Environmental Protection Authority Research Articles

Health impact of environmental and industrial noise - a narrative review.

Industrial noise sources are among the environmental noise sources that are ranked second among the causes of ill health in Europe by the World Health Organization. The aim of this paper is to summarize and review of published information focusing on noise annoyance from industrial activities and mining. A search for articles was performed using the bibliographic databases platforms. The epidemiological evidence shows that environmental noise may be associated with cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, impaired cognitive development in children, mental health, post-irritability, and sleep disturbances. As a result of efforts to minimize the effects of industrial noise on human health, the New South Wales Environment Protection Authority published A Guide to the Noise Policy for Industry in 2017, which sets out recommended noise levels, methods, and procedures for noise management based on the latest scientific evidence. Social networks can be used to assess the population's noise annoyance and to verify the effectiveness of the measures. The industrial noise sources are typically defined by low-frequency noise. Low-frequency noise has very low attenuation and is only slightly affected by obstacles, therefore it can be a major cause of night noise annoyance. An association was confirmed between exposure to low-frequency noise and sleep disturbance, psychological problems, cognitive impairment, increased social conflicts, anxiety, emotional instability, nervousness, and reduced mental performance - concentration, and visual perception. In view of the long tradition of mining and industry, the assessment of noise from these activities from the perspective of its impacts on human health is an inherent part of legislative processes. Med Pr Work Health Saf. 2024;75(5).

China’s Green Finance: new in fiscal and legal regulation

Having embarked on the formation of an “ecological civilization”, the People’s Republic of China pays special attention to environmental legislation, the creation of a modern system of “green” economy and “green” finance. The effectiveness of legal regulation of environmental relations largely depends on the availability of financial guarantees of relevant environmental standards. One of these guarantees is the environmental protection tax, recently introduced in the fiscal system of the People’s Republic of China.The article analyzes the main elements of this tax — taxpayers, the object of taxation, rates, the procedure for calculating and paying, system of tax benefits. Special attention is paid to the specifics of tax administration, the organization of cooperation between tax authorities and environmental protection authorities, the interaction of tax control and environmental monitoring.

Attribute Agenda Building in An Environmental Crisis: News Coverage of MV X-Press Pearl Ship Incident in Sri Lanka

This study investigated the building of the attribute agenda of an environmental crisis, taking the MV X-Press Pearl shipwreck incident as a case study. English weekend newspapers for a year since the incident were used for a content analysis to identify the information subsidies and their respective attribute agendas. An analysis framework was developed based on information subsidies and their respective attribute agendas. Results indicated that the governmental bodies unrelated to the environment were the most frequently cited sources, followed by experts and local non-governmental organizations/ industries. Conversely, the public was the least cited information source. Environmental damage was the most frequently emphasized attribute, followed by law and agreements and prevention. However, policy was the least reported attribute. Considering the correlation between information sources and attributes, the Marine Environmental Protection Authority highlighted the mitigation agenda, while non environmental related governmental bodies emphasized prevention agenda. Policymakers focused on getting compensation, while governmental bodies emphasized law and agreements and Experts prioritized on environmental damage. The evidence for attribute agenda building was found further strengthening the agenda building hypothesis and information subsidies had their own attributes highlighted in media reports. The study delves into the practical implications of agenda building, which can influence media outlets. It suggests strategic communication planning, aligning coverage with objectives, and collaborating with environmental advocacy groups. This understanding informs decision-making, promotes balanced coverage, and enhances public engagement. It is important to additionally take into account the process used to establish the agenda in future research.

Impact and Spatial Effect of Government Environmental Policy on Forestry Eco-Efficiency—Examining China’s National Ecological Civilization Pilot Zone Policy

