Analyzing the dynamic effect of energy endowment-demand distortion on sustainable development: Insights from China's regional disparity.

The distribution of China's energy resources is concentrated in the central and western regions, whereas the energy demand is predominantly centered in the eastern regions. Under the ambitious "carbon neutrality" goal, how to effectively quantify and respond to the impact of this energy "endowment-demand" distortion (EEDD) on economy and environment has become a key issue. We introduce an EEDD index that quantifies the distortion characteristics of China's energy endowment and demand. Based on the EEDD index, a panel vector auto regression-generalized method of moments (PVAR-GMM) model is adopted to assess the interactive effects between regional EEDD and sustainable development variables. The obtained results indicate that the energy endowment-demand distortions are progressively worsening across most provinces. Interestingly, we discover that the EEDD has significant beneficial effects on regional sustainable development. Moreover, the EEDD is found to be significantly influenced by the sustainability-related variables. These impacts between EEDD and sustainable development variables demonstrate significant regional heterogeneity. This study provides crucial empirical evidence for advancing the comprehensive and sustainable development of regional energy, environment, and economy.

Three novel species of Aquapteridospora (Distoseptisporales, Aquapteridosporaceae) from freshwater habitats in Tibetan Plateau, China.

During an investigation of lignicolous freshwater fungi in the Tibetan Plateau, three Aquapteridospora taxa were collected from freshwater habitats in Xizang, China. The new species possess polyblastic, sympodial, denticles conidiogenous cells and fusiform, septate, with or without sheath conidial, that fit within the generic concept of Aquapteridospora, and multi-gene phylogeny placed these species within Aquapteridospora. Detailed morphological observations clearly demarcate three of these from extant species and are hence described as new taxa. The multi-gene phylogeny of the combined LSU, TEF1-α, and ITS sequence data to infer phylogenetic relationships and discuss phylogenetic affinities with morphologically similar species. Based on morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analyses, three new species viz. A.linzhiensis, A.yadongensis, and A.submersa are introduced. Details of asexual morphs are described, and justifications for establishing these new species are also provided in this study.

Additional four species of Tatraea (Leotiomycetes, Helotiales) in Yunnan Province, China.

During the investigations of discomycetes in Yunnan, China, five species of Tatraea were discovered on decayed, decorticated oak trees or unidentified wood. All species have typical disc-like, large fruiting bodies with grey, brown or greyish-green colors. The ITS sequence analysis showed that they belong to Tatraea (Helotiaceae, Helotiales) and the LSU and ITS combination revealed a different topology within the genus. Four species, T.clepsydriformis, T.griseoturcoisina, T.yunnanensis and T.yuxiensis were established as new species, and T.aseptata was collected and described on oak woods. The pairwise homoplasy index (PHI) test results indicated that there is no significant genetic recombination (Φw = 1.0) between all related species pairs. All the species described here are supported by descriptions, illustrations and multi-gene analyses.

The impact of marketed on-grid price on China's photovoltaic industry under the background of carbon neutrality.

The advancement of electricity market reform highlights the need for China's photovoltaic (PV) industry to enter the stage of market competition. Under the carbon neutrality, what impacts electricity market reform has on China's PV industry is an important issue that needs to be considered. This paper analyzes the driving mechanism of the marketed on-grid price and constructs a system framework for the internal connection within the PV industry under the background of carbon neutrality. Then, two system dynamics (SD) models are built to perform the numerical simulation and analyze the evolution process. The results indicate that during the market competition stage, (i) the on-grid price will be stable at about 0.07 yuan/kWh by 2060; (ii) China's PV industry will go through three stages in the future: the first stage is the "rush to install" period for carbon peaking before 2030, followed by the "sluggish installation" period from 2030 to 2038. The third stage is the outbreak period of "PV + multi-scenarios."; (iii) under three scenarios by 2060, the proportion of PV power generation will account for 46%, 39%, and 32%, respectively, which are higher than those under the benchmark on-grid price; (iv) it is necessary for the government and enterprises to continue increasing support for research and development (R&D). Finally, we put forward corresponding policy recommendations.

How does functional division within urban agglomeration affect CO2 emissions? An empirical study.

