Designing a circular carbon and plastics economy for a sustainable future.

The linear production and consumption of plastics today is unsustainable. It creates large amounts of unnecessary and mismanaged waste, pollution and carbon dioxide emissions, undermining global climate targets and the Sustainable Development Goals. This Perspective provides an integrated technological, economic and legal view on how to deliver a circular carbon and plastics economy that minimizes carbon dioxide emissions. Different pathways that maximize recirculation of carbon (dioxide) between plastics waste and feedstocks are outlined, including mechanical, chemical and biological recycling, and those involving the use of biomass and carbon dioxide. Four future scenarios are described, only one of which achieves sufficient greenhouse gas savings in line with global climate targets. Such a bold system change requires 50% reduction in future plastic demand, complete phase-out of fossil-derived plastics, 95% recycling rates of retrievable plastics and use of renewable energy. It is hard to overstate the challenge of achieving this goal. We therefore present a roadmap outlining the scale and timing of the economic and legal interventions that could possibly support this. Assessing the service lifespan and recoverability of plastic products, along with considerations of sufficiency and smart design, can moreover provide design principles to guide future manufacturing, use and disposal of plastics.

Investigation of spatial association network features of construction waste in major Chinese urban agglomeration.

The illegal dumping of construction waste (CW) poses an increasingly serious environmental pollution problem with the accelerated rate of urbanization. As CW disposal capacity struggles to match municipal needs, some CW is being diverted to higher resource endowment cities rather than recycled. To address this situation, it is necessary to obtain reliable information on the characteristics and evolution of CW generation networks in China. This study combines a modified gravity model with Social Network Analysis (SNA) to analyze the spatial association networks of CW generation in four Chinese urban agglomerations between 2000 and 2020. Results reveal the evolution characteristics of the CW generation network, including increasing density and correlation and decreasing network efficiency. Furthermore, the Quality Assurance Procedure (QAP) indicates that urbanization level and population size are positively correlated with CW generations, whereas distance plays a negative role, but resources are insignificant for network formation. The findings provide insight into current patterns of waste distribution and a theoretical basis for government policy formulation in the future.

How to optimize dust pollution control in opencast coal mines: Analysis of a joint social regulation model based on evolutionary game theory.

The carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals drive innovation in pollution governance systems, unleashing the potential of social supervisory forces to achieve coordinated governance by multiple stakeholders. In order to improve dust pollution control in opencast coal mines, this study combines prospect theory with evolutionary game theory, analyzing the evolutionary game process of coordinated governance activities of coal mining enterprises, local regulators, and social camps in the management of dust pollution against the backdrop of national supervisions. The research indicates that the perceived value of dust pollution has a significant impact on the strategic choices of the three agents involved in the game. Coal mining enterprises tend to be risk averse, and by reducing the cost of dust pollution control and increasing the additional benefits of pollution control, it can promote pollution control behavior by coal mining enterprises. Local regulators are also risk averse, but not sensitive to risk benefits. Strengthening pollution subsidy incentives and environmental fines can help promote dust pollution control behavior by coal mining enterprises. However, increasing the strength of the rewards strategy is not conducive to local regulators' own regulatory responsibilities, and environmental fines have limited binding effects. The strategic choices of social camps' supervision have a restrictive effect on the strategic choices of coal mining enterprises and local regulators, promoting the evolution of equilibrium results in the direction of maximizing social benefits. When coal mining enterprises actively governance pollution, local regulators strictly regulated, and social camps do not monitor, the system reaches its optimal equilibrium state. The research results clarify the mechanism and specific effects of social supervision of opencast coal mine dust pollution control, guide the participation of the public in dust pollution control, and regulate the behavior strategies of coal mining enterprises and local regulators, providing the scientific basis for management.

Innovate beyond PFAS.

