scholarly journals Air Pollution Control: An Analysis of China’s Industrial Off-Peak Production Policy through the Quasi-Natural Experiment Method

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4808
Author(s):  
Xindi Xu ◽  
Qinyun Wang ◽  
Haichao Hu ◽  
Xinjun Wang
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Marginal Cost ◽  
Shadow Price ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
The North ◽  
Production Policy ◽  
Triple Difference ◽  
The Difference

To reduce frequent heavy air pollution, the Chinese government suspends clinker production during the heating season in most areas of the North, which is known as the Clinker Off-peak Production Policy. The questions regarding such a repressive production policy for environmental purposes are whether this policy is effective in reducing pollutants and whether the marginal cost is high. To explore these policy effects, a quasi-experiment is designed, taking advantage of spatial-temporal variations in policy implementation. With the triple-difference method and environmental satellite data, the effect on air pollution is estimated to be −1900 μg/m2 (~2%) of SO2 and −3200 μg/m2 (~10%) of NO2. With daily price information and the difference-in-differences method, the market effect is estimated to be an approximately 10% increase in annual sale prices. The marginal cost estimated through a back-of-the-envelope analysis is 32 k RMB yuan/ton SO2 or NO2, which is 24.88 times the pollutant discharge fee but which better reflects the pollutant shadow price.

scholarly journals Decoupling Analysis between Economic Growth and Air Pollution in Key Regions of Air Pollution Control in China

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6600
Author(s):  
Jing Li ◽  
Lipeng Hou ◽  
Lin Wang ◽  
Lina Tang
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Pollution Control ◽  
Environmental Policies ◽  
River Delta ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
No2 Pollution

The Chinese government has implemented a number of environmental policies to promote the continuous improvement of air quality while considering economic development. Scientific assessment of the impact of environmental policies on the relationship between air pollution and economic growth can provide a scientific basis for promoting the coordinated development of these two factors. This paper uses the Tapio decoupling theory to analyze the relationship between regional economic growth and air pollution in key regions of air pollution control in China—namely, the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region and surrounding areas (BTHS), the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), and the Pearl River Delta (PRD)—based on data of GDP and the concentrations of SO2, PM10, and NO2 for 31 provinces in China from 2000 to 2019. The results show that the SO2, PM10, and NO2 pollution in the key regions show strong and weak decoupling. The findings additionally indicate that government policies have played a significant role in improving the decoupling between air pollution and economic development. The decoupling between economic growth and SO2 and PM10 pollution in the BTHS, YRD, and PRD is better than that in other regions, while the decoupling between economic growth and NO2 pollution has not improved significantly in these regions. To improve the relationship between economic growth and air pollution, we suggest that the governments of China and other developing countries should further optimize and adjust the structure of industry, energy, and transportation; apply more stringent targets and measures in areas of serious air pollution; and strengthen mobile vehicle pollution control.

scholarly journals A model for predicting changes in the electrical conductivity, practical salinity, and absolute salinity of seawater due to variations in relative chemical composition

Ocean Science ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 361-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Pawlowicz
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Model ◽  
Electrical Conductivity ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Total Alkalinity ◽  
Biogeochemical Processes ◽  
Model Calculations ◽  
The North ◽  
Historical Continuity ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Definition Of

Abstract. Salinity determination in seawater has been carried out for almost 30 years using the Practical Salinity Scale 1978. However, the numerical value of so-called practical salinity, computed from electrical conductivity, differs slightly from the true or absolute salinity, defined as the mass of dissolved solids per unit mass of seawater. The difference arises because more recent knowledge about the composition of seawater is not reflected in the definition of practical salinity, which was chosen to maintain historical continuity with previous measures, and because of spatial and temporal variations in the relative composition of seawater. Accounting for these spatial variations in density calculations requires the calculation of a correction factor δSA, which is known to range from 0 to 0.03 g kg−1 in the world oceans. Here a mathematical model relating compositional perturbations to δSA is developed, by combining a chemical model for the composition of seawater with a mathematical model for predicting the conductivity of multi-component aqueous solutions. Model calculations for this estimate of δSA, denoted δSRsoln, generally agree with estimates of δSA based on fits to direct density measurements, denoted δSRdens, and show that biogeochemical perturbations affect conductivity only weakly. However, small systematic differences between model and density-based estimates remain. These may arise for several reasons, including uncertainty about the biogeochemical processes involved in the increase in Total Alkalinity in the North Pacific, uncertainty in the carbon content of IAPSO standard seawater, and uncertainty about the haline contraction coefficient for the constituents involved in biogeochemical processes. This model may then be important in constraining these processes, as well as in future efforts to improve parameterizations for δSA.

