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Copyright of Big Data Research (2096-0271) is the property of Beijing Xintong Media Co., Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The observation facts of trend and variability are estimated for a century‐long timescale, as well as some possible attributions affecting temperature extremes over Beijing‐Tianjin‐Hebei region. In this paper, the new constructed daily maximum and minimum temperature series during the last 100 years in situ stations of Beijing, Tianjin and Baoding city are used, and two 30‐year baseline climatology of 1961–1990 and 1980–2010 are both used in calculating extreme temperature events. The results indicate that there are long‐lasting, frequent and serious extreme warming over Beijing‐Tianjin‐Hebei region, especially for extreme low temperature, with larger declining trends (at 5% significance) from 1981 to 2010 baseline than those from 1961 to 1990 baseline. And from a statistical perspective, El Niño decay years and surface sea temperature (SST) anomalies at some typical ocean regions of the Arabian Sea and the Bengal Bay on the northern Indian Ocean, the Western Pacific and the Mid Atlantic, Southern Indian Ocean and around 45°–85°E, 68°–82°N on the southwest Arctic Ocean can be used as the warning signals denoting extreme warming over Beijing‐Tianjin‐Hebei region. Additionally, urbanization has a significant (at 5% significance) effect on extreme warming over Beijing‐Tianjin‐Hebei region since 1979, with 24.3% warming contribution for annual minimum temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to solve the problem of habitat fragmentation in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region and realize the sustainable use of land, based on remote sensing data from 2010 to 2020, this paper uses GIS and the CA–Markov model to predict the land use structure in 2030, and uses the InVEST model to quantitatively analyze the changes in habitat quality in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region from 2010 to 2030. The results indicate that (1) from 2010 to 2020, the area of construction land increased significantly, mainly from cultivated land, woodland and grassland; the proportion of cultivated land decreased by 7.2%. It was predicted that by 2030, the area of construction land will continue to expand, accounting for 19.6%. According to the results of land use dynamic degree, the conversion speed between land types in 2010–2015 was higher than that in 2015–2020. (2) The average habitat quality indexes of the study area in 2010, 2015, 2020 and 2030 were 0.57, 0.56, 0.55 and 0.52, respectively, and the habitat quality level was moderate and continued to decline. The habitat center of gravity moved in the north, from Fengning Manchu Autonomous County to the junction of Fengning Manchu Autonomous County and Longhua County, and then moved to the Mentougou District of Beijing. Therefore, in order to amendthe continuous decline in habitat quality, scientific measures should be taken according to local conditions to promote the improvement of habitat quality and the rational use of land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is subject to the most severe haze condition in China. Against the backdrop of the coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei, it is of great significance to explore the space-time distribution characteristics of high haze pollution industries in the above region. The purpose of this article is to find high haze pollution industries scientifically, analyze the spatial distribution characteristics of high haze pollution industries in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei correctly, and formulate effective reduction measures for the spatial distribution of high haze pollution industries in different regions of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei. It hopes that the measures provide a basis for effective to reduce high haze pollution in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Using the Gini coefficient and location entropy, this paper explores the space-time characteristics of high haze pollution industries in 13 cities of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. The results show that those aforesaid high haze pollution industries present an obvious clustering trend in Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Handan, and some areas along the economic axis of China, overall flooding into Eastern coastal and Southern inland areas. By industry, the petroleum processing and coking processing industry, chemical raw materials and chemical products industry, manufacture of non-metallic mineral products, and ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing industry witness a declining clustering trend, as opposed to the electricity, heat production, and supply industry. Meanwhile, core cities of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region have developed high haze pollution industries, and the hinterland lags in economic development. It is necessary to face up to the differences in economic development among areas in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, promote the staggered development of high haze pollution industries, and build a high haze pollution industry chain with coordinated economic and environmental development, thus reducing the economic gap with each area, and realizing the coordinated development of economy, industry, and environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In terrestrial ecosystems, vegetation is sensitive to climate change and human activities. Its spatial-temporal changes also affect the ecological and social environment. In this paper, we considered the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region to study the spatio-temporal