New proposed legislation on "forever" chemicals is under consideration in Europe and the United States, where per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a hot topic for regulators and lawmakers. On both sides of the Atlantic, regulation of widely used PFAS has been complex and evolving. Their presence in hundreds of different products-from nonstick cookware to food packaging to firefighting foam-and their persistence in food, drinking water, and the environment have resulted in a pollution problem of unprecedented scale. Recently, for example, it was reported that 45% of the tap water in the United States contains at least one type of PFAS. Because these compounds are so chemically stable that they do not degrade in the environment (including in the human body), PFAS seriously challenge long-established ideas of how chemicals can be used, assessed, and regulated, and it remains to be seen whether the new regulations will solve this problem.

The impact of bank's engagement in shadow banking activities on bank's sustainability: Evidence from Chinese commercial banks.

The economic and environmental consequences of bad banking practices have aroused much attention. In China, banks are at the center of shadow banking activities through which they avoid regulation and support environmentally unfriendly businesses such as fossil fuel companies and other high-pollution enterprises. In this paper, we study the impact of bank's engagement in shadow banking activities on its sustainability by using annual panel data of Chinese commercial banks. The result shows that bank's engagement in shadow banking activities has a negative impact on its sustainability and the negative impact of bank's engagement in shadow banking activities is more pronounced for city commercial banks and unlisted banks which are less regulated and lack corporate social responsibility (CSR). Furthermore, we explore the underlying mechanism of our findings and prove that bank's sustainability is impeded because it transforms high-risk loan into shadow banking activities which are less regulated. Finally, by using difference-in-difference (DiD) approach, we find that bank's sustainability improved after the financial regulation on shadow banking activities. Our research provides empirical evidence that the financial regulation on bad banking practices is beneficial for bank's sustainability.

Environmental regulation and green innovation of polluting firms in China.

The main objective of this paper is to study the impact of the Ambient Air Quality Standard (2012) on the green innovation of Chinese firms in polluting industries. The analysis features "leverage effect" of Porter Hypothesis imposed by environmental regulations and exploits exogenous variations caused by the promulgation of the new policy. Based on the exogenous variations, this paper uses the time varying PSM-DID method. The findings of this study suggest that the implementation of the new policy improves firms' green innovation. Increments in R&D investment and environmental protection investment are channels through which the new standard positively affects firms' green innovation. The cross-sectional heterogeneity analysis exhibits that the effect of this environmental regulation is stronger for firms with bigger size and lower financial constraints. The contribution and significance of this study are as follows: our study enriches understanding of the impact of environmental regulation on firms' green innovation by empirically confirming the influencing channels of the impact of environmental regulations on green innovation. In addition, this paper contributes to the firms' green innovation literature by empirically validating the role of corporate characteristics in moderating the effect of environmental regulations.

Does pollution levy standard reform promotes green innovation? Evidence from China.

Taking advantage of the quasi-natural experiment generated by the adjustment of pollution levy standard in different Chinese provinces and utilizing detailed prefecture-level data from 2004 to 2014, we rigorously examine the effect of an increase in pollution levy standard on green innovation by adopting the difference-in-differences method. We find that an increase in pollution levy standard can significantly promote regional green innovation, with a magnitude of nearly 12.8%, as compared with their control group. Additionally, we find that financial development and intellectual property protection tend to reinforce the positive effects. Our study suggests that the Chinese government should strengthen its institutional structure to promote green innovation.

From planetary to regional boundaries for agricultural nitrogen pollution.

