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Abstract: This paper is the second in a series of three papers aimed at understanding the emissions of vehicles in China by conducting on-board emission measurements. This paper focuses on light-duty gasoline vehicles. In this study, we measured 57 light-duty gasoline vehicles (LDGVs) in three Chinese mega-cites (Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen), covering Euro 0 through Euro IV technologies, and generated CO, HC, and NOx emission factors and deterioration rates for each vehicle technology. The results show that the vehicle emission standards have played a significant role in reducing vehicle emission levels in China. The vehicle emission factors are reduced by 47–81%, 53–64%, 46–71%, and 78–82% for each phase from Euro I to Euro IV. Euro 0 vehicles have a considerably high emission level, which is hundreds of times larger than that of Euro IV vehicles. Three old taxis and four other Euro I and Euro II LDGVs are also identified as super emitters with equivalent emission levels to Euro 0 vehicles. Of the measured fleet, 23% super emitters were estimated to contribute 50–80% to total emissions. Besides vehicle emission standards, measures for restricting super emitters are equally important to reduce vehicle emissions. This study is intended to improve the understanding of the vehicle emission levels in China, but some key issues such as emission deterioration rates are yet to be addressed with the presence of a sufficient amount of vehicle emission measurements. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Because of climate change and the popularity of air travel, the issue of low-carbon economy of air transportation industry is no longer ignorable. However, there is no standard measurable indicator to evaluate low-carbon economy, especially for air transportation industry. To fill in the blank of this area, this paper firstly discusses general indicators of low-carbon economy for air transportation industry. Secondly, it explores measurable indicators to assess the level of low-carbon aviation based on generally published data. Finally, it takes Shenzhen aviation as a case to discuss the evaluation of its low-carbon economy with the established measurable indicators. This paper not only provides indicators for low-carbon economy of air transportation with practical measurement effectiveness, but also opens up a new direction for the study of low-carbon air transportation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The enactment and implementation of the 2003 EIA Law in China institutionalised the role of plan environmental impact assessment (PEIA). While the philosophy, methodology and mechanisms of PEIA have gradually permeated through the various levels of government with a positive effect on the process and outcome of urban planning, only a few cities in China have so far carried out PEIA as a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)-type procedure. One such case is the southern city of Shenzhen. During the past three decades, Shenzhen has grown from a small town to a large and booming city as China has successfully and rapidly developed its economy by adopting the “reform and open door” policy. In response to the challenges arising from the generally divergent processes of rapid urbanisation, economic transformation and environment protection, Shenzhen has incrementally adopted the SEA concept in developing the city''s Master Urban Plan. As such, this paper reviews the effectiveness of PEIA in three ways: [•] as a tool and process for achieving more sustainable and strategic planning; [•] to determine the level of integration of SEA within the planning system; and, [•] its effectiveness vis-à-vis implementation. The implementation of PEIA within Shenzhen''s Master Urban Plan offers important insights into the emergence of innovative practices in undertaking PEIA as well as theoretical contributions to the field, especially in exploring the relationship between PEIA and SEA and highlighting the central role of local governing institutions in SEA development. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Despite growing concerns for the variation of urban thermal environments and driving factors, relatively little attention has been paid to issues of spatial non-stationarity and scale-dependence, which are intrinsic properties of the urban ecosystem. In this paper, using Shenzhen City in China as a case study, a geographically weighted regression (GWR) model is used to explore the scale-dependent and spatial non-stationary relationships between urban land surface temperature (LST) and environmental determinants. These determinants include the distance between city and highway, patch richness density of forestland, wetland, built-up land and unused land and topographic factors such as elevation and slope aspect. For reference, the ordinary least squares (OLS) model, a global regression technique, was also employed, using the same response variable and explanatory variables as in the GWR model. The results indicate that the GWR model not only provides a better fit than the traditional OLS model, but also provides local detailed information about the spatial variation of LST, which is affected by geographical and ecological factors. With the GWR model, the strength of the regression relationships increased significantly, with a mean of 59% of the changes in the LST values explained by the predictors, compared with only 43% using the OLS model. By computing a stationarity index, one finds that different predictors have different variational trends which tend towards the stationary state with the coarsening of the spatial scale. This implies that underlying natural processes affecting the land surface temperature and its spatial pattern may operate at different spatial scales. In conclusion, the GWR model is an alternative approach to addressing spatial non-stationary and scale-dependent problems in geography and ecology. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]