vegetation patterns. The detailed analysis of a moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) data were carried out through the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform. Our results show a slow and tortuous upward trend in the average leaf area index (LAI) in the study region for the periods 2001–2020. Specifically, Beijing had the highest LAI value, with an average of 1.64 over twenty years, followed by Hebei (1.30) and Tianjin (1.04). Among different vegetation types, forests had the highest normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) with the range of 0.62–0.78, followed by shrubland (0.58–0.75), grassland (0.34–0.66), and cropland (0.38–0.54) over the years. Spatially, compared to the whole study area, index value in the northwestern part of the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region increased greatly in many areas, such as northwest Beijing, Chengde, and Zhangjiakou, indicating a significant ecological optimization. Meanwhile, there was ecological degradation in the middle and southeast regions, from Tangshan southeastward to Handan, crossing Tianjin, Langfang, the east part of Baoding, Shijiazhuang, and the west part of Cangzhou. Air temperature and precipitation were positively and significantly correlated with net primary production (NPP) and precipitation stood out as a key driver. Additionally, an intensification of the urbanization rate will negatively impact the vegetation NPP, with the shrubland and forest being affected most relative to the cropland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei each contributed to the comprehensive governance of bulk coal to treat bulk coal pollution in a mutually beneficial way in 2017. The cooperative game theory is used in this paper to study the environmental benefits and cost effectiveness brought about by this comprehensive governance strategy, primarily focusing on the issue of how to maximize the environmental benefits by choosing an appropriate strategy since the benefits to Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei are closely related. Therefore, the linear optimization, game theory and Shapley value method in the cooperative game model are used to find the ways to minimize the total governance cost of bulk coal in the three areas. In addition, the issues of how to carry out rational distribution and transfer of governance capital among the three places are explored according to the actual amounts of consumption of bulk coal, the influence of the coal burning on the PM2.5 and the actual cost of coal governance in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei in 2017. The results show that the governance task in Hebei Province is the most onerous, and requires more investment than the other two cities. Thus, it requires the support from other two cities, with the amount of increased capital required of about 600 million Yuan. At the same time, the cost saved after optimization in Tianjin is calculated to be the largest, which thus can be adjusted appropriately and allocated to Hebei for the governance of bulk coal. The model constructed in this paper can not only be used to solve the issues related to bulk coal consumption in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, but also to carry out the effective distribution of capital, by which a win-win scenario among the three places can be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese economy has changed from high-speed growth stage to high-quality development stage. Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is an essential part of economic development in China, where high-quality development and realize innovation-driven development need to be achieved urgently. In this paper, an index system is constructed to measure the high-quality development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and the entropy weight method is used to measure the high-quality development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. The results indicate that from the perspective of vertical development, the high-quality development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region from 2009 to 2018 is on the rise year by year. Besides, Hebei has presented a rebound development recent years due to the weak development foundation in the early stage. Tianjin develops evenly with an annual growth rate of 10%, and Beijing has also been growing steadily. From the perspective of horizontal development, the high-quality development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is significantly unbalanced, and the comprehensive index of high-quality development in Beijing is significantly higher than that in Tianjin and Hebei, demonstrating a large gap in high-quality development among Beijing and the other two regions. The innovation contribution of the target layer to the criterion layer is the largest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coordination and balance between agricultural development (AD) and agricultural carbon emissions (ACE) is one of the most important ways to boost the high-quality development of agriculture in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Taking 13 prefecture-level cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region as the research object, this study uses the comprehensive evaluation method and Tapio decoupling model to analyze the decoupling effect between the AD level and the Agricultural Carbon emissions intensity (ACEI) from 2000 to 2020, based on the assessment of AD status and the calculation of Agricultural Carbon emissions quantities (ACEQ) and ACEI. It found that: (1) From 2000 to 2020, the AD in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region generally showcased a gradual increase trend, and demonstrated a basic feature that AD