With intensified urbanization, cities are becoming increasingly important units for addressing air pollution issues. From the perspective of urban agglomeration (UA), in this paper, the influence of functional division on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is studied. To explore the spillover effect within UA, a spatial Durbin model is built. The mediating effects of economic growth, industrial structure, and technological progress are examined using the parallel multiple mediation model. An empirical study is carried out on the Yangtze River Delta in China. The results suggest that: at the UA level, functional division and CO2 emissions follows a positive "U-shaped" curve relationship. The level of functional division is located on the left side of this curve. This implies that when the functional division of the Yangtze River Delta improves, current CO2 emission levels will decrease. Within the UA, improving the level of functional division will minimize CO2 emissions of adjacent cities, exerting a significant spillover effect. Functional division imposes a significantly negative influence on CO2 emissions. Moreover, economic growth, industrial structure, and technological progress all exert a significant mediating effect on the influencing mechanism. Functional division within the UA can also significantly reduce CO2 by optimizing these three paths.

Taxonomy and Phylogeny of Hyphomycetous Muriform Conidial Taxa from the Tibetan Plateau, China.

During the investigation of lignicolous freshwater fungi in the Tibetan Plateau habitat, fifteen collections were isolated from submerged decaying wood. Fungal characteristics are commonly found as punctiform or powdery colonies with dark pigmented and muriform conidia. Multigene phylogenetic analyses of combined ITS, LSU, SSU and TEF DNA sequences showed that they belong to three families in Pleosporales. Among them, Paramonodictys dispersa, Pleopunctum megalosporum, Pl. multicellularum and Pl. rotundatum are established as new species. Paradictyoarthrinium hydei, Pleopunctum ellipsoideum and Pl. pseudoellipsoideum are reported as new records on the freshwater habitats in Tibetan Plateau, China. The morphological descriptions and illustrations of the new collections are provided.

Can the cancellation of government subsidies alleviate the phenomenon of overcapacity in the photovoltaic module industry? From a dynamic perspective.

The environmental pollution problem stimulates the photovoltaic industry's vigorous development and further promotes the prosperity of the module manufacturing industry. After the cancellation of government subsidies, how the phenomenon of overcapacity that has always existed in the module manufacturing industry will develop is one of the essential issues that we need to consider. This paper constructs a systematic framework to analyze the driving mechanism of government subsidies on overcapacity. Then, a system dynamics model is established to predict the development trend of overcapacity after the cancellation of government subsidies. The result shows that: (i) By 2030, the production capacity will exceed 600 GW in China's photovoltaic module industry, which is about two times that of 2021. Moreover, its price and cost will drop to 0.46 yuan/W and 0.41 yuan/W, which are down 67% and 60%, respectively, compared to 2021; (ii) After the cancellation of government subsidies, the phenomenon of overcapacity will not disappear soon, and it will continue until 2030. In 2030, the production capacity utilization rate will reach 80%, and the phenomenon of overcapacity will disappear; (iii) From the perspective of production factors, the impact of the labor factor on the production capacity is minimal. In the initial stage, technology and capital factors are vital. As the industry matures, the influence of the capital factor will gradually weaken. Finally, we have put forward corresponding policy implications.

The underlying drivers of energy efficiency: a spatial econometric analysis.

It is theoretical and practical to investigate the causes and effects of energy efficiency. However, few empirical studies have been conducted to examine the potential underlying drivers of energy efficiency from a spatial perspective. In light of this, we combined the data envelopment analysis and spatial econometric analysis to explore the driving factors of energy efficiency. The results show that China's energy efficiency shows significant characteristics of regional disparity and spatial agglomeration; that is, high energy efficiency has presented a benefit agglomeration, while low energy efficiency has presented a disadvantage agglomeration. The empirical results indicate that technological progress, trade openness, and foreign direct investment have effectively improved energy efficiency, while energy structure and industrial structure adversely affect energy efficiency. Furthermore, technological progress, trade openness, energy structure, foreign direct investment, and industrial structure exert different influences on energy efficiency, but their potential underlying mechanisms vary essentially across regions. Thus, using a spatial econometric model allowing for spatial dependence in analyzing drivers of energy efficiency is urgent and necessary for promulgating energy policies.

Carbon-economic inequality in global ICT trade.

The expansion of information and communications technology (ICT) trade has contributed to rising trade imbalances and international tensions. A detailed assessment of the potential carbon and economic impacts of ICT trade is pertinent. We assess to what extent and how the carbon costs and economic benefits embodied in ICT trade were unevenly distributed among global regions in the period 2000-2018 using multiregional input-output models. We show that in 2018, emerging economies received 82% of the CO2 emissions while developed economies gained 42% of the value-added in ICT exports. This carbon-economic inequality (CEI) decreased (i.e., improved) by 16% from 2000 to 2018, arising from global production fragmentation, with developed economies retaining downstream high value-added ICT marketing but outsourcing upper- and middle-stream carbon-intensive material extraction and manufacturing to emerging economies. This study provides insights for enhancing negotiations and cooperation among global regions to light a path toward sustainable ICT trade.

