Synergetic roadmap of carbon neutrality and clean air for China

It is well recognized that carbon dioxide and air pollutants share similar emission sources so that synergetic policies on climate change mitigation and air pollution control can lead to remarkable co-benefits on greenhouse gas reduction,air quality improvement,and improved health.In the context of carbon peak,carbon neutrality,and clean air policies,this perspective tracks and analyzes the process of the synergetic governance of air pollution and climate change in China by developing and monitoring 18 indicators.The 18 indicators cover the following five aspects:air pollution and associated weather-climate conditions,progress in structural transition,sources,inks,and mitigation pathway of atmospheric composition,health impacts and benefits of coordinated control,and synergetic governance system and practices.By tracking the progress in each indicator,this perspective presents the major accomplishment of coordinated control,identifies the emerging challenges toward the synergetic governance,and provides policy recommendations for designing a synergetic roadmap of Carbon Neutrality and Clean Air for China.

Metal distribution characteristic of MSWI bottom ash in view of metal recovery

Bottom ash is the major by-product of municipal solid waste incineration（MSWI）, and is often reused as an engineering material, such as road-base aggregate. However, some metals（especially aluminum） in bottom ash can react with water and generate gas that could cause expansion and failure of products containing the ash; these metals must be removed before the ash is utilized. The size distribution and the chemical speciation of metals in the bottom ash from two Chinese MSWI plants were examined in this study, and the recovery potential of metals from the ash was evaluated. The metal concentrations in these bottom ashes were lower than that generated in other developed countries. Specifically, the contents of Al,Fe, Cu and Zn were 18.9–29.2, 25.5–32.3, 0.7–1.0 and 1.6–2.5 g/kg, respectively. Moreover,44.9–57.0 wt.% of Al and 55.6–75.4 wt.% of Fe were distributed in bottom ash particles smaller than 5 mm. Similarly, 46.6–79.7 wt.% of Cu and 42.9–74.2 wt.% of Zn were concentrated in particles smaller than 3 mm. The Fe in the bottom ash mainly existed as hematite, and its chemical speciation was considered to limit the recovery efficiency of magnetic separation.

Perception of people for the risk of Tianwan nuclear power plant

A questionnaire survey of residents’risk perceptions related to Taiwan nuclear power plant in China was carried out to explore the determining factors that affect individual risk perception.This study proposed to pursue a more comprehensive understanding of factors that affected individual risk perception to nuclear power plants.Covariance structure analysis was conducted using risk perceptions of nuclear power as dependent variable and including interest and knowledge levels of nuclear power,acceptability,benefit perception,trust in nuclear power operation,and trust in government as independent variables.The use of the hypothesis of Elaboration likelihood model(ELM)was also proposed.The results showed that persons with higher levels of interest and knowledge of nuclear power had their own perceptions of risk closely associated with acceptability and potential benefits of nuclear power.In contrast,persons with no interest in and knowledge of nuclear power would have risk perceptions related to their trust in nuclear operation and the government,which partially supported the ELM hypothesis.All these results indicated that the government in China plays an important role in rational risk perceptions,and well-designed communication of risks will help the public to be involved in risk management and improve people’s rational acceptance of risk.

Quantitative standard of eco-compensation for the water source area in the middle route of the South-to-North Water Transfer Project in China

The Middle Route Project(MRP)of the Southto-North Water Transfer Scheme(SNWT)in China will require a very large financial expenditure to ensure the water supply and the associated water quality to northern China.An eco-compensation mechanism between the water service source areas and its beneficiaries is essential.This paper establishes an analytic framework of ecocompensation standard for the protection of the water source area,including both the calculation of ecocompensation based on opportunity cost method(OCM)and calculation of the burden sharing of eco-compensation between the water source area and the external water reception area based on the deviation square method(DSM).Taking Shiyan City,Hubei Province in China as a case study,our results show that the eco-compensation in the first-phase of MRP for the water source area in Shiyan,Hubei Province should be 1.63×10^(10) CNY,about four times of planned eco-construction investment budget(4.33×10^(9) CNY).In addition,the burden sharing of eco-compensation varied greatly in terms of different methods.It would be better to integrate the results of different single-factor burden sharing methods by determining the corresponding weighting coefficient with DSM and form one unanimous consent result by the interested parties.