in the northern areas was higher than that in the southern ones. (2) From 2000 to 2020, the ACEQ in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing, with a spatial distribution feature that the ACEQ in the southern cities was higher than that in the northern ones. Regarding the source of ACE, the livestock and poultry farming took the highest proportion. ACEI was decreasing year by year, higher in the southern areas than in the northern ones. (3) The main types of decoupling in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region were strong decoupling, recession decoupling, strong negative decoupling, weak negative decoupling, recession coupling, and expansion negative coupling. The decoupling relationship between AD and ACEI were in dynamic change, but the change trend of the decoupling relationship was optimistic. The results of this study deliver certain deployable practice value for improving the sustainability of regional agricultural green development and ecological environmental protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting sustainable development in manufacturing is a paramount goal, with a focus on advancing green innovation. This study constructs a system for evaluating green innovation efficiency and employs the Super-EBM model, incorporating unexpected output, to assess the efficiency of green innovation in 13 cities across the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region from 2011 to 2020. The study further conducts dynamic analysis using the Malmquist-Luenberger index. Results reveal that, statically, the overall green innovation efficiency in the manufacturing industry of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is inefficient. There exists a considerable gap in green innovation efficiency among Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei, with Beijing and Tianjin demonstrating superior performance compared to Hebei. Substantial variations exist in the green innovation efficiency of manufacturing across different cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Only Beijing, Qinhuangdao, and Baoding achieve DEA-effective green innovation efficiency in the manufacturing industry, while the other cities do not. Dynamically, the green innovation efficiency of the manufacturing industry in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is on the rise. There is a varying degree of improvement in green innovation efficiency in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei, with Hebei showing the highest improvement, Tianjin ranking second, and Beijing having the least improvement. With the exception of Langfang and Hengshui, the green innovation efficiency in the manufacturing industry is improving in most cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, with Hebei witnessing the most significant improvement. This study aims to integrate "environmental pollution" into the evaluation index system for green innovation efficiency. It assesses green innovation efficiency in the manufacturing industry of the Beijing- Tianjin-Hebei region, considering both static and dynamic perspectives. This clarification offers insights into the level of green innovation, contributing valuable information for the advancement of high-quality development in the regional manufacturing industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change have a profound impact on the production and life of the people in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region. Precipitation and temperature are regarded as two basic components of climate. This study investigated the spatial and temporal characteristics of precipitation and temperature over the region from 1960 to 2013. Different methods were used to analyze temporal variation and the results are mutually verified. Wavelet analysis was adopted to analyze the abrupt changes of precipitation and temperature. Empirical orthogonal function decomposition method was utilized to analyze the spatial distribution of temperature and precipitation. The study yielded three major findings: First, the inter-annual decrease and increase of precipitation appeared alternately in the region. Temperature was rising significantly in the last 50 years, apart from a slow reduction in the late 1970s. Second, the spatial distribution characteristics of precipitation vary due to the distance from the ocean. The increasing trend of temperature in Beijing-centered region was more obvious than that in areas away from the sea. Third, precipitation and temperature show strong correlations in change. When temperature increased, the rainfall decreased. What is more, when the temperature mutated, the precipitation also changed rapidly. The results can guide local agriculture production and provide reference for the further study of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei metropolitan area is a significant carbon emission center. The region's early achievement of peak carbon targets is critical to the nation's achievement of peak carbon targets. In this paper, it is proposed to use different orders of grey models to classify into three scenarios. Based on three scenarios, the grey multivariate convolutional model with new information priority accumulation is adopted to predict carbon emissions in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and select the scenario suitable for local development. The results show that: (1) The Beijing region has already achieved peak carbon, the Tianjin region may not reach its peak carbon target by 2030, and the Hebei region is expected to reach its peak carbon target by 2030. (2) The high rate of carbon emission reduction scenario will greatly improve the air quality of Beijing. The low-speed growth carbon emission scenario is more in line with the future development of Tianjin