scholarly journals Can the Target Responsibility System of Air Pollution Control Achieve a Win-Win Situation of Pollution Reduction and Efficiency Enhancement?

2022 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Wang ◽  
Hao Xu ◽  
Jingxuan Xu
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Pollution Control ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
Sample Interval ◽  
The Difference ◽  
High Degree ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Responsibility System

Whether the environmental target responsibility system, a typical mandatory environmental regulation, can realize the coordinated development of environmental protection and economic growth has attracted widespread attention. With the difference-in-differences (DID) method, this paper utilizes a policy, “China’s Key Cities for Air Pollution Control to Meet the Standards within the Time Limit (APCMS),” as a quasi-natural experiment to empirically examine the target responsibility system of air pollution control’s effect on both firms’ pollutant emissions and their total factor productivity (TFP). The corresponding mechanisms are also investigated. The results show: 1) The policy not only significantly decreases firms’ pollutant emissions, but also improves their TFP. The results are robust to the exclusion of the impact of other policies in the same period, propensity score matching DID (PSM-DID) test, the adoption of alternative dependent variables, and altering sample interval; 2) The dynamic analysis shows that the policy effect on reducing pollutant emissions has increased over years after a lag of 2 years; 3) The policy reduces pollutant emissions mainly through stimulating the internal innovation rather than end-pipe treatment or production cuts. 4) Capital-intensive and private firms and firms in regions with a high degree of marketization or strong environmental law enforcement are found more responsive to the environmental target responsibility system.

Utilizing Blockchain and Smart Contracts to Enable Audit 4.0: From the Perspective of Accountability Audit of Air Pollution Control in China

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 23-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Dai ◽  
Na He ◽  
Haizong Yu
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Pollution Control ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
Smart Sensors ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Smart Contracts ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
New Generation ◽  
Air Quality Data

ABSTRACT Industry 4.0 uses many technologies, such as smart sensors and IoT, to fundamentally improve manufacturing processes. These advanced tools can also be utilized by auditors for the purpose of achieving real-time auditing and monitoring, pushing the profession toward a new generation: “Audit 4.0.” Blockchains and smart contracts should be utilized to overcome new challenges in the transformation toward Audit 4.0. This paper explores the potential of blockchain and smart contracts to reengineer current audit procedures, thereby enabling Audit 4.0. First, this paper demonstrates a framework that summarizes where blockchain and smart contracts should be applied to help implement Audit 4.0. Then, it designs and implements a system to facilitate accountability audit for Chinese government officials regarding air pollution control. In this case, real air quality data are collected via crowdsourcing, verified and analyzed by blockchain and smart contracts to achieve a continuous audit of government officials' performance on air protection.

scholarly journals Measuring bulk flows of the intracluster medium in the Perseus and Coma galaxy clusters using XMM-Newton

2020 ◽  
Vol 633 ◽  
pp. A42 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. Sanders ◽  
K. Dennerl ◽  
H. R. Russell ◽  
D. Eckert ◽  
C. Pinto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Galaxy Clusters ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Energy Scale ◽  
Line Of Sight ◽  
Intracluster Medium ◽  
Link Type ◽  
The North ◽  
Systematic Uncertainties ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Width Measurements

