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The transformation and upgrading of China's manufacturing industry is supported by smart and green manufacturing, which have great potential to empower the nation's green development. This study examines the impact of the Made in China 2025 industrial policy on urban green economic growth. This study applies the super-slacks-based measure model to measure cities' green economic growth, using the double machine learning model, which overcomes the limitations of the linear setting of traditional causal inference models and maintains estimation accuracy under high-dimensional control variables, to conduct an empirical analysis based on panel data of 281 Chinese cities from 2006 to 2021. The results reveal that the Made in China 2025 strategy significantly drives urban green economic growth, and this finding holds after a series of robustness tests. A mechanism analysis indicates that the Made in China 2025 strategy promotes green economic growth through green technology progress, optimizing energy consumption structure, upgrading industrial structure, and strengthening environmental supervision. In addition, the policy has a stronger driving effect for cities with high manufacturing concentration, industrial intelligence, and digital finance development. This study provides valuable theoretical insights and policy implications for government planning to promote high-quality development through industrial policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In the current background of global economic slowdown, the traditional reliance on one regulatory instrument or the unilateral consideration of the effectiveness of one regulatory policy in policy formulation is no longer sufficient to cope with the increasingly complex contradictions between environmental protection and economic development. In the construction of a modernized environmental governance system, it has become an inevitable choice to achieve synergy between various environmental regulations. In China, the citizens' environmental supervision campaign that gradually emerged in 2006 and the local carbon trading pilots that started in 2013, as typical representatives of informal and formal environmental regulation respectively, provide vivid and realistic materials for our study. Methods: Using econometric models and microdata from listed Chinese firms from 2009 to 2020, we analyze the profound logic and internal mechanism by which this synergistic governance effect of environmental regulation affects the economic society and the development pattern of firms. Results and discussion: The study found that: (1) the synergistic effect of the carbon trading policy and citizens' environmental supervision can significantly promote the transition of enterprises to a sustainable development model, especially paying attention to the role of citizens' environmental supervision in this process. (2) The regional development level, cost transfer capability, and political connection can make the synergy of the two environmental regulations vary across firms. (3) The synergistic effect of environmental regulation promotes the behavior of enterprises in line with the requirements of sustainable development by influencing enterprises' R&D and innovation investment, resource allocation efficiency, and sustainable development awareness. (4) A favorable regional rule of law environment and moderate media attention can effectively increase the intensity of citizens' environmental supervision, and at the same time strengthen the effectiveness of synergistic governance of environmental regulation in the transformation and development of enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research background: To achieve the targets for carbon peak and air quality improvement, local governments should propose environmental targets and develop realization paths that are tailored to their unique local conditions. They then promote low-carbon development through the implementation of multiple measures. Purpose of the article: As the government performance appraisal system im-proves, the question arises as to whether governments take the initiative to com-bine environmental policies with government target constraints to reduce carbon emissions. Methods: The announcement of environmental target constraints by local governments in government work reports is considered a quasi-natural experiment. This study examines the effect of government environmental target constraints (GETC) on carbon emissions (CEs) using differences-in-differences (DID), propensity score matching-DID (PSM-DID), and spatial- DID (SDID) with data from 241 Chinese cities from 2003 to 2019. Findings & value added: The results demonstrate that GETC can effectively reduce local CEs, with the inhibitory effect being most effective in the first two years after setting environmental targets, but diminishing in the third year. GETC can reduce local CEs through three paths: reducing energy consumption, promoting industrial structure optimization, and encouraging green technology innovation. Spatial spillover effects show that GETC reduces local CEs while exacerbating CEs in neighboring cities, indicating a beggar-thy-neighbor effect in conventional environmental regulation policy. This effect is observed mainly in the geographic matrix and the economic-geographic matrix, but not in the economic matrix. According to heterogeneity analysis, GETC in the eastern and central cities can significantly reduce CEs. The inhibitory effect of GETC on local CEs is stronger in cities where secretaries and mayors have longer tenures and higher levels of education. The paper's theoretical value lies in exploring the reduction of CEs through the combination of government self-restraint and environmental policies, providing a new solution for local governments to achieve CEs reduction. Furthermore, it offers practical insights into the improvement of the Chinese government assessment system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evaluation of public management performance is the key to identify the effectiveness of the work of