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The increasing global demand for electric vehicles is evidence of the general recognition among the public regarding issues tied to climate change, carbon emissions, and air pollution. China has experienced a rapid expansion in its New Energy Vehicle (NEV) market over recent years, establishing itself as the largest such market globally. This research endeavors to comprehend how consumers' value systems contribute to their intent to purchase NEVs. The proposed model was assessed using the data collected from a Chinese sample. Employing a multi-faceted approach, this study uncovers the diverse ways in which consumers with varying value orientations evaluate NEVs and formulate intentions to support governmental initiatives. Furthermore, the study examines the interplay between consumers' value assessments, their inclination to endorse governmental efforts, and their intentions to purchase NEVs. The study's findings underscore the role of consumers' value orientation in shaping their perceptions of NEVs. Additionally, it reveals that consumers who align with an environmentally conscious government are more inclined to buy NEVs. • Based on Value-Belief-Norm and Value orientation theory, a new framework of NEVs behavior decision is constructed. • Perceived hedonic and utilitarian values are critical for increasing to buy NEVs. • Value perception and intention to support the government are found to influence the consumer's NEV purchase decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A distribution dynamics approach is employed to examine the converge of TFEE across Chinese PAA level cities. • The findings show a clear convergence in TFEE. • Convergence comes more from efficiency drops in high TFEE cities than from efficiency gains in low TFEE cities. • The environmental protection polices in key cities improved energy efficiency. • Large-sized cities show better performance in energy efficiency than small- and medium-sized cities. Improving energy efficiency is considered the most direct route to reducing carbon emissions on a massive scale. To examine the long-run trend of China's energy efficiency, this paper employs a distribution dynamics approach to analyze the convergence of total-factor energy efficiency (TFEE) across 286 Chinese cities between 2002 and 2014. The result suggests the existence of convergence, which comes more from the efficiency declines in the high TFEE cities rather than the efficiency gains in the low TFEE cities. Despite the fact that a few cities have performed well in energy efficiency, the majority of cities have converged to a low-efficiency point. Further analyses show that the inefficiency was attributed to inefficient energy use in small- and medium-sized cities. Our analysis provides strong scientific support for China's ongoing energy conservation and environmental protection policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the domain of global socio-economic dynamics, the pivotal role of food production (FP) cannot be overstated. It constitutes the bedrock of fundamental human necessities while being inexorably linked with critical aspects such as economic expansion, societal equilibrium, and geopolitical interplays. The multifaceted nature of FP appears through its direct impact on macroeconomic indicators and its latent influence on international relations and policy-making. This critical nexus underscores the imperative for a comprehensive understanding and strategic management of food production processes to sustain and enhance global socio-economic stability and growth. Investigating the nexus between green finance (GF) and FP is pivotal for ensuring national security and promoting sustainable economic development. This research thus paper examines GF's impact on FP in China as outlined in the 2017 green finance policies. It employs the difference-in-differences (DID) method and analyzes a balanced panel dataset comprising 282 cities in China from 2009 to 2020. The results show that GF has an inhibitory effect on FP, and this remains valid after a range of reliability checks, including parallel trend assessments and placebo tests. Further findings of transmission mechanism analysis indicate that non-agricultural factors and financial exclusion are critical for GF's inhibitory effect on FP. Heterogeneity analyses show that GF's inhibitory effect on FP is more pronounced in the main food-producing areas, the main food-marketing areas, and cities with better infrastructure. The empirical results of this paper comprehensively illustrate GF's impact on FP and how it contributes to the achievement of food security objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of green industrial policy in China is deeply embedded within a unique political, economic, cultural, and social milieu. The intricacies and complexities inherent in this context present challenges for quantitative policy research. In the existing literature, the study of thematic clustering of green industry policy instruments and their effectiveness measures in large-scale policy text repositories remains a relatively unexplored area. To fill this research gap, this study provides an analysis of China's green industrial policies from 1994 to 2022. By adopting the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic model, implicit and optimal themes are identified, and