We demonstrate a novel technique for calibrating the energy scale of the EPIC-pn detector on XMM-Newton, which allows us to measure bulk flows in the intracluster medium (ICM) of the Perseus and Coma galaxy clusters. The procedure uses the fluorescent instrumental background lines present in all observations, in particular, Cu-Kα. By studying their spatial and temporal variations, in addition to incorporating calibration observations, we refined the absolute energy scale of the detector to better than 150 km s−1 at the Fe-K line, a large improvement over the nominal calibration accuracy of 550 km s−1. With our calibration, we mapped the bulk motions over much of the central 1200 and 800 kpc of Perseus and Coma, respectively, in spatial regions down to 65 and 140 kpc size. We cross-checked our procedure by comparing our measurements with those found in Perseus by Hitomi for an overlapping 65 kpc square region, finding consistent results. For Perseus, there is a relative line-of-sight velocity increase of 480 ± 210 km s−1 (1σ) at a radius of 250 kpc east of the nucleus. This region is associated with a cold front, providing direct evidence of the ICM sloshing in the cluster potential well. Assuming the intrinsic distribution of bulk motions is Gaussian, its width is 214 ± 85 km s−1, excluding systematic uncertainties. Removing the sloshing region, this is reduced to 20–150 km s−1, which is similar in magnitude to the Hitomi line width measurements in undisturbed regions. In Coma, the line-of-sight velocity of the ICM varies between the velocities of the two central galaxies. Maps of the gas velocity and metallicity provide clues about the merger history of the Coma, with material to the north and east of the cluster core having a velocity similar to NGC 4874, while that to the south and west has velocities close to NGC 4889. Our results highlight the difference between a merging system, such as Coma, where we observe a ∼1000 km s−1 range in velocity, and a relatively relaxed system, such as Perseus, with much weaker bulk motions.

HOW CHINA ATTEMPTS TO VANQUISH AIR POLLUTION IN THE 21ST CENTURY

2021 ◽  
pp. 101-111
Author(s):  
R. FENG ◽  
◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Pollution Control ◽  
Energy Structure ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
Current Policy ◽  
National Scale ◽  
Low Emission ◽  
High Level

In February 2012 a war has been declared by the Chinese government against the nagging air pollution, which takes a mounting death toll annually. The three-pronged national-scale regulations of afforestation/silviculture, ultra-low emission, and energy structure reform have been carried out firmly by authorities, etching the determination of the nation to implement the WHO’s recommended interim target of air pollution control. Undeniably, preliminary battle against air pollution has achieved initial success. Eight years after the declaration air pollution has been controlled to an acceptable level, compellingly demonstrating the validity of current policy, even with continued reasons for skepticism and gaps in scientic knowledge. However, the accruing trend of tropospheric O3 in the surface air and high level of wintertime PM2.5 signify this en masse war is far from winning.

scholarly journals Using science to conquer haze: an interview with Tong Zhu

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 867-869
Author(s):  
Hepeng Jia
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Atmospheric Chemistry ◽  
Pollution Control ◽  
Atmospheric Pollution ◽  
Steering Committee ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
Surface Exchange ◽  
Peking University

Abstract With a doctorate degree from the University of Wuppertal in Germany (1991), Tong Zhu is a Cheung Kong Chair Professor of Environmental Sciences at Peking University (PKU). He is a leading scientist in atmospheric pollution study and has been advising the Chinese government on controlling air pollution in the event of major international activities in China, including the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He served as a co-chair of the scientific steering committee of International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC) and now is the chair of the Expert Panel of the National Natural Science Foundation of China's Major Research Program, ‘Fundamental researches on the formation and response mechanism of air pollution complex in China’. His research is focused on air pollution related chemical reactions, health effects of environmental pollution, megacity and regional air pollution control, and the air surface exchange and global biogeochemistry. To better understand the current status of the atmospheric pollution research in China and its contribution to air pollution control, the National Science Review made an exclusive interview with Prof. Zhu.

scholarly journals Lidar vertical observation network and data assimilation reveal key processes driving the 3-D dynamic evolution of PM<sub>2.5</sub> concentrations over the North China Plain

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 7023-7037
Author(s):  
Yan Xiang ◽  
Tianshu Zhang ◽  
Chaoqun Ma ◽  
Lihui Lv ◽  
Jianguo Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Data Assimilation ◽  
North China Plain ◽  
North China ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
The North ◽  
The North China Plain ◽  
Observation Network ◽  
Pm2.5 Concentration

