integrated manure nutrient management approach.