key policy instruments are systematically and comprehensively parsed. Based on this, the cutting-edge Policy Modeling Consistency-Text Encoder (PMC-TE) index model was used to conduct an in-depth quantitative evaluation of various policy tools. The findings reveal 15 policy instruments from 7891 Chinese green industry policy documents. Notably, technical support, information resource demonstration project policies emerged as the most frequently deployed and efficacious. Conversely, government procurement and service outsourcing policies, while showing incremental growth year-on-year, lagged in utilization and effectiveness. These policy instruments can be broadly categorized into three primary archetypes: supply-type, demand-type, and environment-type. The supply-type instruments dominate, while environment-type instruments remain underutilized. Additionally, this study delineates the four chronological phases of China's green industrial policy evolution, illuminating China's strategic pivots-transitioning from resource allocation, to market dynamics, and ultimately to environmental governance trajectories. [Display omitted] • A novel evaluation system of green industrial policy in China was proposed. • Supply-side policy instruments dominate, followed by environmental policy. • Significant policy effectiveness in technology and resource building, demonstration projects. • Weaknesses in market incentives, consumer education, and brand building from demand-side. • The evolution of China's green industrial policy can be divided into four periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we assess the sustainability of the electricity sector and explore the correlation between government environmental policies and the sector's sustainability. We find that at the national level, the sustainability of the electricity sector has exhibited a notable upward trend in recent years. However, this trend has not been evenly distributed across different regions of the country. Second, government environmental policies have a significant positive impact on promoting the sustainability of the electricity sector. Third, the impact of government environmental policies on the sustainability of the electricity sector is more pronounced in the western region of China. • We explore the impact of government environmental policy on the sustainability of China's electricity sector. • Government environmental policies can significantly promote the sustainability of China's electricity sector. • Technological progress is an effective channel between government environmental policies and the sustainability of the electricity sector. • The sustainability of the electricity sector is most significantly impacted by the environmental policies of the government in western China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Haze pollution caused by particulate matter such as PM2.5 and PM10 significantly affects public health. Confronted with haze pollution, people have increasingly taken to expressing opinions online to demand restrictions on pollution discharge by enterprises to protect their health rights. However, are such public demands met by the government and incorporated into policy agenda relating to environmental regulation policies? To investigate this question, this study employed text content analysis to examine the role of public opinion as an intermediary in the relationship between haze pollution and the formulation of environmental regulation policies, using a dataset of 460 environmental regulation policy documents and over 800,000 public opinions on environmental issues spanning from January 2011 to December 2021. We found that public opinion exerted a significant intermediary effect by linking haze pollution and environmental regulation policy tools. Further analysis revealed heterogeneity in the influence of public opinion on environmental regulation policy tools. Public opinion exhibited the most substantial intermediary effect on command-control policy tools (with a 6.68% intermediary effect), followed by economic incentive policy tools (4.65%) and social autonomy policy tools (4.58%). Additionally, there was a notable time lag in the impact of public opinion on environmental regulation policy tools. It took approximately 7–10 months for the government to respond to the disseminated public opinions. This study may shed light on how the government can encourage public engagement, respond to, and guide public opinion. [Display omitted] • Public opinion plays an intermediary role between haze and regulatory policy. • 7–10 months' time lag of environmental policy to public opinion was estimated. • The heterogeneity in the impact of public opinion on three policy tools was analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the global inclination of economies toward green solutions, the current study aims to explore the association between green energy transition, adjusted net saving, energy intensity, and carbon dioxide emission in China. To achieve this, a novel approach utilizing Wavelet analysis is employed to examine the dynamic association among these variables from 1979 to 2020. The analysis utilized continuous wavelet, wavelet coherence, and partial and multiple wavelet coherence techniques, offering a comprehensive understanding beyond the limitations of prior research by investigating the relationships over various time