Excessive agricultural nitrogen use causes environmental problems globally1, to an extent that it has been suggested that a safe planetary boundary has been exceeded2. Earlier estimates for the planetary nitrogen boundary3,4, however, did not account for the spatial variability in both ecosystems' sensitivity to nitrogen pollution and agricultural nitrogen losses. Here we use a spatially explicit model to establish regional boundaries for agricultural nitrogen surplus from thresholds for eutrophication of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and nitrate in groundwater. We estimate regional boundaries for agricultural nitrogen pollution and find both overuse and room for intensification of agricultural nitrogen. The aggregated global surplus boundary with respect to all thresholds is 43 megatonnes of nitrogen per year, which is 64 per cent lower than the current (2010) nitrogen surplus (119 megatonnes of nitrogen per year). Allowing the nitrogen surplus to increase to close yield gaps in regions where environmental thresholds are not exceeded lifts the planetary nitrogen boundary to 57 megatonnes of nitrogen per year. Feeding the world without trespassing regional and planetary nitrogen boundaries requires large increases in nitrogen use efficiencies accompanied by mitigation of non-agricultural nitrogen sources such as sewage water. This asks for coordinated action that recognizes the heterogeneity of agricultural systems, non-agricultural nitrogen losses and environmental vulnerabilities.

Does the Emission Trading Scheme achieve the dual dividend of reducing pollution and improving energy efficiency? Micro evidence from China.

Resolving the negative externality of environmental pollution has always been a concern in both the theoretical and practical space. To stimulate enterprises to participate in environmental governance actively, China has implemented a series of environmental regulation policies. The Emission Trading Pilot Scheme (ETPS) is an example of such policies implemented to ensure the gradual transition toward marketization. From a micro-enterprise perspective, the study examines how this policy achieves the dual effects of reducing emissions and promoting energy efficiency. We further explore potential channels through which this policy influences the dual effects. We empirically find ETPS to reduce the pollution emissions of enterprises significantly. However, the pollution reduction effect is mainly achieved by encouraging enterprises to strengthen cleaner production rather than through end governance. In addition to bringing environmental dividends, we observe ETPS to improve fossil energy efficiency by about 7.5% indirectly. We conclude by urging policy makers and participants to optimize energy structures and adjust intermediate input as they serve as significant pathways through which ETPS can affect fossil energy efficiency. The ETPS can encourage enterprises to actively step out of their "comfort zone" of environmental governance to be viewed as an effective environmental regulation policy.

Non-linear effects of heterogeneous environmental regulations on industrial relocation: Do compliance costs work?

Reasonably designing environmental regulations for compliance-driven industrial relocation can avoid new pollution havens. The Cournot duopoly model simulates that the necessary condition for industrial relocation is differentiated market costs. Then, based on the province-industrial data of six Chinese pollution-intensive industries during 2005-2019, this study applies spatial Durbin model to explore the non-linear effects of heterogeneous environmental regulations on industrial relocation. Results shown that command-and-control environmental regulation manifests a U-shaped curve with local industrial relocation, with inverted U-shaped spillover effect radiating a road distance of 650 km, and both internal and external costs play the mediating roles; Market incentive environmental regulation has inverted U-shaped curves with industrial relocation in local and neighboring regions, it creates dual costs and works well in both short and long terms, which is the most potential regulatory tool to avoid pollution relocation accompanying industrial relocation; Voluntary environmental regulation exhibits inverted U-shaped relationships with industrial relocation in direct and spillover effects, and works through increased external cost rather than internal cost. Its spatial spillover radiates the longest 1250 km due to rapid spread of public opinions, but this effect takes more than 3 years to be effective.

The effect of the new Environmental Protection Law on corporate financialization in China.

Using data from non-financial listed firms in China from 2008 to 2020, this study investigates the effect of the new Environmental Protection Law on corporate financialization based on the difference-in-differences model. Findings show that the law's implementation significantly increases the financialization behaviors of corporations in polluting industries. This effect remains robust after a series of robustness checks. Heterogeneity analyses suggest that the policy effect of the law is more pronounced for non-state-owned enterprises, enterprises with high fixed assets ratios, and enterprises in regions with excellent market competition. The new Environmental Protection Law also promotes the financialization of enterprises by increasing costs, reducing commercial credit financing capabilities, increasing risks, and hindering innovation. This article provides new evidence for understanding macro-environmental regulation and micro-firm effects.