Can government environmental policy harmonize environmental protection with economic output? We explore this issue from the perspective of forestry eco-efficiency, using China’s National Ecological Civilization Pilot Zone Policy (NECP), an environmental policy promulgated by the government of China, as the subject of this study. The study introduces forestry eco-efficiency as an indicator to assess the balance between economic development in the forestry sector and environmental conservation. The indicator, grounded in sustainable development theory, employs a super-efficiency SBM model that includes undesirable outputs to evaluate efficiency. Additionally, we empirically analyze the impact of NECP on forestry eco-efficiency by using the difference-in-difference (DID) model with provincial panel data from 2011 to 2020. Ultimately, we analyze the effects of spatial spillover by employing the spatial Durbin model (SDM). Our study yields the following conclusions. (1) In this paper, through hotspot clustering analysis, forestry eco-efficiency in each province is categorized into three categories: effective, semi-effective and ineffective. Our findings suggest that China’s average forestry eco-efficiency falls into the ineffective category, highlighting the need to optimize resource allocation within the sector. (2) NECP significantly enhances forestry eco-efficiency, with robust findings across various stability tests. Thus, implementing government environmental policies can have a multiplier effect on forestry, i.e., it can synergize its economic development with environmental protection. (3) In provinces with a strong ecological foundation, the NECP significantly enhances forestry eco-efficiency. However, in other provinces, the improvement is only moderate. Furthermore, while the NECP has a substantial positive impact in the eastern region, it has yet to show a discernible effect in other regions. (4) The positive impacts of NECP implementation on forestry eco-efficiency have spatial spillover effects due to demonstration effects and comparative advantages.

Prawne podstawy ochrony przed hałasem drogowym (ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem przygotowania i realizacji inwestycji drogowej oraz etapu eksploatacji dróg)

The article discusses the regulations under which information on the state of the environment is collected, which can be used at the stage of planning, designing, constructing and operating roads (state environmental monitoring, programmes of environment protection against noise, strategic noise maps). It also addresses the issue of protection against road traffic noise at the stage of road design, construction and alteration, as well as at the stage of road operation. It also identifies environmental protection authorities that play an important role in the context of supervising compliance with noise protection regulations, and briefly discusses the legal remedies available to people exposed to excessive road traffic noise.

Striking A Balance Between Job Creation and Sustainability: The Need to Establish A True Environmental Protection Authority in Indonesia

Striking A Balance Between Job Creation and Sustainability: The Need to Establish A True Environmental Protection Authority in Indonesia

Impact of China’s Energy-Consuming Right Trading on Urban Land Green Utilization Efficiency

China is facing development challenges, such as the red line of arable land, resource shortage, and tightening ecological and environmental constraints. In this context, improving land green utilization efficiency (LGUE) is not only an important undertaking to optimize the spatial layout of the country and improve resource carrying capacity but also an inevitable choice for the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development. China’s energy-consuming right trading (ECRT) is an important energy transition demonstration policy; however, its effect on LGUE has yet to be scientifically evaluated in academic research. Using panel data of 260 prefecture-level cities in China from 2009 to 2021, this study first uses a difference-in-difference model to test the effect of ECRT on LGUE, analyze its transmission mechanism, and further examine the impact of urban characteristic heterogeneity on policy effects from multiple perspectives. Results show the following: (1) The pilot policy of ECRT significantly improves urban LGUE, as confirmed by robustness tests. (2) The ECRT pilot policy enhances urban technological innovation, promotes the upgrading of industrial structure, and thereby improves LGUE. (3) The ECRT has a more significant enhancement effect on the central and western cities, large-scale cities, and resource-based cities. (4) Government environmental protection assessment can have a positive moderating effect, that is, further amplifying the effect of ECRT on improving urban LGUE. In conclusion, we should solidly promote the construction of a unified national ECRT market, formulate policy implementation plans tailored to local conditions, and steadily improve LGUE. To a certain extent, this paper reveals the inherent logic of how ECRT affects LGUE, which provides opportunities for cities to improve LGUE through ECRT, and provides reference for promoting the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development.

Environmental regulation, industrial structure and energy efficiency: Evidence from 30 provinces in China.

The government's environmental protection policy can significantly contribute to alleviating resource shortages and curbing environmental pollution, but the impact of various policy instruments implemented by the government on energy efficiency is unclear. Based on the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2005 to 2021, this paper analyses the impact of environmental regulation and the industrial structure on energy efficiency from the perspective of resource taxes. The U-shaped relationship between environmental regulation and energy efficiency and between the optimization of industrial structure can significantly improve energy efficiency, and the optimization of industrial structure is conducive to weakening the initial inhibitory effect of environmental regulation. In addition, the analysis of regional heterogeneity showed that the impact of environmental regulation was stronger in the central and western regions, while the impact of industrial structure was stronger in the eastern and western regions. The conclusions of this study can help to expand the understanding of the relationship between environmental regulation and industrial structure on energy efficiency, provide policy enlightenment for the realization of green development and high-quality development, and provide Chinese examples and experiences for developing countries to improve energy efficiency.