frames. The findings from the wavelet coherence analysis yielded intriguing insights, indicating that an increase in energy transition is likely to result in higher energy intensity and increased CO2 emissions. Surprisingly, the study observed a negative impact of adjusted savings on energy transition in the medium run, whereas in the long term, an increase in adjusted net savings was associated with higher carbon emissions in the Chinese economy. This highlights the intricate interplay between energy transition, adjusted savings, and environmental impacts, with different time scales playing a significant role in shaping these connections. Policymakers should carefully consider these dynamics to formulate effective strategies for sustainable development and carbon emission reduction in China. Furthermore, employing partial and multiple coherence analysis, the outcomes has demonstrated a strong interconnected correlations between energy intensity, green energy transition, CO2 emissions, and adjusted net savings across short-run, medium-run, and long-run time frequencies. Overall, the study concludes the positive link between energy and carbon emissions in China, while the effectiveness of the green energy transition remains vulnerable. The findings offer valuable insights for informed decision-making and policy implications, facilitating the adoption of appropriate measures to promote a greener and more sustainable future in China. • Study explores green energy transition, net saving, energy intensity, and CO 2 in China. • Advanced time-frequency based Wavelet analysis is used to analyze asymmetric relationships. • Energy transition is found to have positive link with CO 2 and energy intensity. • Net adjusted saving have positive effect on CO2 but negative on energy transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Central transfer payment for the key ecosystem zones has become the most funded payments for ecosystem services program in China. The ecological fiscal transfer (EFT) aims to improve the eco-environmental quality of the targeted counties by providing supplementary fiscal funds, though not strictly specifying the usage. This study employs a time-varying difference-in-difference strategy to investigate the impact of EFT on environmental outcome by using a comprehensive county-level dataset covering 1949 counties from 2004 to 2015. Estimates show that the policy had a positive impact on local air quality, whereas the dynamic effect is diminishing. The policy effect is achieved through more stringent environmental regulation and stricter industrial access. Reduction of industrial dust emission is more noticeable than that of sulfur dioxide. There is an economic scale effect that the scale of a county can increase effectiveness of EFT on air quality improvement, whereas an opposite development stage effect will undermine its effectiveness. Heterogeneities were detected concerning transfer intensity, intervention period, geographical region, and ecosystem type. These findings facilitate a deep understanding how EFT could play a significant role in protecting local environment in large developing countries. Several policy implications are drawn to enhance the effectiveness of the largest EFT program. • Ecological fiscal transfer is an emerging instrument in combating eco-environmental degradation. • China's ecological fiscal transfer (EFT) is taken as a quasi-experiment to evaluate its effectiveness. • A time-varying DID technique is employed by using unique county-level datasets. • China's EFT is effective in improving local air quality with a diminishing dynamic effect. • Various heterogeneities of effect were detected and impact mechanisms were identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing demand for electricity worldwide has caused a corresponding rise in the consumption of coal, leading to an increase in sulfur dioxide (SO 2) pollution levels. Despite the severity of the issue, there is a lack of conclusive evidence establishing a causal link between SO 2 pollution and health, particularly in developing countries. We leverage a large national environmental regulation policy, implemented in China to reduce SO 2 emissions, to estimate the impacts of SO 2 pollution on mortality. We find that 1- μ g / m 3 reduction in SO 2 concentrations leads to 18 fewer cardiovascular deaths per 100,000 people aged 60 years and above (0.9% decrease) and 2 fewer deaths per 100,000 children under the age of 5 (1.5% decrease) annually. A back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that the total health benefits of the environmental policy outweigh its economic costs. The results are consistent across various robustness checks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environment-related innovations are widely appreciated as a vital factor in achieving sustainable development goals, and stability in the financial sector can help boost the output of environmental innovations by removing financial constraints. Hence, the primary aim of the analysis is to investigate the impact of financial stability on environmental innovation in China by using the QARDL model over the period 1995Q1-2020Q4. The study's main findings confirm the positive role of financial stability on environmental innovation in both the short and long run. Wald test also confirms the asymmetric impact of financial stability on environmental