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Faced with the dual challenges of environmental pollution and climate change, it is of great significance to study the impact of relevant environmental regulations on the synergistic effect of pollution reduction and carbon emission reduction and their influence mechanisms. Based on a theoretical analysis using the panel data of 30 provinces in China, a spatial econometric model and an intermediary effect model are used to investigate the impact of environmental regulations on the synergistic effect of pollution reduction and carbon reduction and the transmission mechanisms potentially responsible for these effects. The empirical results show the following: (1) The three kinds of environmental regulation effectively facilitate the synergistic effect of pollution reduction and carbon reduction, taking the following order when ranked according to the intensity of their effects: command-type environmental regulation (ER1) > market-based environmental regulation (ER2) > voluntary environmental regulation (ER3). (2) Environmental regulation effectively promotes the synergistic effect of pollution and carbon reduction through the three transmission mechanisms of stimulating technological innovation (TI), industrial structure upgrading (ISU), and restricting foreign direct investment (FDI), which take the following effectiveness order: TI > FDI > ISU. Based on the results of the study, policy suggestions to facilitate pollution reduction and carbon synergies are proposed to help China's green and low-carbon development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An accurate analysis of the relationship between humans and the land in oasis areas is essential for the formulation of policies for differentiated oasis urban development and resource management measures. Therefore, researchers have conducted numerous studies based on the linear relationship between "people and land" in oasis areas. To address this gap, this paper takes the Wuwei oasis as an example and re-examines the impact of human activities on the sustainability of natural capital from a new research perspective (nonlinear perspective). The study selected four variables, namely planted forests, scientific R&D investment, urbanization, and population density, as the main human activities affecting the Wuwei oasis area. The NARDL model, the nonlinear Granger causality test, is employed to investigate the interactions between the variables and the oasis natural capital in both the short and long term. The results indicate the following: (1) During the study period, the consumption of natural capital in the Wuwei oasis has been increasing annually and has long exceeded the local ecological carrying capacity. (2) In the short term, planting forests is the most beneficial human activity. The most beneficial human activity is the planting of trees, while in the long term, scientific R&D investment has the most positive effect on enhancing the oasis' resource reserves. (3) Urbanization, population density, and planted forest land all have a direct effect on the sustainable development of natural resources in the oasis. The findings of the study indicate that the application of scientific and technological innovation to promote the sustainable development of resources and the environment is a more reliable approach for oasis cities with a high degree of industrialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy and power industry is an important field for CO2 emission reduction. The CO2 emitted by thermal power enterprises is a major cause of global climate change, and also a key challenge for China to achieve the goals of "carbon peaking and carbon neutrality." Therefore, it is essential to scientifically and accurately predict the CO2 emissions of key thermal power enterprises in the region. This will guide carbon reduction strategies and policy recommendations for leaders, and also provide a valuable reference for similar regions globally. This study utilizes the factor analysis method to extract the common factors influencing CO2 emissions based on the carbon verification data of 17 thermal power enterprises in Gansu Province. Additionally, the DISO (distance between indices of simulation and observation) index is employed to comprehensively evaluate three prediction models, namely multiple linear regression, support vector regression, and GA-BP neural network. Ultimately, this study provides a reasonable prediction of CO2 emissions for the aforementioned enterprises in Gansu Province. The results show that the three common factors obtained by factor analysis, namely energy consumption and output factor, energy quality factor, and energy efficiency factor, can effectively predict the CO2 emissions from thermal power enterprises. In the three prediction models, GA-BP neural network has the best overall performance with DISO value of 0.95, RMSE value of 11848.236, and MAE value of 7880.543. Over the period 2022–2030, CO2 emissions from 17 thermal power enterprises in Gansu Province are predicted to increase. Under the low-carbon, scenario baseline, and high-carbon scenarios, the CO2 emissions will reach 71.58 Mt, 79.25 Mt, and 87.97 Mt, respectively, by 2030. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forestry's high-quality development is crucial for China's sustainable ecological, economic, and social progress. To elevate the efficiency of carbon sequestration in forestry, continuously improve the increment of carbon sinks, and contribute to achieving carbon neutrality, it is crucial to accurately assess the level of carbon sequestration efficiency in China's forestry and explore its long-term evolution trend. In this paper, a super-efficiency SBM model, which combines the SBM model with the super-efficiency method and considers the relaxation variables, was selected to evaluate the forestry carbon sequestration efficiency of 31 provinces in China; likewise, the temporal development features of the efficacy of Chinese forests in sequestering carbon were examined using the nuclear density estimation method. Secondly, the study constructed traditional and spatial Markov probability transfer matrices to further explore the spatiotemporal evolution of carbon sequestration efficiency within Chinese forestry. Finally, combined with the Markov chain infinite distribution matrix, the future trajectory of carbon sequestration efficiency in China's forestry was scientifically forecasted. The findings indicate that: (1) The average carbon sequestration efficiency of forestry in China showed a stable increase with fluctuations and reached the optimal state in 2018. The carbon sequestration efficiency level of various forest regions was always portrayed as southwest forest region > southern forest region > northeast forest region > northern forest region. From 2003 to 2018, there were significant differences in forestry carbon sequestration efficiency among provinces. The distribution of forestry carbon sequestration efficiency exhibited a "three-pillar" distribution pattern with Xizang, Zhejiang, and Heilongjiang as the core, and the marginal regions continuously promoted the carbon sequestration efficiency to the inland. (2) The type of transfer of forestry carbon sequestration efficiency in China is stable, and it is difficult to achieve cross-stage transfer in the short term. Moreover, the forestry carbon sequestration efficiency of each province tended to converge to a high (low) level over time, showing a "bimodal distribution" of low efficiency and high efficiency, indicating the existence of the obvious "club convergence phenomenon". (3) Forecasting from a long-term evolution trend perspective, the outlook for the future evolution of forestry carbon sequestration efficiency in China is optimistic, and the overall trend was concentrated in the high-value area. Therefore, future forestry development in China should contemplate both internal structure optimization and coordinated regional development. Attention should be placed on forestry carbon sequestration's role while considering the distinctive endowments of each region and developing reasonable, differentiated, and collaborative forestry management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the total carbon emission data of 30 provinces and cities in China from 2000 to 2020, this paper used non-parametric kernel density estimation and traditional and spatial Markov probability transfer matrix methods to explore the temporal and spatial dynamic evolution characteristics of carbon dioxide emissions in China and then used a super-SBM model to calculate the carbon emission reduction potential of each province. The results showed that: (1) from 2000 to 2020, the total carbon emissions in China showed an upward trend of fluctuation, from 1.35 Gt to 4.90 Gt year by year, with an annual growth rate of 13.10%. (2) The core density curve showed a double peak form of "main peak + right peak," indicating that a polarization phenomenon occurred in the region. (3) The overall trend of carbon dioxide emissions shifting to superheavy carbon emissions was significant, and the probability of transition was as high as 74.69%, indicating that it was challenging to achieve leapfrog transition in the short term. (4) Based on the principle of fairness and efficiency of provincial carbon emission reduction, mainland China's 30 provincial administrative regions can be divided into four types. Finally, the carbon emission reduction path is designed for each province. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban heat islands (UHIs) endanger the health of urban residents. Different urban growth patterns (UGPs) have different effects on heat islands. However, the dynamic relationship between UGP landscape information and urban surface heat island intensity (SUHII) remains unclear. This study explored the dynamic relationship between SUHII and UGP landscape information through spatial regression and landscape pattern analysis using Landsat imagery and urban construction land data from five cities in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei urban agglomeration from 2010 to 2018. The results show that SUHII increase areas overlap with expansion patches, and the edge expansion and outlying areas show a warming effect. The influence of the edge expansion landscape area and pattern on SUHII changes is greater than the other two growth patterns. The relationship between UGPs' landscape information and SUHII changes varies among cities. The larger the city size, the stronger the influence of landscape information. Among the landscape patterns, the influence of the landscape area and pattern on SUHII change is large and the influence of landscape fragmentation is smaller. Exploring the dynamic relationship between UGP landscape information and SUHII is conducive to optimizing the spatial layout and pattern selection of urban development and providing a scientific reference for sustainable and livable urban development planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is of great significance to study urban carbon metabolism and explore the low-carbon land use management framework from the perspective of "ecological-production-living" space, an important means for the government to strengthen spatial regulation. In the study, first of all, a carbon metabolism network model was established based on the evolution of the "ecological-production-living" space. Secondly, an ecological network analysis (ENA) method was used to identify the ecological relationships between land use types under the effect of carbon metabolism. In addition, ArcGIS software was used to visualize the spatial distribution of carbon flow and ecological relationships. Finally, a low-carbon oriented land use management framework was proposed based on the above research. Yulin, a typical coal resource-based city in China, was taken as a case study for verification. The results showed that Yulin had net carbon emissions from 2010 to 2020, indicating that the evolution of "ecological-production-living" space had a negative impact on the carbon metabolism. Industrial, mining and transportation land dominated carbon