public administration, and public policy is an important guarantee for the orderly promotion of the work of public administration; therefore, it is important to analyze the effectiveness of public management policies to evaluate public management performance. Taking environmental protection policies as an example, this paper constructs an environmental-economic DEA efficiency analysis model using the DEA method to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of EEE in different provinces of China. It is found that EEE is highly correlated with the regional economic development level and is highly influenced by policy fluctuations, but the overall EEE of different provinces from 2016 to 2020 tends to be consistent and has a certain degree of stability. The conclusions of this paper have important implications for policy guidance, emphasizing the need to focus on the coordination of economic development and environmental protection, and the need for the improvement of the environmental policy system to be continuously optimized in an incremental manner, taking into account the actual situation of local development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the impact of the mechanism of green public consumption policy on environmental equity and provides a feasible reference for the rational formulation of corresponding policies for China. Establish a mediation effect model using the stepwise regression and bootstrap analysis method, this study explores the direct and indirect effects of fiscal expenditure intensity on environmental equity. The results revealed that increasing fiscal expenditure on energy conservation and environmental protection cannot directly and significantly affect environmental equity, but it has a significant indirect positive impact on environmental equality through fiscal decentralization. It is also found that the impact of green public consumption policy on environmental equity varies in the eastern, central and western parts of China. Our findings indicated that the expenditure of energy conservation and environmental protection indirectly affects environmental equity through fiscal decentralization. The willingness of the government to protect the environment regulates the impact of green public consumption policies on environmental equity. The phenomenon of feeding the east from the west of resources and environment is obvious. According to the characteristics of regional development, we should formulate energy conservation and environmental protection policies and adjust the direction of policies to promote regional environmental equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Volatile organic compounds (VOC) contributing to smog formation, have been an important indicator of atmospheric governance during China's "14th Five-Year Plan". VOC would be possibly incorporated into the scope of environmental protection tax, but previous studies have seldom explored impacts of VOC control policies at national and regional levels. Here, we design a national uniform VOC control policy, as well as two regionally differentiated policies based on regional disparities in PM 2.5 concentrations and energy intensity by using a cross-scale dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model. Our analysis is to assess the impacts of these policies on VOC, CO 2 , sulfur dioxide (SO 2), nitrogen oxides (NO X), and PM 2.5 emissions, air quality and environmental equity, and to estimate health benefits, policy costs and net benefits. We find that national and regionally differentiated VOC control policies generally lead to VOC emission reductions and generate co-benefits on emission reductions in CO 2 , SO 2 , NO X and PM 2.5 at national and provincial levels. However, regional emission leakage exists due to differences in the provincial costs of VOC mitigation. The regionally differentiated VOC pricing policies are found to be more effective to enhance environmental equity than the uniform policy. In particular, the regionally differentiated VOC control policy based on provincial energy efficiency is found to be superior to other policies in terms of improve air quality. Furthermore, the human health benefits associated with VOC pricing policies would partially offset policy costs at both the national and regional levels. Our results suggest that policymakers would pay attention to developing regions with low energy efficiency which have the great emission reduction potential. Advanced producing technology and further end-of-pipe control measures to reduce non-combustion PM 2.5 emissions are needed. VOC policy designed based on provincial energy efficiency provides great insights for environmental policy making to accomplish 2035 goal of building a Beautiful China. • National and regionally differentiated VOC tax policies are designed. • VOC tax generates climate co-benefits. • Regional emission leakage exists associated with regionally differentiated policies. • Regionally differentiated VOC tax are effective to enhance environmental equity. • Human health benefits associated with VOC tax partially offset policy costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poor air quality has extremely detrimental health consequences, including cancer, stroke, asthma or heart disease. Existing research on air pollution-induced environmental injustice (EI) in Hong Kong (HK) is based on sparse air pollution data due to the limited number of pollution monitoring stations, rendering the study of the relationship between air pollution exposure and social deprivation (SD), and the subsequent study of EI at finer geographical scales difficult. A key research question remains to be explored in a methodologically rigorous manner: Are the socially deprived exposed to a higher level of PM 2.5 pollution in HK? Our study develops a Granger Causality model, utilizing ubiquitous urban dynamics closely related with air pollution, including ambient pollutants concentration, traffic, meteorology and urban morphology to provide a fine-grained estimation of air pollution in HK at 100 m × 100 m spatial resolution, achieving a 82% accuracy. We focus specifically