Search

In response to the growing disparity between the supply and demand of water resources, the Chinese government has piloted a more binding and reformed water resources tax to realize the sustainable utilization of water resources. However, reasonable tax standards and their water-saving effects and economic benefits are important and worthy of attention. Therefore, in this study, we combine the virtual water theory with the price input–output model to discuss the impact of water resources taxation on the economy and its water-saving effects. The results show the following: (1) A water resources tax has a significant water-saving effect, and is predicted to save 33.12 billion cubic meters of virtual water. (2) Consumers' expected reductions in spending on food and tobacco manufacturing and agriculture are predicted to save more virtual water at a lower economic cost. (3) The collection of water resources taxes can actively and simultaneously guide water savings in terms of consumption and production. The water consumption of the construction industry is worthy of attention. The expected output value reduction accounts for 67.2% of the total output value reduction, and its water savings account for 96% of the total water savings. Other service sectors also have ample room to optimize the utilization of their water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Groundwater possesses a natural advantage as a reservoir, making it well-suited for storage. Introducing a water bank to the groundwater market not only reduces storage costs but also revitalizes the groundwater rights market, achieving synergy between the economic and ecological values of regional water resources. This study combines the core functions of a water bank to establish a theoretical framework for mechanisms concerning value appreciation and risk prevention. Approaching the topic from the perspectives of transaction costs and market price mechanisms, we employ the Monte Carlo algorithm for simulation to study the mechanistic impact of a water bank on the efficiency of the water market. It reveals that a water bank, compared to direct transactions between parties, can effectively reduce the number of transactions in the fragmented water rights market. Additionally, it effectively utilizes market transaction information to provide accurate pricing. Furthermore, we alter model parameters to explore the relationship between the average number of transactions in the market and supply–demand equilibrium. We also investigate how changes in the acceptable price range in the supply–demand market affect the pricing strategies of a water bank and open market pricing. These findings substantiate the necessity of developing a water bank in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outgoing audit of water resource assets of leading cadres is key to promoting the management of water resource assets and investigating the responsibility for water environment damage. This paper is based on the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals related to water resource management and natural asset green accounting. It constructs an evaluation index system for the outgoing audit and evaluation of water resource assets from four dimensions: resource, environment, society, and economy. The paper combines the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the initial comparison scoring method to comprehensively assess the water resource management performance of the former mayor of City Y in the Yellow River Basin during 2018–2020. The Barrier Degree Model is also utilized to identify the main influencing factors. The results indicate the following: (1) the constructed index system covers critical aspects of the outgoing audit and can comprehensively reflect the leadership cadres' responsibilities in water resource management. (2) The comprehensive evaluation score of the former mayor of City Y during 2018–2020 is 85.66, falling within the "relatively good" range but not reaching the "excellent" standard. This suggests that, although progress has been made in water resource asset management, some issues remain. (3) At the index level, the top three factors influencing the comprehensive evaluation of the former mayor's water resource management performance in City Y are the proportion of ammonia nitrogen emissions (9.86%), per capita water resource (9.38%), and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) emissions (8.93%). At the criterion level, the environmental dimension has the most significant impact on the overall evaluation results, accounting for 42.43%. The practical application of the evaluation index system in City Y can serve as a reference for improving the regulatory framework for leadership cadres' water resource assets in other regions and provide valuable insights for international exchange in water resource management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional trade leads to carbon transfer, which in turn raises the issue of carbon inequality. However, less existing research has focused on carbon inequality within megaregions. Combining multi-regional input-output analysis, carbon Gini coefficients and carbon deviation coefficients, this paper presents a comprehensive analysis of carbon equity in inter-provincial trade in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YEB) from the perspective of economic benefits and environmental pressure. The results show that: (1) Carbon emissions from the production and consumption sides of the 11 provinces in the YEB vary considerably. (2) Significant carbon inequality exists in the YEB region. This is manifested in the unequal relationship between the transfer of embodied carbon emissions and economic benefits, as well as the difference in carbon deviation coefficients. Based on the results of our research, this paper can help provide theoretical support and decision-making reference for implementing a differentiated carbon emission reduction responsibility mechanism and establishing a coordinated carbon emission reduction responsibility system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual water flows have a profound impact on the natural water system of a country or region, and they may help conserve local water resources or exacerbate water scarcity in some areas. However, current research has only focused on the measurement of virtual water flows, without analysis of the causes of virtual water flow patterns. This study first obtained virtual water flow patterns across provinces by constructing a multi-regional input–-output (MRIO) model of the Yellow River basin in 2012 and 2017, and then analyzed