emissions, while forestland played an important role in carbon sequestration. Under the effect of carbon metabolism, a controlling and exploitative relationship was the main ecological relationship, and a mutualism relationship accounted for the smallest proportion, indicating that the urban ecological conflict was obvious in the evolution of the "ecological-production-living" space. Based on the above research, a land use management framework was proposed, which divided urban space into six types of control units. In conclusion, the results provided experience for other coal resource-based cities to promote low-carbon and sustainable land use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty reduction is an important driving force for the global realization of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and the building of a global community with a shared future for mankind. This paper takes the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as a quasi-natural experiment. Based on the panel data of 134 countries in the world from 2000 to 2018, this paper uses the difference-in-difference (DID) model to examine the impact of the BRI on poverty reduction in countries along the route and to study its internal mechanism from the dual perspectives of trade openness and investment openness. The results show that (1) the BRI can significantly reduce the incidence of poverty with the impact coefficient stable at −0.26, and the empirical conclusion has passed the parallel test, placebo test, and instrumental variable test; (2) the mediating effect test model shows that the BRI can achieve poverty reduction through the dual openness of trade and investment, and the intermediary effect of trade openness is greater than investment openness; and (3) from the perspective of heterogeneity analysis, geographically, the BRI has a slightly higher role in promoting poverty reduction in landlocked countries than in coastal countries. In terms of economic location, the effect of poverty reduction has a certain "pro-poverty" characteristic, that is, the BRI promotes poverty reduction in low- and middle-income countries far more than other types of income countries. Therefore, we believe that the continuous deepening of the BRI high-quality construction and the strengthening of cooperation among countries along the route will play a key role in promoting the international cycle of trade, investment, and other factors, as well as the cause of poverty reduction in the region and the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To develop effective strategies to reduce CO2 emissions from electricity systems, this study accounted for carbon emissions from power systems (production, transmission, consumption) in Gansu Province based on life cycle theory. We used LMDI and SDA decomposition methods to analyze the driving force of carbon emissions and quantified the influence effect and action intensity of various factors on carbon emissions in corresponding links. Several results were found: (1) Direct carbon emissions during the stage of electricity production had the largest share of the entire electricity life cycle. (2) From the perspective of the cumulative contribution rate, electricity consumption and the electricity trade promoted carbon emissions in the stage of electricity production; the power structure, electricity efficiency, and fuel structure had opposite effects. (3) In the stage of electricity transmission, the higher the voltage level, the lower the net loss rate; high-voltage-level transmission lines effectively reduced the growth of implied carbon emissions. (4) Industrial restructuring and technological advances effectively offset the growth in carbon emissions due to population, economy, and electricity consumption. The results can provide a scientific basis for energy-saving and emission reduction policies in provincial government departments and the electric industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the interaction of global change and human activities, the contradistinction between supply and demand of ecosystem services in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is becoming increasingly tense, which will have a profound impact on the ecological security of China and even Asia. Based on land cover data on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in 1990, 2005, and 2015, this paper estimated the supply capacity of ecosystem services using the value equivalent method, calculated the demand for ecosystem services using population density and economic density, established an ecosystem risk index based on the idea of an ecosystem service matrix to reveal the spatio-temporal pattern of the supply and demand of ecosystem services in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and identified the potential ecological risk areas arising from the imbalance between supply and demand. The results showed that: (1) In terms of the spatio-temporal pattern of land use change, the desert area of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau decreased the most with 26,238.9 km2, and other types of land use increased, of which construction land increased by 131.7%; (2) In terms of the supply and demand of ecosystem services, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was mainly dominated by low-level surplus areas, accounting for 64.0%, and the deficit in some areas has worsened significantly; and (3) In terms of division pattern of ecological risk areas, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau presented characteristics of high risk in the east and low risk in the west. The high-risk area accounted for 1.1%, mainly distributed in the Huangshui Valley and the "One River and Two Tributaries" (Yarlung Zangbo River, Lhasa River, Nianchu River). The research results can provide reference for ecosystem management and policy formulation of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and have important significance for realizing the coupling and coordinated development of human–land relationship in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]