on ambient PM 2.5 concentration, given its serious health consequences and the preliminary evidence of differential PM 2.5 distribution across different socio-economic groups in HK. We investigate if there is any differential distribution in PM 2.5 pollution across people residing in constituency areas (CAs) with different levels of SD. In our study, SD is measured by the Social Deprivation Index (SDI), which is a composite indicator comprising four socio-economic status variables, namely, low-income, low-education, non-professional occupation, and non-owner occupier, selected and combined via principal component analysis. We conclude there is a statistically significant, positive relationship between ambient PM 2.5 concentration and SDI in HK, based on the SDI and mean PM 2.5 exposure values derived from 412 CAs (R 2 = 1.4%, p -value <0.01, based on ordinary least squares), justifying the existence of PM 2.5 -induced SD and EI at the CA level in HK. Our study highlights an emerging need for HK to develop more integrated, human-centric, location- and justice-based environmental policies, and the need to adopt evidence-based policy-decision-making to properly address air pollution-induced EI. Our policy implications and recommendations can be extended to the rest of the world, particularly the Asian metropolis, as well as places where GDP growth is rapid, population density and pollution concentration (including particulate pollution) appear to be high, and the income gap between the rich and the poor is widening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has the world’s highest levels of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions, and its adoption of optimal measures to address climate change is extremely important. In this article, we assess the performance of various Chinese policies aimed at addressing climate change in terms of cost effectiveness, cost-benefit efficiency, and their contribution to a reduction in emissions with a new single-region model, DEMETER-CCPE. Our analysis shows that the performance of these Chinese policies strongly depends on the principles and indicators used in the evaluation. When climate-specific cost indicators are considered, the mixed policy performs best in terms of cost reduction. When cost-efficiency indicators are used, a single policy performs better to some extent. From the perspective of evaluating the contribution to emissions reduction, the development of non-fossil-fuel-based energy technologies offers the greatest opportunity for reducing emissions in a mixed-policy scenario. Finally, this article study possible ‘burden’ and ‘free-rider’ scenarios in order to explore the effect of different levels of joint actions between China and the rest of the world (ROW) on a performance evaluation of policies to address climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the heavy pollution enterprises in China are industrial enterprises. These enterprises not only facilitate rapid economic development but are also the main sources of environmental pollution. Therefore, strengthening the environmental regulation on heavy pollution enterprises is the key to enhance sustainable environmental development in China. By using the enterprise data from 2000-2015, we analyzed the characteristics and status of environmental pollution caused by heavy pollution industries in China to put forward specific environmental regulation measures. Results showed that the number of heavy pollution enterprises in China increased continuously from 2000 but decreased slightly after 2005. The environmental pollution caused by heavy-pollution enterprises in China has three characteristics: externality, substantivity, and persistence. The status of enterprise environmental pollution in heavy pollution industries in China is mainly indicated by increasing environmental protection inputs and steady rise of environmental performance; gradual increase in control rate of industrial waste discharge and large regional difference in environmental performances; lack of internal environmental management mechanism of industrial enterprises and poor implementation of environmental management theory; and low level of enterprise environmental management and serious violation of environmental laws. Finally, specific control measures were put forward from the perspective of environmental regulation. Research results can provide reference and suggestions for the improvement of environmental management standards for heavy pollution enterprises, promote reform in heavy pollution enterprises, offer technological and policy supports, and establish an environmental protection information platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, China has been facing serious water pollution crises. To address this problem, discharge standards for wastewater treatment plants in China are becoming more and more stringent. Also, the sewage charge for compliant emissions and the penalty rate for non–compliant emissions have increased significantly. This paper comprehensively investigates the economic and environmental implications of such wastewater management policy in China. In this paper, a general framework for the analysis of WWTPs’ behavior and the resulted economic and environmental consequences is presented, and the impacts of discharge standard, charge rate, and penalty rate are analyzed. The trade–offs between the operational cost, environmental impact, and pollutant emissions are identified. This study also provides some insightful management implications for concerned policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of agriculture in China, the productions of agricultural wastes increase rapidly. The occurrence of agricultural wastes was unique in the different areas. The agricultural straw and livestock excrement are considered to be potential resources. Improper disposition of agricultural wastes not only result in environmental pollution, but also waste a lot of valuable biomass resources. The recycling and utilization of agricultural wastes are considered to be the important step in environmental protection, energy structure and