Impact of Environmental Regulation on Corporate Green Technological Innovation: The Moderating Role of Corporate Governance and Environmental Information Disclosure

Environmental degradation is an important issue facing the world today. Microcosmically, green technical innovation is needed to decrease environmental pollution. Therefore, exploring the relationship between the two is of great significance for promoting environmental protection and sustainable development. Thus, this research elucidates the interaction between green innovation (GI) and environmental regulations (ERs). This study utilizes the fixed effects model to examine how government environmental protection subsidies (EPSs) in market-incentive ER and environmental management system certification (EMSC) in voluntary participatory ER affect GI among listed companies in China. The sample observation period is from 2012 to 2021. Additionally, the impact of corporate governance (CGL) and environmental information disclosure (EID) on the relationship between ERs and GI within businesses is investigated. The empirical results show that both government environmental protection subsidies and environmental management system certification positively affect green innovation, and both corporate governance and environmental information disclosure positively moderate the impact of government environmental protection subsidies and environmental management system certification on green innovation. The above empirical results are still valid after a robustness test and can guide the formulation of government ERs, as well as corporate strategies for environmental management and GI.

Corrigendum to: Compliance is not necessarily good science. The Environmental Protection Authority’s vertebrate fauna survey guidelines should be revised

Corrigendum to: Compliance is not necessarily good science. The Environmental Protection Authority’s vertebrate fauna survey guidelines should be revised

Fiscal Decentralization and Green Innovation - Evidence from Listed Firms in China

This paper takes the reform of "Province-Managing-County(PMC)" as a natural experiment, utilizes the data of listed enterprises and green patent data from 2007 to 2019, and applies the method of the difference-in-differences(DID) to investigate the impact of fiscal decentralization on enterprises' green innovation. The study finds that the PMC reform makes the green innovation of enterprises decrease by 27.34%, and this phenomenon is more significant in state-owned enterprises and non-heavy pollution industries. The main mechanism lies in the fact that local governments, in pursuit of economic development, reduce the amount of sewage charges paid by enterprises and lower the entry threshold of enterprises, and at the same time, this behavior influences the decision makers of enterprises to reduce the amount of environmental protection investment of enterprises. Additionally, the study found that government environmental protection subsidies can ease financial constraints on enterprise green innovation, mitigating the inhibitory impact of PMC reform. The paper advocates shifting from a traditional rapid economic development model to embracing green development, integrating it into core government management, and methodically advancing fiscal decentralization reform.

The short and long-term effects of cross-border M&A network on Chinese enterprises’ green innovation

How does cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) network affect green innovation? To achieve pollution management and circular economy development, green innovation is the key path. However, little literature investigated the influence of cross-border M&A on green innovation from a network perspective. Using Chinese listed companies and an original database sourced from Zephyr of cross-border M&A deals from 2009 to 2019, this paper examines the short and long-term impact of the network on green innovation of Chinese corporations. It is suggested that the network plays a positive role in green innovation, which is not pronounced in the short term, but obvious in the long run. We further demonstrate that the long-term facilitating role is more evident for large enterprises, heavily polluting enterprises, non-high-tech enterprises, enterprises with deep knowledge base, and enterprises without myopic managers. Moreover, the long-term positive impact of cross-border M&A network on green innovation is augmented by corporate environmental responsibility and mitigated by government environmental protection subsidies.

Cutting ties with local bureaucrats: How does the environmental vertical management reform affect firm pollution in China?

China's local environmental protection agencies are the basic government units that implement the country's environmental regulations. Initiated decades ago, the vertical environmental management reform was gradually rolled out throughout the country with the aim of enhancing the independence of local environmental enforcement by shifting the control of the agencies' resources from local governments to higher-level environmental protection authorities. This research investigates the effects and influencing channels of this reform on firm pollution behavior in China. Combining manually collected data on the timing of the reform at the county level with a unique firm-level emission dataset, we use a difference-in-differences approach to estimate the effect of the reform. Our results suggest that the reform leads to a significant reduction in firms' pollution, and this reduction is achieved mainly through a scaled-back production and a cleaner production process. A further analysis shows that the reform weakens local bureaucrats' political and economic incentives that could distort environmental enforcement. Our findings highlight the importance of minimizing political interventions in environmental governance in a large country like China to achieve environmental targets.