innovation in the short and long run. Moreover, the long-run impacts of GDP, R&D activities, and environmental policy stringency on environmental innovation are positive. In the short run, the estimates of research and development and environmental policy stringency are positively significant at higher quantiles only. Based on the findings, our research will help policymakers to develop valuable policies for financial stability to enhance environmental innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has experimented with a wide range of policies to encourage firms to improve their environmental performance, often with mixed results. This paper investigates the effectiveness of combining two different policies at the same time: (1) a more centralised environmental inspection process and (2) new rules on the public disclosure of policy compliance for firms wanting to undertake an initial public offering (IPO). A theoretical framework predicts that a more centralised inspection and public disclosure should improve both a firm's environmental performance and profitability. The results of instrumental variable estimations for 536 listed Chinese firms for the period 2009 to 2019 confirm the theoretical predictions although the positive effect on profitability only lasts for two years after compliance with the IPO requirements. An investigation into possible mechanisms shows that the joint policy promotes investment in green projects while also increasing demand for the firm's products. The findings highlight greater regulatory complexity may be needed if a country wishes to change the behaviour of firms in a manner that is consistent with overcoming environmental challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Estimate the joint impact of environmental and digital policies (for designing smart cities) upon the generation of eco-innovations. • Apply negative binomial and quasi-natural experimental methods (i.e., Difference-in-Differences and Propensity Score Matching). • When digital policies (Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things) are implemented in cities that have adopted strict environmental policies, the production of green patents increases. In this paper, we employ negative binomial and quasi-natural experimental methods (i.e., Difference-in-Differences and Propensity Score Matching), whereby we examine the joint impact of environmental and digital policies (for designing smart cities) upon the generation of eco-innovations in China. Using longitudinal data for the period 2006–2018, we examine the changes in green patents granted: (i) due to the implementation of various levels of stringency of environmental policies across all cities; and (ii) after the introduction of smart city policies in 2012 in China. The prior literature stresses the importance of environmental policies, yet less attention has been paid to digital policies required to drive eco-innovation and their spatial dimension in the context of a developing economy. Our results show that, when digital policies (artificial intelligence and internet of things) are implemented in cities that have adopted strict environmental policies, the production of green patents increases. We contribute to debates in the literature of policy mix for sustainability transitions in the context of a developing economy by illustrating the importance of both types of policy for eco-innovation, as they correct two market failures and, more importantly, address the systemic coordination problems that occur during the production of green patents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the evolution of China's technology standardization policy system in the period from 1978 to 2021. The standardization policy system comprising the supply, demand, and environment policy tool types has evolved during standardization development process, which includes three sequential stages: 1) the following-up stage, 2) the catch-up stage, and 3) the upgrading stage. In responding to changes in institutional, economic and technological contexts, the policy orientation has transformed from supporting the government-controlled adoption and standardization of foreign technologies in the following-up stage of standardization development process to developing indigenous standards owning independent intellectual property rights (IPRs) through the government-led standardization system in the catch-up stage, and to international standardization adopting both government-led and market mechanisms in the upgrading stage. In this process, the Chinese Government continued to offer policy support to but tended to relax its control over standardization. Of the three policy tool types, the supply type have remained the dominant ones; the weight of the environment-type of tools tended to decrease, and that of the demand-type of tools tended to increase. Further, the government rationalized the mix of each type of policy tools as the standardization contexts changed. From the Chinese experience, theoretical prescriptions for how standardization policy systems evolve in latecomers are developed. Practical implications for latecomer countries to transform standardization policy system and design their standardization policies are discussed. • China's standardization policy system has evolved by three stages. • Institutional, economic and technological contexts confine policy