agricultural development. However, the problem in China's current agricultural waste recycling impeded the achievement of scale ecological functions. The objectives of this study were to illuminate the potential environmental risk, recycling and utilization pathway, influencing factors and policy suggestions in the recycling and utilization progress of agricultural wastes. The survey provided the development mode of industrialization and scale of agricultural waste recycling. The recycling and utilization pathway of agricultural wastes were also analyzed. The crucial suggestions were proposed, such as cultivating new industry, building economy incentive standard, improving laws and regulations, and creating rural market strengthening medium and long-term plans of agricultural waste recycling. The resource consumption, ecological crisis and other issues caused by agricultural wastes were evaluated. It will provide more comprehensive fundamental information for the recycling and utilization of agricultural wastes during the modernization and urbanization of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we provide a structure story about how an incomplete public policy has affected technology transfer. In China, the entire system of industrial water emission standards has evolved though different phases over the past 40 years, however, still national uniform standards for specific industrial categories has not been able to fit specific economic development levels and water quality. Because the uniform standard have not considered the differences of the position and facility scales. In regards to environmental technology R&D, we found that there are no clear signs that the technology is changing in most emission standards' review process, so we could see all industrial area don't have enough and reasonable expectation for emission standards and technology R&D investment. Then we reviewed the technology choice in the determination process of water emission standards in all industrial areas. It is obvious that the limitation levels are subjective. Based on two typical cases, we conclude that incomplete enacting and reviewing mechanisms lead to unexpected R&D, and the unexpected R&D leads to considerable abnormal domestic and international transfers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porter hypothesis states that environmental regulation may lead to win-win opportunities, that is, improve the productivity and reduce the undesirable output simultaneously. Based on directional distance function, this paper proposes a novel dynamic activity analysis model to forecast the possibilities of win-win development in Chinese industry between 2011 and 2050. The consistent bootstrap estimation procedures are also developed for statistical inference of the point forecasts. The evidence reveals that the appropriate energy-saving and emission-abating regulation will significantly result in both the net growth of potential output and the increasing growth of total factor productivity for most industrial sectors in a statistical sense. This favors Porter hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The promotion of modern industrialization has caused heavy environmental pollution. Environmental protection is a basic national policy of China. In 2011, China began to implement the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan for National Environmental Protection" (12th FYP_NEP). Using the survey data of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Shandong Province of China, this paper empirically explores the impact of 12th FYP_NEP on the energy utilization and operating efficiencies of SMEs. It is found that the environmental policy "12th FYP_NEP" has a significant incentive effect on both efficiency performance of Chinese SMEs, and has a greater positive impact on operating efficiency. Our heterogeneity analysis showed the following results. The incentive effect is different in different industries and enterprises of different sizes. The policy "12th FYP_NEP" has a greater positive impact on the energy utilization efficiency of SMEs in China's first and second tier cities, but it has no significant impact on their operation efficiency. This shows that SMEs in first and second tier cities are more effective in coping with the national environmental policy reform strategy. It can be seen that the promulgation of China's environmental policies can significantly improve the energy utilization awareness of these SMEs. The incentive effect of the policy on the two efficiency performances of SMEs in cities with "heavy air pollution" is greater, indicating that the implementation effect of "12th FYP_NEP" on SMEs in such cities is better. The enlightenments are as follows: the current situation of Chinese SMEs is that the energy utilization efficiency is low, while the operating efficiency is high. Most enterprises attach great importance to their own operating profits and economic development, and the awareness of energy utilization needs to be greatly strengthened. "12th FYP_NEP" has obvious positive effect on the energy utilization and operating efficiencies of SMEs, but there are slight differences among different types of enterprises. It is suggested that governments can refine their own environmental regulation standards and implement different environmental regulations for different types of enterprises, so as to enhance the performance of domestic enterprises most effectively. • This paper used the China survey data on SMEs over the period 2010–2013. • It is found that the Chinese "12th FYP_NEP" has a significant incentive effect on efficiency performance of Chinese SMEs. • The incentive effect is different in different industries and enterprises of different sizes. • The policy makes for improving the energy efficiency of SMEs in first and second-tier cities and heavy-polluted cities. • Chinese SMEs should attach great importance to energy utilization rather than operating profits only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the scientific challenges and implications of the complexity of photochemical smog for air-quality policies in China.

