Multicity comparative assessment and optimized management path of sustainability of the economy-energy-environment system: A case study of core cities in China's three major economic circles

Coordinated and stable development of economy-energy-environment (3E) systems represents a long-term strategy for the sustainable development of humankind. Following the research idea of "indicator system construction-3E system evaluation-obstacles identification-optimization management," this article innovatively constructs a multiangle and comparable methodology system for evaluation and optimized management of the 3E system and considers the core cities of three economic circles in China as cases for empirical research. The results show that all the coordination degree levels were of good or high quality, which was at the highest level in the country. The sustainability degree of the three cities showed an upward trend; of these, Beijing had the highest sustainability degree, followed by Guangzhou and Shanghai. Obstacle degree analysis shows that technology investment and energy factors were common factors hindering sustainable development of the 3E systems of the three cities, and each city also had its own unique factors that acted as obstacles. On this basis, this article formulates region-specific policy recommendations in order to provide a useful reference for top-level design for the government. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:875-887. © 2023 SETAC.

Interaction mechanism and spatial effect of cross-regional haze pollution based on a multisectoral economy-energy-environment (3E) model and the evidence from China

The transboundary characteristics and multisectoral factor interaction mechanism of haze pollution have aroused widespread attention but remain understudied. This article proposes a comprehensive conceptual model that clarifies regional haze pollution, further establishes a theoretical framework on a cross-regional, multisectoral economy-energy-environment (3E) system, and attempts to empirically investigate the spatial effect and interaction mechanism employing a spatial-econometrics model based on China's province-level regions. The results demonstrate that (1) regional haze pollution is a transboundary atmospheric state formed by the accumulation and agglomeration of various emission pollutants; moreover, there is a "snowball" effect and a spatial spillover effect. (2) The formation and evolution of haze pollution are driven by the multisectoral factors of 3E system interaction, and the findings still hold after theoretical and empirical analysis and robustness tests. (3) Significant spatial autocorrelation exists for the 3E factors, presenting different clustering modes with a dynamic spatiotemporal evolution, particularly in the high-high (H-H) mode and low-low (L-L) mode. (4) Significant heterogeneous impacts of economic and energy factors on haze pollution are identified, namely, an inverted "U-shaped" relationship and a positive linear association, respectively. Further spatial analysis demonstrates a strong spatial spillover and obvious path dependence among local and neighboring regions. Policymakers are advised to consider multisectoral 3E system interaction and cross-regional collaboration. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2023;19:1525-1543. © 2023 SETAC.

Evaluation of carbon neutrality capacity based on a novel comprehensive model

The Chinese government actively participates in global climate governance and has proposed to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality by 2060. Due to large differences in regional development, local governments need to comprehend their own carbon neutrality status and then scientifically plan a path to achieve carbon neutrality. In this study, we constructed a new carbon neutrality capacity evaluation indicator system named CNCIS, which can dynamically reflect the balance of energy, economy and environment in the process of reducing carbon emissions. In addition, to scientifically evaluate the carbon neutrality capacity, we proposed a novel comprehensive evaluation model, namely, the BWM-Entropy TOPSIS method, which can solve the unbalanced weighting and low efficiency problem in weighting indicators and improve the applicability of TOPSIS. Finally, based on real data from 30 provinces in China, we proved the effectiveness of our method and analyse the reasons for the different carbon neutrality capacities of the provinces. The main findings are as follows: (1) Clean and efficient utilization of energy had the greatest impact on achieving carbon neutrality, which is mainly represented by carbon emissions intensity, CO2 emissions per capita and coal consumption per capita. (2) In the energy, economy and environmental aspects, the factors that most affect carbon neutrality were carbon emissions intensity, the volume of technology marketing and water consumption per capita respectively. (3) Sorted by carbon neutrality capacities, the provinces could be divided into three categories, in which economically developed provinces more easily achieve carbon neutrality while resource-based provinces are the hardest. Based on these results, corresponding suggestions were proposed to help local governments scientifically plan a path to achieve carbon neutrality.