How does financial development alleviate pollutant emissions in China? A spatial regression analysis.

Assessing the environmental effects of financial development has an important theoretical and practical reference for the government to achieve the goal of sustainable development. Financial development is affected dramatically by the real economy and typically shows nonlinear characteristics. This study aims to investigate the nonlinearity between financial development and pollutant emissions while considering the various stages of financial development among regions. Also, the spatial transmission mechanism between financial development and pollutant emissions is analyzed theoretically. Industrial sulfur dioxide ([Formula: see text]) and solid waste (SW) emissions are used to quantify pollutant emissions in China. The results show a positive spatial spillover effect on pollutant emissions across various regions. Moreover, a region's pollutant emissions can be influenced by the financial development of its surrounding regions, suggesting that financial development reduces [Formula: see text] emissions in a particular region, but it significantly increases [Formula: see text] emissions in surrounding regions, indicating a strong spillover effect. However, financial development significantly decreases SW emissions of a particular region but does not exert a significant impact on its surrounding regions, implying a weak spillover effect. Our results reveal that whereas the relationship of financial development with [Formula: see text] and SW emissions shows a significant U-shaped pattern, that of economic growth exhibit a significant inverted U-shaped pattern. The investigation can help in designing appropriate environmental policies for promoting financial development.

Evaluating China's regional energy and environmental efficiency by considering three internal parallel industries.

With the rapid development of China's economy, high energy consumption and high pollution emission have become serious problems. To solve these problems, many studies have been done to evaluate energy and environmental efficiency, as the results can provide valuable information to improve performance. However, the previous research mainly evaluates China's regional energy and environmental efficiency by considering each region's industry as a whole system, ignoring the internal structure. In reality, each region mainly includes three parallel types of industry: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Therefore, this paper provides a parallel data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach to evaluate China's regional energy and environment efficiency by considering these parallel industrial systems. The following findings can be obtained based on the empirical results: (1) the overall energy efficiency of China is low, and the inefficiency of the economic system is mainly sourced from the lower energy and environmental performance of the primary industry and the tertiary industry. (2) the introduction of the environmental variable (CO2) leads to the increase of some backward areas' efficiencies. (3) the energy efficiency of each provincial region is different, and most of them have their own inefficient industries. (4) the total factor productivity of China is declining, mainly because of the decline of technical efficiency.

The impact of semi-urbanization on carbon emissions: a spatial econometric perspective.

Whether semi-urbanization can effectively help reduce carbon emissions has become increasingly attractive to scholars and policymakers. To the knowledge of the authors, there are no empirical studies that were conducted to explore the impact of semi-urbanization on carbon emissions from a spatial perspective. By employing panel data for the years between 2000 and 2014 of 30 Chinese provinces, this paper examines the relationship between semi-urbanization and carbon emissions by using a spatial regression method. Also, the spatial transmission mechanisms between semi-urbanization and carbon emissions are analyzed. Empirical results indicate a positive spatial spillover effect on carbon emissions across various regions. Simultaneously, we find that semi-urbanization not only facilitates emission reduction in a particular region, but also significantly reduces the carbon emissions in surrounding regions, ultimately implying a significant and negative total effect. Moreover, semi-urbanization has decreased carbon emissions, that is, for every 1% increase in semi-urbanization, the carbon emissions will decrease by 0.803%. Furthermore, semi-urbanization, industrial structure, technological progress, human capital, and energy consumption show spillover impacts on carbon emissions, yet their impact mechanisms vary substantially across various regions. Based on these findings, we suggest several related policy implications for mitigating carbon emissions and promoting semi-urbanization in China.

Does air pollution inhibit manufacturing productivity in Yangtze River Delta, China? Moderating effects of temperature.