• Latent Dirichlet Allocation topic model is used to construct political factors. • SBM-DEA model is used to evaluate the ecological efficiency of 36 cities. • Time effect is introduced into FSQCA to analyze the panel data of all cities and four regions. • Differences of the four urban agglomerations are compared. • Analyze the different paths of political factors in 36 cities. Rapid economic development of any country will usually lead to negative environmental impacts. A free market economy cannot fundamentally solve this issue, which requires the guidance and control of the government. The environmental policies of governments can effectively improve the ecological conditions in a region. This study quantifies environmental regulation policies and takes four urban agglomerations in eastern China as the research object to explore the influence of environmental regulation on regional ecological efficiency. First, policies can be divided into policy control, pollution control, ecological protection, and social adjustment by building a Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) model of a policy text library to measure differences in urban policy bias. Next, a slack-based measure (SBM) model was used to measure urban ecological efficiency. Finally, using the qualitative comparison analysis method, the time effect was considered and the ecological efficiency configuration of the entire region was obtained. In addition, contrast analysis was conducted for different path configurations and the reasons of the statuses of the four urban agglomerations were obtained. The results show that policy control, pollution control, ecological protection, and other mandatory policies can significantly reduce the negative environmental effects, especially when the policy controls involve an explicit form of punishment, which is a necessary condition for achieving a high level of ecological efficiency. However, social adjustment means having higher requirements for regional total factor development, which requires improving the environmental awareness of residents and improving corporate social responsibility. Regional differences will mean that areas with a lower level of economic development have a higher intensity of policy control, and the means of policy control should be matched with the level of economic development. In addition, this study proposes some policy suggestions, such as strengthening policy control and pollution prevention, strengthening social regulation, and promulgating environmental laws and regulations according to local conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has launched a set of policies and projects to address climate change, one of the most serious problems in the world. This paper reviews the Chinese policies and national plans on the encouragement of environmentally beneficial and energy-saving innovations. Policies on the energy industry and the development of new energy vehicle industry are taken as cases to illustrate in detail the Chinese policies on climate change. The research reveals that actions on the low carbon innovation, such as the innovation on new energy vehicles, not only benefit the dealing with climate change, but also contribute to the strategies of catching up advanced countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The importance of improving the effectiveness of Plan EIA and SEA-type evaluations in China cannot be overstated: at a time when the country''s economy is being boosted by a stimulus package worth over RMB 400trillion – largely for infrastructure – the pressure on China''s already strained environment and resource base is bound to increase. The aim is to propose the criteria for plan EIA''s effectiveness to raise the awareness of the need to strengthen the performance of the assessment and maximize its potential benefits. The authors first review critically the discourse on the effectiveness of the impact assessment, identifying three dimensions: substantive, procedural and incremental. The resulting conceptual framework allows them to interpret the weaknesses of the Chinese discourse on the effectiveness and of the practice of the Plan EIA to date. The result is the identification of a clear gap, both in terms of the breadth of the concept, and in terms of the quality of the existing criteria, which tend to be very generic to the point of inapplicability. The analysis also reveals a need for transitioning from formal models of the Plan EIA to more strategic approaches, in a gradual manner that is consistent with context-specificities. The proposal of a set of preliminary criteria for effectiveness is therefore structured on three levels. This framework is meant to input into the ongoing debate on how to improve the practice of PEIA and the SEA-type evaluations in China, and provide ideas for a government strategy aimed at maximizing the positive impact of PEIAs on planning, as well as on the context of application. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The management of contaminated land is now assuming greater attention in Chinese debates on environmental governance. However, the existing management system appears ineffective as it lacks a clear policy framework and technical basis. In the United Kingdom (UK), contaminated land issues are dealt with through a risk-based approach. This approach emphasizes the application of risk approaches in both technical and integrated management systems. Conceptually, this paper outlines generic issues related to transferring programmes from one place to another. We argue that too much emphasis has been placed on the barriers to effective transfer, rather than focusing on methods of abstracting lessons for application in foreign settings. We then examine the Chinese system and its problems in managing contaminated land before turning to the UK risk-based approach to see what lessons can be learned from it. Four aspects are analyzed and compared: legislative and policy framework; administrative structure and capacity; technical approaches; and incentive strategy. Based on the experience of the UK in practice, some suggestions are then proposed for China in order to improve its management of contaminated land. We suggest that this should include: a focus on the problem sites; development of a risk-based technical approach and integrated management system; the introduction of financial incentives; and the use of planning control as a management strategy. It is believed that a risk-based integrated management approach may be helpful for China to achieve sustainable solutions for contaminated land. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

China is the world's most populous country and has one of the largest territories. As such, Chinese attitudes and behavior with regard to environmental issues are key factors in protecting the world's natural resources and environment. In this study, we surveyed a random sample of 5000 citizens from six Chinese provinces (Beijing, Shanghai, Hubei, Hunan, Henan, and Shaanxi) to understand their environmental attitudes, contrasts between the attitudes of citizens in different demographic groups, and their willingness to invest in environmental conservation. The results indicated that policymakers and the public increasingly recognize the key role that environmental restoration plays in protecting the overall health of the environment. In total, 91% of the interviewees believed that the environment had deteriorated severely during the past decade, compared with 44% in a 1999 survey. In addition, 78% of the interviewees supported their government's investment of more than 300 billion RMB (;10% of total government revenues in 2004) in the "Grain for Green Project," which discouraged unsustainable land use by compensating farmers and herders for abandoning farming and grazing on marginal land. There was a strong correlation between environmental attitudes and net income and education levels, and other differences were based on the respondents' age, gender, job, and location. Net income and education level were the key factors that affected environmental attitudes. Based on these results, we propose that successful environmental restoration projects must include both an education component and an economic development component. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the organic foods market in China. Incidents involving tainted foods originating from China, such as an exportation of meat dumplings to Japan that were polluted with the toxic pesticide methamidophos, have led to concerns about their quality of goods. Quotes from author Michael Pollan's book "In Defense of Food" are used to portray the lack of food safety regulations in the nation. China's involvement with the Organic Food Development Center (OFDC), an agency created by the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), is examined. Also discussed is China's need to balance economic growth as a means of ushering in more regimented organic standards.