Abstract. China has made great efforts to monitor and control air pollution in the past decade. Comprehensive characterization and understanding of pollutants in three-dimensions are, however, still lacking. Here, we used data from an observation network consisting of 13 aerosol lidars and more than 1000 ground observation stations combined with a data assimilation technique to conduct a comprehensive analysis of extreme heavy aerosol pollution (HAP) over the North China Plain (NCP) from November–December 2017. During the studied period, the maximum hourly mass concentration of surface PM2.5 reached ∼390 µg m−3. After assimilation, the correlation between model results and the independent observation sub-dataset was ∼50 % higher than that without the assimilation, and the root mean square error was reduced by ∼40 %. From pollution development to dissipation, we divided the HAP in the NCP (especially in Beijing) into four phases: an early phase (EP), a transport phase (TP), an accumulation phase (AP), and a removal phase (RP). We then analyzed the evolutionary characteristics of PM2.5 concentration during different phases on the surface and in 3-D space. We found that the particles were mainly transported from south to north at a height of 1–2 km (during EP and RP) and near the surface (during TP and AP). The amounts of PM2.5 advected into Beijing with the maximum transport flux intensity (TFI) were through the pathways in the relative order of the southwest > southeast > east pathways. The dissipation of PM2.5 in the RP stage (with negative TFI) was mainly from north to south with an average transport height of ∼1 km above the surface. Our results quantified the multi-dimensional distribution and evolution of PM2.5 concentration over the NCP, which may help policymakers develop efficient air pollution control strategies.

Determining the effectiveness of pollution control policies implemented by the Chinese government: Distribution fitting and testing of daily PM2.5 data

2021 ◽  
pp. 0958305X2110435
Author(s):  
Gang Peng ◽  
Jie Zhang ◽  
Kai Shi
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Pollution Control ◽  
Pollution Prevention ◽  
Sustainable Urban Development ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
Distribution Fitting ◽  
Control Policies ◽  
And Control

Air pollution has become an urgent issue affecting sustainable urban development. The Chinese government has implemented a series of air pollution control policies since 2012. Exploring the effectiveness of pollution control policies is important for future policy-making and improvements in air quality. Mean and variance tests were used for evaluation on the effectiveness of pollution control policies implemented in major cities and estimates of the heterogeneity among cities based on the distribution fitting and testing of daily PM2.5 data from January 2015 to January 2020. The nonparametric kernel density estimation adopted in this paper can effectively describe the data characteristics, and this is very important for air quality monitoring and control. Our findings demonstrate that air pollution prevention and control policies have significantly improved the levels and distribution of urban air quality in China.

scholarly journals A model for predicting changes in the electrical conductivity, practical salinity, and absolute salinity of seawater due to variations in relative chemical composition

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 2861-2909 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Pawlowicz
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Model ◽  
Electrical Conductivity ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Total Alkalinity ◽  
Biogeochemical Processes ◽  
Model Calculations ◽  
The North ◽  
Historical Continuity ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Definition Of

Abstract. Salinity determination in seawater has been carried out for almost 30 years using the 1978 Practical Salinity Standard. However, the numerical value of so-called practical salinity, computed from electrical conductivity, differs slightly from the true or absolute salinity, defined as the mass of dissolved solids per unit mass of seawater. The difference arises because more recent knowledge about the composition of seawater is not reflected in the definition of practical salinity, which was chosen to maintain historical continuity with previous measures, and because of spatial and temporal variations in the relative composition of seawater. Accounting for these variations in density calculations requires the calculation of a correction factor δSA, which is known to range from 0 to 0.03 g kg−1 in the world oceans. Here a mathematical model relating compositional perturbations to δSA is developed, by combining a chemical model for the composition of seawater with a mathematical model for predicting the conductivity of multi-component aqueous solutions. Model calculations generally agree with estimates of δSA based on fits to direct density measurements, and show that biogeochemical perturbations affect conductivity only weakly. However, small systematic differences between model and density-based estimates remain. These may arise for several reasons, including uncertainty about the biogeochemical processes involved in the increase in Total Alkalinity in the North Pacific, uncertainty in the carbon content of IAPSO standard seawater, and uncertainty about the haline contraction coefficient for the constituents involved in biogeochemical processes. This model may then be important in constraining these processes, as well as in future efforts to improve parameterizations for δSA.

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