city. The low-rate carbon reduction scenario is more in line with the synergistic governance of pollution reduction and carbon reduction in Hebei Province. (3) Beijing's population policy in the most recent years has been conducive to improving the local environment. Tianjin's medium-term population policy is more in line with the local area. Hebei's medium-term industrial structure reform is favorable to local development. • Grey correlation analysis is used to analyze the factors affected carbon emissions in a region. • The factors with high correlation are predicted by using grey prediction models of different orders. • The high rate of carbon emission reduction scenario will greatly improve the air quality of Beijing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is crucial to investigate the characteristics of meteorological drought in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region to improve the accuracy of agriculture and water resource monitoring and management. In this study, using instrumental observation data from 85 meteorological stations in the BTH region during 1961–2023 derived from the National Meteorological Information Center, we first calculated the meteorological drought comprehensive index (MCI) and analyzed the spatiotemporal characteristics of the MCI. In the BTH region, the MCI intensity from May to June was the most severe in the intraseasonal variation. The trend of the decreasing drought intensity in May–June has occurred for the past 60 years. The southern region in the BTH region was more likely to experience droughts. Next, the spatial patterns of the top two EOF modes of the May–June MCI were depicted. The primary spatial pattern of the BTH, which was characterized by consistent changes in the MCI throughout the entire BTH region, could be represented by the first mode's R2 of 69.01%. Then, we compared the spatial pattern of the MCI intensity under different return periods. Using the May–June MCI of 1961–2023, the drought intensity gradually increased from northwest to southeast for the 10-, 20-, and 50-year return periods. However, the drought intensity decreased and then increased from northwest to southeast based on the 1991–2023 MCI. Notably, a 20-year return period of severe drought affected Beijing and northern Hebei in 2023. Finally, we discussed the linkages of drought in the BTH region and atmospheric circulation/sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies, which were calculated using the Pearson correlation coefficient and wavelet coherence. We suggest that the MCI variations in the BTH region may be related to the SST anomalies of the Indian Ocean in 1961–1990 and the Pacific Ocean in 1991–2023, respectively. The abovementioned studies have enlightened us to focus on predicting the Pacific SST for drought, which will facilitate agricultural production and water resource management in the BTH region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Revealing the characteristics of the spatial and temporal evolution of regional tourism-related ecological security and exploring its driving factors are of great theoretical and practical value to promoting the coordinated and sustainable development of the tourism economy and the ecological environment. Taking the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region as a case study, this study constructed a tourism-related ecological security evaluation index system based on the DPSIR theoretical framework. The tourism-related ecological security index was measured from 2011 to 2022 and its spatiotemporal characteristics and dynamic evolutionary process were analyzed. Finally, the panel quantile regression model was used to analyze its driving factors. The results show that: (1) in time, the average value of tourism-related ecological security fluctuates and rises, and the differences between the units show a convergent trend, which is mainly manifested in the catching-up effect from low-value cities to higher-value cities; (2) in space, Beijing and its southeastern cities have a high level of tourism-related ecological security, and although the study area is mainly at the less secure level, it is developing continuously and progressively; (3) in terms of the dynamic evolution characteristics, the type transfer of tourism-related ecological security has certain "path dependence" and "self-locking" effects, often occurring between neighboring levels, and the type transfer under the influence of different neighborhoods has significant differences; (4) in terms of driving factors, environmental pollution has a significant inhibitory effect on the level of tourism-related ecological security, and the level of economic development has the largest positive marginal effect on tourism-related ecological security, while other influencing factors such as the level of tourism development have certain differences in terms of their positive role in the promotion of the level of tourism-related ecological security. This study can provide a reference for decisionmakers to promote ecological protection and high-quality tourism development in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Research of Environmental Sciences is the property of Research of Environmental Sciences Editorial Board and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

