Research on the Accounting and Spatial Effects of Emergy Ecological Footprint and Industrial Green GDP--The Case of Yangtze River Economic Belt

Abstract

The booming development of industrial enterprises at the cost of ecological resource consumption has inevitably harmed the ecological environment, especially since the phenomenon of water resource pollution is more serious. Exploring the relationship between the ecological environment and the industrial economy is crucial to the green and sustainable development of the region. This study uses the Spatial Durbin Model (SDM) to investigate the impact of emergy ecological footprint on the industrial green of gross domestic product (GDP) under the perspective of water resources, based on the panel data of 11 provinces in Chinas Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) from 2012 to 2021. The results show that first, the overall industrial green GDP of the YREB has increased year by year, and the effect of water resource protection is outstanding. Second, the emergy ecological footprint has a significant positive effect on industrial green GDP, and the spillover effect is also significant. Third, heterogeneity analysis shows that the spatial relationship between emergy ecological footprint and industrial green GDP is different in different regions, and the local effect and neighborhood effect of the high industrial green economic development areas are consistent with those of the YREB, while the relationship between the low industrial green economic development areas is not obvious. This paper is of great significance for the green development of industrial enterprises in the YREB and guides the formulation of sustainable development policies.