its driving factors by applying the extended STIRPAT model to provide directions for using virtual water trade to alleviate water shortages in water-scarce areas of the basin. We found the following: (1) The Yellow River basin as a whole had a net virtual water inflow in 2012 and 2017, and the net inflow has increased from 2.14 billion m3 to 33.67 billion m3. (2) Different provinces or regions assume different roles in the virtual water trade within the basin. (3) There is an obvious regional heterogeneity in the virtual water flows in different subsectors. (4) Per capita GDP, tertiary industry contribution rate, consumer price index, and water scarcity are the main positive drivers of virtual water inflow in the Yellow River Basin provinces, while primary industry contribution rate, per capita water resources, and water use per unit arable area promote virtual water outflow. The results of this paper present useful information for understanding the driving factors of virtual water flow, which could promote the optimal allocation of water resources in the Yellow River basin and achieve ecological protection and high-quality development in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agriculture is one of the three major industries in China, and its level of development occupies an important position in the development of the national economy. At present, China vigorously promotes the strategy of rural revitalization, which provides new opportunities for agricultural modernization. Since modern agriculture and regional economy are coupled in a mutually influencing and constraining relationship, this paper constructs a coupled and coordinated evaluation index system of agricultural modernization and regional economic development. Using the entropy value method and coupled coordination degree model, the comprehensive development level and coordinated development degree of agricultural modernization and regional economic development of 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and cities in China from 2011 to 2020 were evaluated, revealing the time evolution and spatial distribution characteristics of the two systems. The results show that: (1) In the past decade, China's agricultural modernization and regional economy have made some progress in terms of their respective development levels and the degree of coupling and coordination between them. (2) In terms of spatial evolution, there are obvious regional differences between the two systems, and the coupling coordination degree shows a "ladder" distribution pattern from the east to the central, northeastern, and western parts of the country. (3) Regions with a high level of regional economic development also have a relatively high degree of coupling and coordination between agricultural modernization and regional economic development. Our results provide insights into the economic effects of agricultural modernization in China and provide useful insights into the future direction of agricultural development programs in countries around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To cope with huge carbon emission pressure, China has implemented a carbon emissions trading pilot policy that aims to provide reasonable suggestions for the smooth operation of the national carbon market. This paper selects the provincial panel data in China from 2005 to 2019 and uses the propensity score matching-difference in difference (PSM-DID) method to evaluate the carbon emission policy's reduction effect. Based on carbon emissions (CE) and carbon emission intensity (CI), provinces and cities are divided into four regions, and each region is verified by spatial difference analysis. Furthermore, the mediating effects of carbon emission reduction through the dual aspects of technological progress and industry structure are also discussed. Results verified that, (1) under the carbon emission trading policy, regional carbon emissions and carbon emission intensity are both significantly reduced. (2) Technological progress helps to reduce carbon emissions, while industrial structure shows no obvious contribution. (3) The four regions all show ideal emission reduction effects, of which the High CE-High CI region shows the best, but is greatly restricted by techniques. The industrial structure of the High CE-Low CI region needs to be further optimized for carbon reduction. In the Low CE-High CI region, the carbon emissions brought by economic development fail to effectively improve per capita GDP. The Low CE-Low CI region contributes greatly to carbon emission reduction with technical advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the imminent need of regional environmental protection and sustainable economic development, the concept of virtual water is widely used to solve the problem of regional water shortage. In this paper, nine provinces, namely Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, and Shandong in the Yellow River Basin (YRB), are taken as the research objects. Through the analysis of input-output tables of 30 provinces in China in 2012, the characteristics of virtual water trade in this region are estimated by using a multi-regional input-output (MRIO) model. The results show that: (1) The YRB had a net inflow of 17.387 billion m³ of virtual water in 2012. In interprovincial trade, other provinces outside the basin export 21.721 billion m³ of virtual water into the basin. In international trade, the basin exports 4334 million m³ of virtual water to the international market. (2) There are different virtual flow paths in the basin. Shanxi net inputs virtual water by interprovincial trade and international trade, while Gansu and Ningxia net output virtual water by interprovincial trade and international trade. The other six provinces all net output virtual water through international trade, and obtain the net input of virtual water from other provinces outside the basin. (3) From the industrial structure of the provinces in the basin, the provinces with a relatively developed economy, such as Shandong and Shanxi, mostly import virtual water in the agricultural sector, while relatively developing provinces, such as Gansu and Ningxia, mostly import virtual water in the industrial sector. In order to sustain the overall high-quality development of the YRB, we propose the virtual water trade method to quantify the net flow of virtual water in each province and suggest the compensation responsibility of the virtual water net inflow area, and the compensation need of the virtual water net outflow area, in order to achieve efficient water resources utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]