Influencing Factors and Their Spatial–Temporal Heterogeneity of Urban Transport Carbon Emissions in China

Based on the panel data of China’s 284 prefecture-level cities from 2006 to 2020, this study employs spatial econometric and geographically weighted regression models to systematically analyze the influencing factors and their spatial–temporal heterogeneity of urban transport carbon emissions. The findings reveal the following: (1) GDP per capita, population, urban road area, and private car per capita are important factors causing the increase in urban transport carbon emissions, while the improvement of urban density, public transportation effectiveness, and government environmental protection can mitigate emissions and promote low-carbon development in urban transportation. (2) The worsening impact of GDP per capita on urban transport carbon emissions shows a decreasing trend over time, forming a spatial gradient pattern of gradually increasing from southwest to northeast. However, a similar effect of population increase during the research period, which currently displays an increasing spatial differentiation from north to south in sequence. (3) As another key deteriorating urban transport carbon emission, the influencing degree of private car per capita has gradually decreased from 2006 to 2020 and represented certain spatial gradient patterns. (4) Although the urban road area is favorable to urban transport carbon reduction in the early stage, it gradually begins to change in an unfavorable direction. The urban density is the contrary, i.e., the increase in that begins to play a positive role in promoting the development of low-carbon transportation among more cities. In addition, the influence coefficient of the former also presents an increasing distribution characteristic from south to north. (5) The reduction effect of public transportation effectiveness and government environmental protection on transport carbon emissions are both gradually prominent, where the former also shows space inertia of “increasing gradient from north to south and from north to northeast”.

A deep learning interpretable model for river dissolved oxygen multi-step and interval prediction based on multi-source data fusion

Water bodies experiencing excessively low dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations cannot sustain aquatic life and disrupt ecosystem balance, whereas overly high concentrations induce eutrophication, deteriorating the water environment's health. DO monitoring and safeguarding have perennially been paramount for global environmental protection authorities. Precise DO prediction is vital for water resource protection. Due to the non-linearity, complexity, and periodicity of DO data sequence, this study introduces a predictive model integrating multi-source data fusion, mode decomposition, improved sparrow search algorithm (SSA), attention (AT) mechanism, and gated recurrent unit (GRU). Initially, the original sequence undergoes decomposition via variational mode decomposition (VMD), with the resultant decomposed sub-sequences being trained and predicted using the GRU. The final predictive outcomes are derived by summing the predictions of each sub-sequence. This study substantiates the proposed model's efficacy by contrasting single models, various decomposition strategies, and combined models utilizing diverse methods. For the testing sets of two datasets, the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) coefficient, and the proportion of acceptable predictive values of the proposed model are 0.980, 100% and 0.987, 100%, respectively, outperforming other benchmark models. Additionally, the Diebold Mariano (DM) test, valley, multi-step ahead, interval predictions, and interpretability are employed to compare and analyze the model results. DM test results reveal that at a 1% significance level, the predictions from the models proposed in this study surpass those of other benchmark models. Through various approaches and perspectives' comparison and analysis, it is further demonstrated that the model developed herein displays exceptional prediction accuracy and can be effectively deployed across diverse watersheds.

A Desktop Assessment of Ozone Micro-Nanobubble Technology for Algae and PFAS Removal from Surface Water Bodies Using Open-Source Water Quality Data