system. • Policy orientation changes towards market mechanism and government guidance. • Mix of policy tools is rationalized as the standardization contexts changed. • Supply-type tools have been the dominant ones during standardization development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Environmental regulations can improve energy-environment efficiency of firms. • Environmental policies have asymmetric impact on heterogeneous firms. • End treatment and source control are important channels for improving efficiency. • Impact of different policy tools on energy-environment efficiency is heterogeneous. • Micro evidence for evaluating the effect of environmental regulation is provided. Energy-environment efficiency can be used as a means of control to change the mode of economic development by considering the pollution reduction factor. Taking China as an example, this study uses a nonradial superefficiency data envelopment analysis method to measure microlevel energy-environment efficiency and investigates the relationship between environmental regulation and efficiency. The findings show that for every 1% increase in environmental regulation, firms' energy-environment efficiency increases by approximately 0.04% and that environmental regulations have a greater impact on pollution-intensive firms and private firms compared to other types of firms. A median effect model shows that end treatment and source control are important channels through which environmental regulation can improve firms' energy-environment efficiency. In addition, the influence of different environmental regulation policy tools on firm energy-environment efficiency is heterogeneous. With every 1% increase in a command-and-control and market-based incentive policy, energy-environment efficiency increases by 0.01–0.02%, while the effect of public participation policy tools is not significant. This study provides not only new micro empirical evidence for evaluating the effect of environmental regulation but also a reference for applying and coordinating different types of environmental policy tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid waste can cause serious environmental and ecological damage. However, the capital market attitude towards solid waste treatment policies remains unclear. Using an event study method, this paper examined the stock price reactions in Chinese listed firms in pilot construction and demolition waste (C&DW) treatment cities after the policy implementation and found that the pilot city firm stock prices were significantly and negatively affected, with this response being more negative when the firm had not previously been under environmental policy supervision. The cross-sectional analyses indicated that pilot city C&DW stock and treatment capacities, the proportion of state-owned shares, and the firms' political connections all negatively affected market reactions. The study of the capital market signaling effects towards solid waste policies can provide timely assistance to firms that need to adjust their strategic deployment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether China's Clean Air Action can be imperative to job quality improvement of labour force while improving environmental quality is still an ongoing research topic. It is a critical area to understand the economic and social effect of environmental policy under the strategic goal of high-quality economic development. We use China's "Clean Air Action" policy as a quasi-natural experiment to identify the causal effect and potential long-run impact of the environmental policy on internal migrant workers' job quality. Based on the difference-in-difference estimation and a series of robustness tests, such as PSM-DID, counterfactual framework, placebo test, and event study, we find that China's Clean Air Action does have a positive effect on the job quality of migrant workers, and the job quality of the migrants in the Clean Air Action sampling cities increased by 0.31 on an average compared with cities that did not implement Clean Air Action. This positive effect will increase over time, and with the level of regional economic development and urban scale rise. Moreover, the job quality improvement could be driven by the productivity effect and the positive adjustment of labor force employment structure from action. This study provides an important empirical evidence for directions of this new action. Our results suggest that further policy measures with a clear goal together with strong-oriented and sub-regional joint governance mechanisms over different levels of government are called for. • Causal effect of China's Clean Air Action on job quality is identified by quasi-natural experiment. • Average treatment effect (ATE) of Clean Air Action on internal migrants' job quality is about 0.31. • ATE will increase over time, and with the development of regional economic and urban scale. • Productivity effect and employment structure effect affecting job quality have been verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Proposing the STSL framework for target selection and compensation modes in win–win PES. • Constructing the environmental vulnerability-livelihood assets evaluation system. • Detecting the priority areas for implementing conservation PES or restoration PES. • Developing ten differentiated hematopoiesis payment modes. Spatial targets and