China has been experiencing serious and recurrent incidences of air pollution in recent years. The frequency and timespans of such incidences are uncertain because of variable urban weather conditions, especially temperature, that inhibit the productivity of manufacturing companies. Matching data about listed manufacturing companies in China's Yangtze River Delta urban cluster from 2003 to 2018 with data on urban air pollution and weather, we explored the effects of air pollution on corporate productivity and the moderating role of temperature. We found that air pollution significantly inhibited the productivity of these companies, which decreased by about 0.1% for 1% increase in the concentration of PM2.5. Regarding industry heterogeneity, high-energy-consumption and low-technology manufacturing industries were more sensitive to the negative effects of air pollution. Furthermore, we concluded that low temperatures played an important role in causing significant increases in the negative effects of air pollution. In the fall and winter (October to January), the lower the temperatures resulted in stronger inhibitory effects of air pollution on corporate productivity. When the average daily temperature is 0°C-3°C, the moderating effects of temperature are even more obvious. To minimize the inhibitory effects of air pollution on productivity, governments and companies should implement positive adaptions to simultaneously confront air pollution and temperature change.

Analyzing China's provincial environmental emissions and its influencing factors: a spatial analysis.

In-depth analyses of the spatial heterogeneity in environmental emissions and the causes of differences are of great importance to provide a reference for reduction policies. However, a spatial analysis of the specific mechanisms of China's environmental emissions is rarely scarce. Using the province-level data of 30 provinces in China over 2005-2017, this paper constructs a spatial Durbin model (SDM) to empirically address the existence and spatial mechanisms of environmental emissions. The results show that: first, China's environmental emissions show significant characteristics of spatial dependence and clustering from global and local perspectives, indicating the existence of spatial autocorrelation in environmental emissions across regions. Second, both per capita GDP and urbanization have positive impacts on environmental emissions, but the impact of environmental regulation is not significant. Third, urbanization not only directly influences environmental emissions, but also indirectly influences environmental emissions. These analyses provide comprehensive policy implications for government and policymakers to promote environmental quality.

How does the photovoltaic industry contribute to China's carbon neutrality goal? Analysis of a system dynamics simulation.

As the world's largest carbon emitter, China has committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, and photovoltaics (PV) is considered a primary approach for achieving this. However, few studies have considered the dynamic impact of the life cycle of the PV industry on carbon emissions under the goal of carbon neutrality. Thus, we assumed different carbon neutral scenarios to assess the impact of China's PV industry on carbon emissions and carbon neutrality. This is done using a system dynamics model and a Weibull function model. The result shows that the PV industry emitted more CO2 than it reduced before 2018, meaning that the total carbon emission reductions from China's PV industry were negative. To reach carbon neutrality, under the benchmark scenario (where electricity generated by PV accounts for 40% of total electricity), beginning in 2030, there are more than 10 GW of waste PV modules per year and recycling scrap could reduce 55 million tons (Mt) CO2 at a 90% recycling rate by 2060. The PV industry could reduce emissions by 1300 Mt CO2 by 2030, with a cumulative reduction of 7260 Mt. By 2060, PV operating modules could reach 6000 GW, with annual emission reductions of 5430 Mt. This would represent the contribution of PV power generation to the zero carbon emissions of China's electricity is 36.8% and the contribution to the carbon neutrality of society is 14.7%.

Impact of renewable energy investment on carbon emissions in China - An empirical study using a nonparametric additive regression model.

This study analyzed the comprehensive impact of renewable energy investment on carbon emissions in China. To achieve this, a nonparametric additive regression model was built. Using the STIRPAT model, we considered six influencing factors: economic growth, industrialization level, urbanization level, population aging, trade openness, and renewable energy investment. This enabled the exploration of the existence, direction, and intensity of the impact of renewable energy investment on carbon emissions. The results of the linear component of the model showed that renewable energy investment can slightly reduce carbon emissions. The results of the nonlinear component of the model showed that the impacts of renewable energy investment on carbon emissions were inconsistent at different stages of the investment. In the early stage, the renewable energy investment can increase carbon emissions. In the middle stage, the renewable energy investment begins to play a role in reducing emissions. In the later stage, renewable energy investment may be associated with increased carbon emissions again. The relationship between carbon emissions and the other five influencing factors can be represented by an inverted U-shaped curve, a U-shaped curve, or a slow rising curve. The results above provide useful references to adjust renewable energy investment and reduce carbon emissions.

Carbon emission reduction characteristics for China's manufacturing firms: Implications for formulating carbon policies.

