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• The high-quality development index is introduced into STIRPAT model. • The average yield of ecological footprint is updated. • High-quality development can effectively reduce the increase of ecological footprint. • The improvement of population quality helps ease pressure on the environment. • Lower energy consumption intensity helps improve ecological quality. It is urgent to coordinate the development of economy and environment under the "dual carbon" goal. As China's new development stage and mode, high-quality development takes into account both the speed and quality of economic, providing the possibility of achieving a "win-win" situation for the economy and the environment. In order to test the practical impact of high-quality development on ecological, based on the STIRPAT model, this paper introduces high-quality development index instead of per capita GDP, so as to measure the current economic situation in China, and explore the relationship between high-quality development and ecological footprint, and demonstrates the feasibility from theory and practice. At the same time, it pays attention to the complex effects of population and technology on environmental quality. The results show that the contradiction between economy and ecology still exists in China. The ecological footprint index of 30 provinces in the past 21 years has increased as a whole, and the fworst ecological footprint has concentrated in the Yellow River basin. But since 2012, the growth of the footprint has slowed. The slow down time and low value region of ecological footprint were observed, and it was found that they overlapped with the proposed time and the high value area of high-quality development. The level of high-quality development in China has also continued to rise, with regional differences but gradually narrowing. Among them, green development and shared development contribute more to the improvement of high-quality development level. Compared with the traditional economic development mode, high-quality development can reduce the increase of ecological footprint, and the longer the time, the smaller the increase, more conducive to long-term sustainable development. In addition, population and technology factors are also profoundly affecting China's ecological pattern. The increase in population size and population density, as well as the increase in the proportion of coal-based energy consumption structure, will lead to increased environmental pressure. The improvement of population quality and the reduction of energy consumption intensity will help alleviate ecological pressure. The research is helpful to provide policy guidance and path combination reference for China's sustainable development, and also provide new ideas for the global coordination of the relationship between economy and environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of China's urban agglomerations has been accompanied by enormous ecological costs. Based on the perspective of ecological constraints, this paper constructed a "quantity-efficiency-structure" evaluation framework for sustainable urban development. Taking the π-shaped Curve Area in the Yellow River Basin as the study area, the improved ecological footprint model and the information entropy method were adopted to evaluate the sustainable development potential (SDP) of the 17 cities in the Area from three aspects: ecological supply and demand (quantity comparison), ecological well-being performance (efficiency assessment), and ecological carrying structure (structure evaluation). From 2005 to 2019, ecological constraints of the three aspects exhibited obvious east-west and north-south spatial heterogeneity and even formed spatial clusters. Through multivariate systematic correlation analysis, openness degree, economic level, population, urbanization rate, industrial structure, scientific innovation, energy consumption, and the role of government were found to have different effects on the SDP and its three aspects. Given the results of the "quantity-efficiency-structure" evaluation and the influencing mechanism of SDP, cities in Area were grouped into weak sustainable, weak unsustainable, strong sustainable, and strong unsustainable types using systematic clustering method, and development suggestions were proposed accordingly. This study was expected to provide new ideas for studying sustainable development and policy proposals for urban development in the Curve Area. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Freshwater is the essential resource element to support and ensure human life and regional sustainable development. On the basis of the concept of ecosystem service footprint proposed by Burkhard, in this paper, we introduce a new methodological approach that addresses the sustainability and capability of regional freshwater provision and consumption, which we have coined freshwater ecosystem service footprint model (FESF model). The FESF model enhances the accuracy of water provision and consumption calculations and reveals a spatial-pattern of freshwater ecosystem service footprint at the watershed scale, overcoming the shortcomings of the traditional water footprint model, which was first introduced by Rees and Wackernagel in 1992. The proposed model is tested in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) freshwater supply area in China, where water use restrictions are regularly imposed on the population and economic activities. The results of the physical process and theoretical analysis reveal that FESF model is a reliable and helpful model for researchers to understand the regional freshwater situation. The average FESF is 0.94hectare per capita in BTH, with a maximum of 2.52hectare per capita and a minimum of 0.36hectare per capita. Approximately 16.8% of the considered region, primarily parts of the mid-northern region and the surrounding eastern and southern low-lying regions, is under high freshwater resource pressure. In conclusion, this model can be used by researchers and policymakers for promoting sustainable human–ecology interactions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]