payment modes are the key components for solving the issue of "where to pay and how to pay" and for supporting ecosystem service providers to achieve sustainable livelihoods and end poverty through payments for ecosystem services (PES) for environmental protection and poverty reduction. Here, we present the Spatial Targets and Sustainable Livelihoods (STSL) framework and analyze regional environmental vulnerability and livelihood assets in the Longnan Municipality of China. We constructed reasonable spatial targeting and payment modes according to each actual type. We classified the present 27 poverty-stricken areas in Longnan Municipality into two levels of environmental vulnerability, four classes in combination with natural capital, eight categories with the addition of human capital, and ten subcategories considering environmental vulnerability and all five livelihood assets. Finally, considering regional development and sustainable livelihoods for poor people, we suggest spatial layout targets for implementing conservation or restoration ecological projects and 10 differentiated payment modes. This study provides an appropriate proposal for certain regions to implement the environmental policy of win–win PES and fills the research gap regarding specific payment modes for PES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circular economy is a policy concept that requires mainstreaming to enable sustainable development through cleaner production and consumption. Unique among CE frontrunners, China's CE implementation is well-documented to be a major experimentation program at different scales. It therefore offers one example of CE upscaling. However, while China is the most studied CE case country, few works have conducted an in-depth analysis of its policy expansion through the scales of implementation. We take advantage of the abundant data source and review 104 scholarly works on Chinese CE policy development and implementation to find out the drivers and barriers behind its CE upscaling process. Our results show that the process was influenced by a complex interplay of centralized governance and multi-level dynamics through a rich portfolio of international, national and sub-national interactions, despite China's authoritarian governance. Yet, our results also suggest that China's macro-level CE development was hindered by implementation barriers stemming from weak multi-level governance. We conclude by drawing three generalizable key policy lessons for other regions and countries. These lessons are relevant for both 'industrialized' regions such as the EU with a longer history of prominent multilevel governance as well as 'industrializing' countries who look to China's development pathway as an alternative model of development to that of liberal democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Two methods were used to measure the contribution of agronomic and biophysical factors to China's wheat yield growth. • Uncertainty existed between the two methods in estimating the factors' contribution to yield growth. • Both methods indicated fertilizers and cultivars had contributed mainly to China's wheat yield increase. • Improving the consistency of model inputs could reduce estimate variations between the two methods. China's wheat growth from 1981 to 2015 was faster than most countries, characterized by notable linear growth and more than 100 % rise in yield. Understanding the reasons for such fast growth is essential for stakeholders in developing countries to gain insight and be able to establish efficient yield-increasing strategies for the future. Here, using a statistical function and a process-based crop model, we dissected, quantified and compared the contributions of five causal factors to China's national wheat yield growth. For past yield growth from 1981 to 2015, the Environmental Policy Integrated Climate (EPIC) model estimated that five drivers have contributed to national wheat yield growth by 57.4 % (fertilizer), 37.9 % (cultivar), 7.9 % (irrigation), -1.0 % (area), and -2.2 % (climate), while the Cobb-Douglas (C–D) production function estimated contributions of 79.8 %, 16.1 %, 8.0 %, -2.6 %, and -1.2 %, respectively. Furthermore, we conducted a temporal two-paired comparison of the yield contributions estimated by the two methods and explored the reasons for such difference. Results indicated that the distinct nature of the two methods and inconsistency of the input data resulted in the divergent estimations in amount and temporal scale. The way to decrease the uncertainty of each factor's contribution in each of the methods was to maintain consistency in input data, clearly understand the methods' assumptions, and include as many interactions as possible. In addition, utilization of an ensemble of multiple models was able to achieve a more robust assessment, especially with the inclusion of both statistical and process-based models. This study has for the first time systematically compared the applicability of the two methods in evaluating the contribution of the five drivers to yield, and provided instructions for improvements. Future researchers should pay attention to developing a consistent manner of integrating multiple approaches, which have the potential partly to offset the weakness of individual methods and thus lead to better estimations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]