From 1990 to 2017, the number of vehicles in China increased sharply from 5 million to 310 million, and vehicle emissions became one of the major sources of air pollution. Among the main sources of PM 2.5 in Beijing, the contributions from vehicle sources increased from 5.6% (2000) to 31.1% (2012) to 45% (2017). In 2010, the CO, hydrocarbon (HC), NO x , and particulate matter (PM) emissions of yellow-label vehicles (YLVs) accounted for 46.1%, 47.9%, 63.1% and 86.1% of the total emissions from on-road vehicles. In recent years, China has been implementing a YLV scrappage subsidy policy to control air pollution, and this policy has cost several hundred billion yuan nationwide. However, China has not evaluated the costs and benefits of the policy. Many people question whether the YLV scrappage subsidy policy is worthwhile, but all the stakeholders involved complicate the process of accurately evaluating the true value of the policy. In this study, we evaluated and compared the costs and benefits of the policy in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region based on 1.362 million YLVs from 2008 to 2015. Because of the implementation of the policy, the PM 2.5 , PM 10 , NO x , CO and HC emissions in the BTH region decreased by 16.46, 18.12, 174.44, 669.11, and 91.64 kt, respectively, in 2008–2015. The results show that the policy played an important role in reducing pollutant emissions and improving environmental quality in the BTH region. The costs, benefits, and net benefits of the policy were 13.69, 34.03, and 20.34 billion yuan , respectively. The cost-benefit ratio in the BTH region was 1:2.49; at the city scale, Beijing ranked first (1:7.27), and the cost-benefit ratios of Tianjin and Hebei Province were 1:2.06 and 1:1.14, respectively. Of the 13 cities in the BTH region, Beijing had the highest net benefits, amounting to 16.43 billion yuan , while Handan City has the lowest net benefits, amounting to −0.58 billion yuan. The results may provide scientific support for the promotion of older vehicle and diesel vehicle scrappage subsidy policies, the development of cost-benefit analysis (CBA), and effective environmental decision-making in China. • Based on net number of scrappage YLVs, net benefits of the policy are calculated. • This paper estimates costs and benefits of the policy based on 1.27 million YLVs. • The costs, benefits, and net benefits are 13.69, 34.03, and 20.34 billion yuan. • The results help China promote vehicle scrappage subsidy policy on a large scale. • The results promote the development of the cost-benefit analysis in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though renewable energy development has gained momentum in China, thermal power generation still accounts for approximately 70% of the county's total power generation serving as the major source of carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions in China. Facing the challenges of meeting 2030 peak target of CO 2 emission and realizing the coordinated development of thermal power generation in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, this paper applies generalized Divisia Index Method (GDIM) to decompose the dynamics in the relevant CO 2 emission. The effects of five factors including electricity demand, energy consumption, technology, energy efficiency and energy-mix are considered. The decomposition suggests that electricity demand is the primary factor driving the CO 2 emission up, whereas technology effect decreases CO 2 emission the most. Given the significant roles of technology, energy-mix and energy efficiency in CO 2 emissions reduction, seven scenarios are designed to identify the optimal coordinated development pathway for thermal power generation in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Through upgrading energy structure and/or enhancing energy efficiency, the thermal power generation in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region can achieve coordinated development and realize the 2030 peak target under four scenarios. The detailed development pathways for CO 2 emissions and specific policy implications for Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei are provided to further govern CO 2 emissions and maintain sustainable development. • Proposed a five-factor Generalized Divisia Index Model (GDIM) for CO 2 emission analysis. • Analyzed the CO 2 from thermal power generation in China's Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. • Electricity demand and technology contributed the most to the positive and negative changes of CO 2 , respectively. • Designed seven thermal generation development scenarios to study the CO 2 change until 2030. • The 2030 CO 2 peak target can be achieved under four scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The feasibility of integrating large-scale heat pumps in the BTH region is studied. • Regional integrated planning is compared with independent planning. • EnergyPLAN is adopted to simulate the operation of heating and power systems. • The maximum economic feasible potential of heat pump penetration is identified. • Heat pumps earn energy and environmental benefits without increasing cost in 2030. Promoting cleaner heating is one of the key pathways towards future energy transition. One promising solution is to implement large-scale heat pumps into the existing heat supply system. This paper aims to investigate whether the integration of large-scale heat pumps can be the first feasible step for cities towards clean heating transition. As opposed to the traditional way of conducting independent energy planning within a single city/region, this paper presents a novel approach of employing integrated planning for the multiple neighboring regions to explore the advantages of interregional energy collaboration. The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) urban agglomeration is taken as a case study, which is the most polluted region in China caused by the coal-based heating system. By implementing a series of simulations for the heating and power systems in the EnergyPLAN tool for six predesigned future scenarios which consider different planning strategies and analysis focuses, this paper analyzes to what extent heat pumps can help to achieve energy and environmental improvement