RESUMEN
Very few developed economies have a full free trade agreement (FTA) with China. This study employs one GTAP model and builds an extended environmental multi-region input-output model to investigate a hypothetical China-UK FTA, concerning embodied industrial emissions of SO2, PM2.5, NOX, and NH3. The economic sectors are also classified based on their embodied pollution intensity and trade advantage index under various FTA scenarios. Results show that the UK's GDP and welfare and China's welfare will increase, along with changes in their trade structures. Overall, this FTA brings about larger net impacts on embodied emissions of SO2 than on PM2.5, NOX and NH3, and both countries are net importers of the latter three pollutants. Key sectors such as non-metallic mineral products, chemical products, and agriculture are inclined to become less competitive and less polluting under the FTA. The inclusion of agri-food sectors exhibits slight counteracting effects in general. The findings are of policy importance as they provide insights into how best to target key sectors, seeking a balance between trade development and environmental protection. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10668-022-02612-z.
RESUMEN
Light rare earth elements (LREEs) are of strategic importance for low carbon transition and decarbonization. However, the imbalance between LREEs exists and a systematic understanding of their flows and stocks is lacking, which impedes the attainment of resources efficiency and exacerbates the environmental burdens. This study examines the anthropogenic cycles and the imbalance problem of three representative LREEs in China, the largest LREEs producer in the world, including cerium (the most abundant), neodymium and praseodymium (the fastest demand-growing). We find that 1) from 2011 to 2020, the total consumption of Nd and Pr increased by 228 % and 223 %, respectively, mainly attributed to the increasing demand of NdFeB, whereas that of Ce increased by 157 %; 2) the supply insufficiency of Nd and Pr under the current quota system accumulated to 138,086 tons and 35,549 tons, respectively, while the oversupply of Ce reached 63,523 tons; and 3) China has become a net importer of LREEs concentrates, and a net exporter of LREEs in the form of intermediate and final products, imposing further burdens to the domestic environment. It is clear that the imbalance of LREEs occurred during the study period, raising urgent needs to adjust the LREEs production quotas, seek other Ce applications, and eliminate illegal mining.
RESUMEN
Pesticide use in peri-urban areas affects the urban environment and public health, and reducing the use may present food security issues for urban dwellers. In this study, we explore how a municipality-adopted goal of a 20% reduction in pesticide use could be achieved, along with local food security and environmental implications, for Shanghai located in the densely populated East China. A regional Shanghai Agricultural Sector Model incorporating district- and technology-varying crop budgets, was developed to simulate the effects of pesticide reduction policy. Here we find that achieving the reduction goal had the largest implications in districts with high pesticide use totals and intensities, potentially reducing pesticide non-point source pollution in the Yangtze River Estuary and Dianshan Lake; the production levels of rice and leafy vegetables would be most affected; and adopting machinery that allows more precise pesticide application modulates these results. Moreover, imposing the requirements at the district-level caused more severe local food security concerns, and less environmental benefits. Furthermore, a closed Shanghai's agricultural economy would substantially enlarge the regional heterogeneity in the above-mentioned outcomes. Exploring the effects of a quantity control policy on current-use pesticides at different aggregation levels has important implications for regulating the use of agrochemicals.