Reproductive toxicity and underlying mechanisms of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate in nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

DEHP(di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate) is an endocrine disruptor commonly found in plastic products that has been associated with reproduction alterations, but the effect of DEHP on toxicity is still widely unknown. Using DEHP concentrations of 10, 1, and 0.1 mg/L, we showed that DEHP reduced the reproductive capacity of Caenorhabditis elegans after 72 hr. of exposure. DEHP exposure reduced the reproductive capacity in terms of decreased brood sizes, egg hatchability(0.1, 1 and 10 mg/L), and egg-laying rate(1 and 10 mg/L), and increased numbers of fertilized eggs in the uterus(1 and 10 mg/L). DEHP also caused damage to gonad development. DEHP decreased the total number of germline cells, and decreased the relative area of the gonad arm of all exposure groups, with worms in the 1 mg/L DEHP exposure group having the minimum gonad arm area. Additionally, DEHP caused a significant concentration-dependent increase in the expression of unc-86. Autophagy and ROS contributed to the enhancement of DEHP toxicity in reducing reproductive capacity, and glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase were activated as the antioxidant defense in this study. Hence, we found that DEHP has a dual effect on nematodes. Higher concentration(10 mg/L) DEHP can inhibit the expression of autophagy genes( atg-18, atg-7, bec-1, lgg-1 and unc-51), and lower concentrations(0.1 and 1 mg/L) can promote the expression of autophagy genes. Our data highlight the potential environmental risk of DEHP in inducing reproductive toxicity toward the gonad development and reproductive capacity of environmental organisms.

The influencing factors of the WTP for the risk reduction of chemical industry accidents in China

To explore the factors that influence respon- dents＇ willingness to pay （WTP） for the risk reduction of chemical industry accidents, a questionnaire survey combined with contingent valuation and psychometric paradigm methods were conducted in the city of Yancheng, Jiangsu Province, China. Both traditional socioeconomic variables and perceived characteristics of the hazards were considered in this study, and a Tobit model was used to find the factors influencing WTP under three risk reduction scenarios. The results showed that three demographic characteristics, age, gender, and income, significantly affected the WTP for chemical risk reduction. In addition, three extracted public risk perception factors, effect, knowledge, and trust, also strongly affected the WTP. The mean WTP value increased as the magnitude of the risk reduction increased. The number of factors influencing the WTP decreased as the reduction level improved, and only the effect factor had a significant influence on the WTP for a higher level （80%） of risk reduction. The cost for chemical safety management of Yancheng was calculated, and the optimized risk reduction level was determined. These findings can assist governments and policy makers to formulate suitable strategies for risk control, to reach target groups of people to develop effective communication, and to provide specific refer- ences for the best investment for the security of local residents.

Material flow analysis(MFA)of an eco-economic system:a case study of Wujin District,Changzhou,China

The economic and ecological aspects of a social system are coherently linked and can be examined by its material and energy flows.In this study,we used the material flow analysis(MFA)to model the material input and output of the Wujin District of Changzhou City,Jiangsu Province in China.It was revealed that:(1)total material input and material input per capita increased with economic development,while the total material out-put and material output per capita decreased consistently;(2)except for water,the total material input continued to increase.Input of solid materials grew faster than that of gaseous materials,while the total material output declined.The gas output accounted for the largest pro-portion of the output resulting in primary environmental pollution as burned fossil fuel;(3)water use in agriculture continued with an increasing trend while that in industrial and residential sectors decreased per capita.The total wastewater discharge and wastewater discharge per capita decreased with a faster decreasing rate of residential was-tewater discharge followed by industrial wastewater discharge;(4)material input per unit GDP fluctuated and material output per unit GDP decreased.A decreasing trend in both water use and wastewater discharge per unit GDP was disclosed.These results suggest that the efficiency of resource use in the Wujin District has improved.This weakened the direct link between economic development and environmental deterioration.Additionally,we discussed the harmonic development between environment and economy.Potential limitations of MFA’s application were also discussed.It is suggested that effective measures should be taken for the enforcement of cir-cular economic strategies and the construction of a resource-saving economy.

Drivers and barriers to engage enterprises in environmental management initiatives in Suzhou Industrial Park,China

Small-and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs)play an important role in sustainable development not only for their significant contribution to China’s economy,but also for their large share of total discharged pollutants.Therefore,this research takes the enterprises in Suzhou Industrial Park,China as the case study to investigate the environmental management practices of SMEs,and identify drivers and barriers to engaging businesses in environmental management initiatives.It is shown that,as in other countries,SMEs are less active in adopting environmental management initiatives than larger companies.Legislation remains the key driver to engage SMEs in environmental management initiatives.Based on the analysis,policy recommendations are also presented.