for the whole BTH region by 2030 while ensuring economic feasibility. This is done by creating three independent models for respective Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei, and one integrated model for the whole BTH region. The results suggest that when guaranteeing economic feasibility, the integration of large-scale heat pumps can potentially result in at least 9.5% energy saving and 9.28% reduced CO 2 emission compared to the baseline. The integrated planning strategy can furthermore be more efficient in the urban agglomeration, which reduces 1.92% and 2.27% more energy and emissions in 2030 compared to the independent planning results. Based on cost analysis, the maximum economic feasible potential of heat pump penetration is identified as well. This paper can provide references for policymakers in the BTH region and the rest of Northern China, as well as present a principle of energy planning for cities on a general level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many stakeholders recognize that the transport sector should be a major focus for reducing the emissions of carbon and air pollutants since it is the third largest sector for energy consumption in China. This study analyzed and projected the energy consumption and emissions of CO2 and conventional air pollutants (CO, NOX, SO2, and PM2.5) from four transport sectors (highway, waterway, railway and aviation) based on the LEAP model, compared the emission reduction potentials of different transport sectors under different scenarios in 2020-2060, and finally explored the co-reduction effect for CO2 and the four pollutants under different control measures. The results showed that the CO2 emissions from the transportation sectors in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region would increase greatly under the baseline scenario. Estimates indicate that the CO2 emissions of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province would increase by 263.72%, 225.87% and 405.43% in 2060, respectively. Under the comprehensive policy scenario, the emission reductions would be 88.78%, 76.86% and 83.20% respectively, and the maximum emission reduction rate of pollutants is expected to reach 78.73%–99.34%. The sectors with major reduction potentials for CO2 and conventional pollutants are the aviation and road transport sectors, which contribute 38.19%–99.85% of the total, respectively. The co-reduction achieved by optimizing the energy structure in the road transport and aviation sectors would be the best. The results of this study can provide a basis for the formulation of low-carbon reduction strategies for the transport sectors in the BTH region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, with the capital Beijing as the core, carries a profound geo-culture and gathers numerous intangible cultural heritages. Studying the spatial distribution characteristics and influencing factors of intangible cultural heritage can help to propose positive suggestions for protection and development from the perspective of sustainable development. Taking 329 national intangible cultural heritages in Beijing-Tianjin—Hebei as the research objects, and using ArcGIS spatial analysis technology, combined with methods such as kernel density analysis, standard deviation ellipse and geographical detector, to visualize the spatial distribution of intangible cultural heritages and explore the influencing factors of their distribution. The results show that: (1) the distribution of intangible cultural heritage in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei is not balanced, mainly concentrated in the central and southern regions, and three high-density core circles are formed in Beijing, Tianjin, and Handan-Xingtai in Hebei Province, showing large differences in spatial distribution density; (2) Traditional techniques, traditional arts, dramatic balladry, sports, music, and medicine show the characteristics of aggregated distribution. folkways, dance, and drama show the characteristics of random distribution. Folk literature shows the characteristics of uniform distribution; (3) The Cultural Development Period is an important evolutionary turning point in the spatial and temporal distribution of intangible cultural heritage in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, as well as an accelerating period in the development of intangible cultural heritage, and completes the transformation from decentralized distribution to localized aggregation distribution. In The Period of Regional Cultural Integration, the peak value is reached; (4) Economic development and social culture have the greatest influence on the spatial distribution of intangible cultural heritage in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, while the influence of physical environment is relatively small. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: According to Global Biodiversity Outlook 5, the Aichi Biodiversity Target regarding protected areas (PAs) has been partially achieved with limited progress in valid performance for biodiversity conservation and effective management. This suggests that not only the spatial planning of PAs but also the spatial prioritization for PAs under different management scenarios need more prudent decision-making. Objectives: We aim to develop a comprehensive approach to identify and prioritize PAs to maximize the effectiveness of biodiversity conservation while minimize the conservation costs. Methods: Taking Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region as a case study, we consider the supply and demand of ecosystem services, and landscape connectivity to identify PAs. Systematic conservation planning decision support tool Marxan was employed to identify the priority areas of PAs under multi-target scenarios. The