China is undergoing economic growth and expansion to a free market economy at a scale and pace that are unprecedented in human history. This is placing great pressure on the country's environment and cultural diversity. This paper examines a number of case histories in China, focusing on the culturally varied and ecologically diverse southwest region of the country. We show how developments in recent Chinese history have devalued and in some cases eliminated indigenous knowledge and practices in the quest to strengthen the centralized state. Despite these changes, more than 30 ethnic minorities live in southwest China. For generations these peoples have maintained landscapes through traditional land use and cultural practices. This indigenous knowledge places a high value on protecting forests, landscapes, and water catchments while preserving biodiversity. These values are maintained through religious beliefs, hunting taboos, and the protection of sacred sites. We advocate a conservation policy for China that includes the indigenous knowledge and values needed to maintain the environment and the traditional cultures themselves. There are seminal signs that the government is beginning to support indigenous cultures in China. The Organic Law of 1998 granted villages the legal right to self-government and gave indigenous communities greater responsibility for land and resource use. Traditional and indigenous cultural products have also developed a market and an economic value within a growing tourism industry. In many cases, however, indigenous people remain isolated from major land-use and conservation decisions that are the result of centrally planned policy. Meanwhile, frequent oscillations in forest policy and land tenure insecurity since the 1950s have led to the erosion of many local institutions and the loss of indigenous knowledge. We suggest that the long-term viability of the environment requires an interactive approach that involves local people as well as governments in the creation of environmental policy. We also suggest that enlightened self-interest can help economic development coexist with the needs of traditional cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: There are many factors have contributed to China''s environmental crisis and are hindering environmental recovery campaigns. In particular, the implementation of government policy has played a strong role, both because of a government''s natural slowness to change and because of structural impediments. Competition for a share of the huge investments that are being made to support environmental protection among various governmental departments and with local governments has also slowed progress. The conflicting socioeconomic policies that can result from this competition have undermined the large investments in environmental programs by failing to consider the environmental consequences of the conflicts, leading to inappropriate actions and compromising the ability to achieve environmental restoration goals. To improve governance and the ability to meet environmental goals, governments at all levels must understand the problem created by the competition that leads to weak coordination of efforts and must formulate revised policies that encourage sustainability by balancing economic growth with a careful consideration of the need for all groups, whether governmental or private sector, to benefit from these policies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

BACKGROUND: Alongside the major health risks posed by environmental pollution in China are recent achievements on several environmental issues that have affluent Western nations racing to catch up. The country has propelled itself to a position of leadership in clean energy and efficiency, for instance, with important consequences for public health. OBJECTIVES: We comment on China's challenges and recent accomplishments in addressing environmental problems from domestic pollution to global climate change. We compare China's commitment to clean energy technology with that of other leading nations and discuss key achievements in other areas, including vehicle efficiency standards and transportation policy. DISCUSSION: We discuss policy directions that would secure much-needed improvements to environmental quality and health in China, along with actions that could motivate global action on issues of energy conservation and pollution reduction. CONCLUSIONS: A comprehensive regulatory and institutional framework for environmental policy is within reach in China but will require addressing major hurdles such as the lack of an independent monitoring mechanism and the need for greater transparency and enforcement in environmental matters. Meanwhile, China can continue to set important examples by investing in renewable energy, improving energy efficiency, and limiting greenhouse gas emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors discuss clean air strategy for China. They mention that the country have to overcome two major factors to meet the country's ambitious air quality policy such as the increase in fossil-fuel usage and the decentralized system of environmental enforcement. They state that China needs to promote development concerning the constrained fossil-fuel use instead of using more energy to ensure economic growth.

In this article, the author comments on a study on ecological migration (EM) in the Tibetan Plateau of China. He stresses that conservation Tibetan grasslands greatly contribute to the ecological services in the region including carbon storage, soil erosion control, and water regulation. However, he discusses that the EM government policies may affect the livelihood of Tibetan pastoralists and the community surrounding the area.

The article discusses China's government work plan for 2010 and funding it allocates to correction of environmental problems, public health protection, and food safety. The role in doing so of the so-called Liang Hui, the combined resources of China's National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), is noted. It mentions Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and his report to NPC that documents intentions regarding development and use of low-carbon technologies, energy-conserving technologies, and renewable energy technologies. Pollution of the freshwater lake Taihu is noted as an example of the side effects of China's rapid economic growth.

A letter to the editor is presented discussing the Chinese government's policies on reducing carbon emissions and the country's energy market.

Observes that China's long-term economic and environmental interests would be best served by reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. China's motives for reducing emissions; Report on Chinese climate research; Perspective of Chinese policy-makers; Impact of increased emissions on China; China conditionally committed to reducing emissions; Priority of development over environmental protection.