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This study extends the STIRPAT model and uses China's provincial panel data to investigate regional differences in nonlinear effects of economic growth, export and FDI on air pollutants (SO 2 , NOx, and PM 2.5) in China, which reveals that the nonlinear effect of economic growth on air pollutants mainly presented an "inverse-U″ or "inverse-N″ shape in eastern China, an "inverse-U″ or "increasing linear" shape in central China, and a "U" or "inverse-N″ shape in western China; the economic growth can decrease air pollutants in eastern China, whereas increase air pollutants in other regions. The result is not significantly consistent with EKC hypotheses. The effect of export on air pollutant emissions presented an "inverse-U″ or "increasing linear" shape in eastern China, an "increasing linear" or "inverse-N″ shape in central China, and an "inverse-U″ shape in western China; the export had a promoting effect on air pollutants, which indicates air pollutants transferred into China. The effect of FDI on air pollutants presented an "inverse-U″ shape in eastern China, and a "decreasing linear" shape in western China; the effect of FDI for central China was a "decreasing linear" shape on SO 2 , an "inverse-N″ shape on NOx, and an "inverse-U″ shape on PM 2.5. The FDI reduced air pollutants in all regions, which contradicts to the "pollution haven" hypothesis. On the whole, the industrialization level and population size increased air pollutants, whereas the R&D reduced pollutants; the effects of population urbanization on air pollutants differed among regions. Some policy implications are put forth related to these empirical results. • Nonlinear impacts of economic growth, export and FDI on air pollutants differed among regions. • Export had a promoting effect on air pollutants, indicating air pollutants transferred into China. • FDI reduced air pollutants in all regions, which contradicts to "pollution haven" hypothesis. • Industrialization and population size increased air pollutants, and R&D reduced pollutants. • Effects of population urbanization on air pollutants differed among regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This study calculates embodied SO 2 , NOx, and PM 2.5 in Sino-US trade from 2005 to 2015, and investigates their driving and inhibitory factors through LMDI method. Results reveal that, embodied SO 2 , NOx, and PM 2.5 in China's exports into the U.S. were much greater than these embodied air pollutants in imports from the U.S.; China's emission efficiency had a largest inhibitory effect, whose contributions from 2005 to 2015 to reductions in SO 2 , NOx, and PM 2.5 were respectively by 266.18%, 491.95%, and 203.36%, followed by China's energy intensity, whose contributions were respectively by 112.99%, 265.22%, and 86.22%; whereas China's export dependence and export scale had positive effects on export embodied air pollutants. Air pollutants embodied in China's imports from the U.S. were mostly induced by the U.S. emission efficiency and China's import scale. At a sectoral level, the effects on cross-border air pollutant transfer were concentrated in the sectors such as manufactures, non-metallic mineral products, and metal products; promoting factors on air pollutant transfer from the U.S. to China for different sectors were China's export dependence and export scale, whereas inhibitory factors were China's emission efficiency and energy intensity. Some policy implications are put forward related to our empirical results. Highlights • China's emission efficiency and energy intensity reduce air pollutant transfer to China. • China's export dependence and scale increase air pollutant transfer to China. • American emission efficiency and China's import scale increase air pollutant transfer to America. • China's import dependence decreases air pollutant transfer to America. • Cross-border air pollutant transfer in Sino-US trade is concentrated in heavy industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the structural decomposition analysis (SDA) method, we decomposed the factors affecting the increments in CO 2 emissions in China's Jiangsu Province. A comparative analysis of these factors at the holistic, sectoral, and sub-sectoral levels revealed that the effects related to the province's economic growth; in particular, the transfers-out and investment effects greatly increased Jiangsu's CO 2 emissions. Overall, the import and export effects increased the emissions, reflecting the deteriorating foreign trade structure from the perspective of the emissions reduction. The energy intensity reduced Jiangsu's CO 2 emissions greatly, whereas the energy structure had only a slight effect, which shows the high energy efficiency and inappropriate energy structure. The technology effect had a relatively slight reducing impact on the CO 2 emissions compared with the other effects, so the input and output efficiency in Jiangsu had not yet been significantly improved. On the whole, the transfers-out, investment, and export effects increased the CO 2 emissions in all sectors and subsectors, whereas the other effects on the increments in Jiangsu's CO 2 emissions in the sectors and industrial subsectors differed greatly. Some policy implications arising from our study results are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]