conservation costs, the critical step in the planning process, was estimated using habitat quality evaluation module embedding in InVEST model. Results: The results showed that the conservation costs for construction land and unused land were the highest, while the costs for forest land, grassland, and farmland were very low. Sensitivity analysis confirmed the most appropriate conservation goal was 50% of the total area. Therefore, we generated spatial prioritization outcomes based on this target. The highest priority area was mainly located in the northwest of Beijing, the north of Chengde, and the east of Zhangjiakou. Conclusions: It is concluded that the proposed approach helps decision-makers to identify spatial prioritization for biodiversity conservation based on different scenarios and also yields insights into systematic conservation planning and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is currently in a period of accelerated urbanization, and the population pattern of urbanizing megaregions is undergoing drastic changes. Accurately grasping the population density patterns and evolution trends has become essential. Based on the township-level population data, through population density classification, population concentration index, and regression analysis, this research investigated the evolution of the spatial pattern of population density and the influencing factors in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region. Results showed that the population continued to concentrate in the municipal districts of Beijing and Tianjin and the township units where county governments were located, thereby causing a more unbalanced population distribution and a wider urban–rural disparity. Population dynamics are influenced by the market and the government. County-level administrative centers have continued to appeal to the population. The strategy of decentralizing the non-capital functions of Beijing has promoted the decentraliztion of population, albeit to a limited extent. However, key township policy has played a minor role in population change. Owing to particularities in the development stage and social system, the population dynamics in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region differ from those of other developed countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inter-regional payments for ecosystem services (PES) is an important policy to promote regional ecological and environmental cooperation. However, the existing inter-regional PES standard in China may underestimate the value of ecosystem services and omit the value of transferred pollutants due to inter-regional trade. A reasonable framework of inter-regional PES standards is necessary for the policymakers, especially in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region with the most serious environmental problem in China. This paper employed the method of environmental impact evaluation and multi-regional input-output model (MRIO) to build a framework of inter-regional PES estimation, which both contained the regional spillover value of ecosystem services and the regional transfer value of pollutants. Finally, we estimate the amount of inter-regional payment for ecosystem services within BTH region. The results indicated that the PES standards within BTH region were 13.8 billion yuan and 19.2 billion yuan from Beijing, Tianjin to Hebei province in 2012, which accounted for 0.77 % and 1.49 % of their GDP in 2012. These PES standards are effective for regional ecological and environmental cooperation within BTH region and a multi-dimensional marketization mechanism should be implemented to reinforce inter-regional payment for ecosystem services, which may pave the way for other regions or countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water shortages in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region in China have constrained the region's coordinated development. A feasible solution is introducing water rights transactions through the middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project (SNWDP). However, there are few methods available for systematically simulating and evaluating the impact of inter-regional water rights transactions. In this study, an improved computable general equilibrium (CGE) model was developed to simulate the water rights transactions. Different water resources were integrated as intermediate inputs, and the model includes a substitution mechanism between different water resources. The water stress index (WSI) was used to evaluate the impact on the economy and water resources simulated by the model. The study proposes and evaluates different scenarios with different water-saving levels and transaction volumes. Water rights transactions have a positive effect on the overall economic growth of the BTH region, reducing the local water resource stress in Beijing and Tianjin; the transactions have a limited impact on the economy and water usage of Hebei Province. Compared with the general water-saving intensity scenario without water rights transactions, the recommended scenario adopts ultra water-saving intensity, along with the transfer of 100 hm3 of water rights from Hebei to Beijing and Tianjin. This leads to an increase in the overall gross domestic product (GDP) of the BTH region by CNY 0.587 trillion (USD 99.6 billion); a decrease in local water usage in Beijing and Tianjin of 197 hm3; and a relief in the regional imbalance of water resources stress. This study provides a quantitative analysis tool for evaluating the impact of water rights transactions and optimizing water resources allocations in the BTH region, providing a reference for simulating and evaluating water rights transactions in other regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]