Abstract
The paper industry is a traditional industry with extensive consumption of resources and energy and more pollutant discharge. This industry is closely related to production and life activities. Under the general requirement of “to step up conservation of the Yangtze River and stop its over development”, the paper industry in the Yangtze River Economic Belt should urgently undergo green transformation and development. Based on the undesirable slack-based measure model, spatial gravity center, Kernel density function, Theil index, and panel model, this study examines the green development efficiency and its influencing factors of the paper industry in the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2001 to 2016. Results showed the following: (1) from 2001 to 2016, the green development efficiency of the paper industry in the Yangtze River Economic Belt had been steadily improved, but the overall efficiency value is not high, which has a great potential for improvement. The green development efficiency of the paper industry in the Yangtze River Economic Belt presents the regional differentiation law of gradient increasing in the upper, middle, and lower reaches. (2) According to the gravity center trajectory, the efficiency center of the green development of the paper industry in the Yangtze River Economic Belt is located in the middle reaches of Hunan Province and Hubei Province and moves to the southwest. This case indicates that the green development efficiency of the paper industry in provinces and cities in the southwest has been improved. (3) The regional differences in the green development efficiency of the paper industry in the Yangtze River Economic Belt show the characteristics of narrowing fluctuations. The regional differences are the primary sources of the difference in the green development efficiency of the paper industry. (4) The enterprise scale, science and technology investment, and industrial structure have significant positive effects on the green development efficiency of the paper industry in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. On the contrary, environmental regulation and foreign investment intensity have significant negative effects. However, the above factors have different effects on the green development efficiency of the paper industry in the upper, middle, and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.
Highlights
Under the general requirement of “the development strategy of the Yangtze RiverEconomic Belt to strengthen environmental protection rather than seeking rapid growth at the cost of the environment”, the industrial development in the Yangtze River EconomicBelt should transform and upgrade green development
In December 2016, the Ministry of Environmental Protection issued the “notice on the implementation of the comprehensive emission plan of industrial pollution sources”, which pointed out the road map of the paper industry
With the help of the Theil index, this study explores the regional differences of green development efficiency of the paper industry in the Yangtze River Economic Belt and its main influencing factors (Table 3)
Summary
Under the general requirement of “the development strategy of the Yangtze RiverEconomic Belt to strengthen environmental protection rather than seeking rapid growth at the cost of the environment”, the industrial development in the Yangtze River EconomicBelt should transform and upgrade green development. Economic Belt to strengthen environmental protection rather than seeking rapid growth at the cost of the environment”, the industrial development in the Yangtze River Economic. Under the current background of “Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”, the environmental regulatory requirements and the inherent requirements of its green transformation development are very urgent. The Ministry of Environmental Protection has significantly strengthened the environmental inspection and control in the paper industry in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. In December 2016, the Ministry of Environmental Protection issued the “notice on the implementation of the comprehensive emission plan of industrial pollution sources”, which pointed out the road map of the paper industry. In 2017, the Ministry of Environmental Protection formulated the emission standards of pollutants for the paper industry and further increased the inspection on the law enforcement of its emission permits.
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