The rapid development of China's manufacturing industry since China's accession to WTO in 2001 has dramatically increased China's carbon emissions. To inform the carbon policy development of China's manufacturing industry, this study constructed a DEA-GS (data envelopment analysis and grid search) model from a cost perspective to understand the their emission reduction characteristics. Using a large sample of manufacturing firms from 2008 to 2011, the carbon pricing and reduction potential of China's manufacturing firms was explored by analyzing the firms' marginal abatement costs. The results showed that: (a) with increasing marginal abatement costs, the growth rates of both cumulative emission reduction activities and emission reduction of these firms gradually slowed down. When the marginal abatement cost exceeds 200 Yuan/ton, neither the number of reduction activities nor the amount of reduced emissions increase. (b) The impact of marginal abatement costs on the numbers of reduction activities and firms in each sub-sector is heterogeneous. (c) The emission reduction behaviors of manufacturting firms, determined by carbon pricing, are mostly concentrated in developed areas or around large cities. In contrast, areas with substantial emission reductions are more scattered. The results suggest that The emission reduction characteristics of sub-sectors should be fully considered when formulating carbon policies for China's manufacturing industry. The carbon price for the China's manufacturing industry should not exceed 200 Yuan/ton. Furthermore, the carbon policy of China's manufacturing industry should have broader coverage, rather than merely covering developed areas.

[Dynamic Assessment of PM2.5 Health Damage Value in China from 2015 to 2018].

With the development of industrialization and urbanization in China, there are many environmental problems especially air pollution, which has serious impacts on the sustainable development of economy, ecological environment and public health. Since 2013, a series of environmental protection laws and regulations, and industrial and energy policies have been successively implemented, including Action Plan for Air Pollution Control, and Three-Year Action Plan to Win the Blue Sky Defense War etc. The air quality of the whole country has been improved. In order to evaluate the dynamic changes of environmental health benefits from air pollution control in China, this paper estimates the health effects and health economic losses caused by PM2.5 pollution, and makes a comparative analysis among different regions and cities based on the data of 297 cities at prefecture level and above in China from 2015 to 2018. The results show that, due to sharp decline of ρ(PM2.5), the population exposed to ρ(PM2.5)>35 µg·m-3 decreased year by year, and the proportion of the total population decreased from 80.88% to 62.32%. The total number of all kinds of health endpoints decreased from 33.23 million to 15.91 million, health economic loss decreased from 1579.04 billion yuan to 838.42 billion yuan, the proportion of healthy economic loss in GDP dropped from 2.31% to 0.99%. Among the six regions, the index values of Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, and surrounding areas, and Chengyu areas have declined year by year. However, Fenwei Plain areas, Yangtze River Delta areas, Pearl River Delta areas, and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River show a complex trend of increasing in some years and decreasing later. However, the situation of Fenwei Plain is still more serious than other areas, and the ρ(PM2.5) is next to Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and surrounding areas. ρ(PM2.5) of all 11 cities still exceed 35 µg·m-3 in 2018. Compared with 2015, the number of early deaths decreased by 1500, but the total number of all kinds of health endpoints increased by 18900. The health economic loss is 80.711 billion yuan, an increase of 10.714 billion yuan than that in 2015. The proportion of health economic loss in GDP is 3.16%, which is 0.25% lower than that in 2015. The per capita health economic loss is 182.67 yuan higher than that in 2015. In terms of cities, from 2015 to 2018, ρ(PM2.5) in 228 cities decreased with varying degrees. Among which, Dezhou and Baoding dropped the most, only 10 cities saw ρ(PM2.5) rise. 14 cities saw an increase in the number of healthy endpoints, and 11 cities saw an increase in the proportion of healthy economic loss to GDP. Although the index values of Baoding, Xingtai, Handan, and other cities have declined year by year, they still rank top 10 every year. The index value of Xi'an, Xianyang, Linfen, and other cities in 2018 is more than that in 2015. The research shows that the environmental health benefits of air pollution control are significant in China, but it is still necessary to further strengthen regional joint prevention and control, as well as one city one policy.

Measuring Carbon Market Transaction Efficiency in the Power Industry: An Entropy-Weighted TOPSIS Approach.

Carbon emission control is an urgent environmental issue that governments are paying increasing attention to. Improving carbon market transaction efficiency in the context of China's power industry is important for green growth, low carbon transmission, and the realization of sustainable development goals. We used the entropy-weighted Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method in this empirical study to analyze the carbon market transaction efficiency of China's power industry. The results showed that the Beijing carbon market has the highest transaction efficiency, followed by those of Guangdong Province and Shenzhen City. Hubei Province also has a relatively high carbon market transaction volume and turnover; its transaction efficiency ranks fourth. Shanghai, Tianjin, and Chongqing are the lowest-ranked regions, having carbon markets with relatively low trading volume and turnover. We, therefore, recommend that to develop a unified national carbon market, governmental agencies at all levels should equitably allocate carbon; strict regulations and penalties are also needed.