Abstract
With sustained and rapid economic growth, environmental degradation and resource depletion are becoming increasingly prominent in Chinese mineral resource-based cities (MRBC). An in-depth study regarding the efficiency and characteristics of urban green transformation in recent years will help to promote the healthy development of MRBC in China. In this study, we use a three-stage data envelopment analysis model to evaluate the green transformation efficiency and potential of 110 MRBC in China from 2008 to 2017. The results show that, first, the comprehensive green transformation efficiency in the vast majority of MRBC is relatively low. After excluding external factors, the efficiency of most MRBC is considerably improved. Second, regardless of whether the external factors are excluded, the green transformation efficiency in the western and northeast regions of China is relatively higher than that in the central and eastern regions, whereas the coal cities and ferrous cities have higher efficiencies compared with non-ferrous cities and oil cities. Third, compared with pure technology efficiency, scale efficiency plays a leading role in overall green transformation efficiency. Based on the empirical analysis results, this study indicates that China’s MRBC should pay special attention to the influence of external environmental factors when formulating green transformation policies.
Highlights
China’s economy entered an era of rapid development since its reform and opening in 1978
The document clarifies the transformation goals of resource-based cities by 2020, that is, the historical legacy of resource depletion would have been basically solved, the capacity for sustainable development would have been significantly enhanced, and the transformation tasks would have been completed; the pattern of coordination between resource development, economic and social development and eco-environmental protection would have been formed; substantial progress would have been made in the transformation of economic development mode, and a long-term mechanism to promote the sustainable development of resource-based cities would have been established and improved [5]
In this study, we explored methods to improve the efficiency of mineral resource-based cities (MRBC) green transformation in China and suggested improvements for the efficiency of green transformation MRBC for other developing countries
Summary
China’s economy entered an era of rapid development since its reform and opening in 1978. Differing interests and continuous disputes concerning environmental ecology between the residents of resource exploitation areas and the mineral enterprises may create socio-ecological problems. These conflicts of interest will eventually affect the healthy development of the entire national economy [4]. To cope with this severe situation and smoothly promote the green transformation of MRBC, the central government issued a strategic policy document “National Resource-based City Sustainable Development Plan (2013–2020)” in 2013. The green transformation, as a new form of environmental protection, economic growth model, and the urban development model, has become an inevitable trend in the MRBC to achieve sustainable development
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