Ozone is an excellent oxidant and helps in breaking down both organic and inorganic compounds; this effect is further enhanced when it decomposes into hydroxyl radicals. Several studies confirm the good performance of ozonation and micro-nanobubble technology in eradicating algae and per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances. However, very little is known about the application of ozone micro-nanobubble technology in small-scale treatment; hence, this research aims to assess the potential of this technology. A survey was performed to obtain the water quality parameters of some selected water bodies via relevant open-source databases. The water quality was compared against the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) guidelines to identify those that did not meet the criteria and it was identified that 18% of the surface water bodies were below the recommended guidelines. The identified water sources were then used for the treatment simulation, which applies the literature-reported % removal of water quality parameters to predict the effectiveness of ozone micro-nanobubble technology for the selected water sources in this study. Furthermore, the time (dose) that is needed for the treatment using this technology was estimated based on the surface area of the water bodies. The scalability study was conducted to assess how many water bodies could be treated within a day using a 50 m3/h flow rate, which yielded a value of 27%. It was concluded that ozone micro-nanobubble technology can treat algae and per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances in surface waters as part of their treatment process by reducing treatment frequency and environmental impacts. By observing the benefits of ozone micro-nanobubble technology, there is a considerable chance that the surface water bodies in the City of Salisbury and, therefore, other small-scale water treatment plants, will be healthier after undergoing this process. This study demonstrated the advantages of applying open-source water quality data as a quick approximation of the evaluation of new treatment techniques, which will help engineers to better predict the performance of the designed field trials.

Government environmental protection subsidies and corporate green innovation: Evidence from Chinese microenterprises

This paper explores the impact of government environmental protection subsidies on corporate green innovation using panel data of listed companies from 2007 to 2019. The results show that such subsidies can significantly promote corporate green innovation, and the results are robust. Financing constraints, research and development (R&D) willingness, and resource allocation efficiency are important variables for government environmental protection subsidies to promote corporate green innovation. Further analysis shows that compared with industrial policies at the provincial level, the key supportive industrial policies at the central level have a more obvious reinforcing effect on government environmental subsidies to promote enterprise green innovation. Furthermore, government environmental subsidies in the eastern, middle, and western regions benefit the promotion of enterprise green innovation, and the promotional effect is stronger in the middle and western regions. Compared with state-owned enterprises, government environmental subsidies have a more obvious promotional effect on promoting green innovation of non-state-owned enterprises. This paper provides strong theoretical inspiration for better playing the positive incentive role of government intervention with the help of government environmental protection subsidies.

Investigating the Role of Law Enforcement in Preventing Environmental Crimes Related to Industrial Waste in Specific Regions of Ethiopia

Environmental crimes related to industrial waste refer to illegal activities conducted by industrial factories that pose harm to the environment and human health. In many developing nations, law enforcement agencies underestimate the prevalence of such crimes. This study focuses on investigating the role of law enforcement institutions in preventing industrial waste-related environmental crimes within selected regions and city administrations of Ethiopia. Employing a qualitative research approach with an exploratory design, the study used key informant interviews and document analysis as data collection tools. The researchers purposively selected sample regions (Amhara, Oromia, Sidama, and Harari) and two city administrations, engaging participants from law enforcement bodies (regional police, code enforcement (Militia)), environmental protection authorities, and communities. The findings reveal that although there are national and international laws addressing industrial waste-related environmental crimes, their enforcement is limited because of a lack of awareness about the legal framework within the country. Environmental protection authorities play a significant role in enforcing environmental laws and standards compared to other law enforcement agencies. Opportunities for preventing industrial waste-related environmental crimes include existing environmental laws, community participation, stakeholders, and addressing environmental cross-cutting issues. Conversely, challenges to effective prevention include a lack of cooperation among law enforcement bodies, limited awareness about crimes, insufficient resources, and misperceptions by responsible bodies. Based on these findings, the study proposes suggestions to strengthen law enforcement agencies.

Doctrinal approach to the concept of the legal nature of the ecological state

The article examines the legal nature of the ecological state based on the analysis of foreign and national legislation.
 Attention is drawn to the fact that the term "ecological state” in various scientific literature is used in such meanings as "green state”, "eco­state”, "eco-centric state”, "ecologically oriented state”, "ecological state of social justice”, etc.
 The normative consolidation of the concept of "ecological state” in foreign countries was analyzed, the scientific literature, and using the systematic method of research, it is necessary to determine several directions of understanding of the "ecological state”. First, the concept of "ecological state” is widely used in foreign countries to describe political and socio-economic systems aimed at protecting the environment and natural resources. These concepts define the state's approach to environmental issues and often indicate that environmental issues are a priority for the government and citizens. Secondly, the "ecological state” must be understood as a system of legal regulation aimed at ensuring ecologically sustainable development through environmental protection and rational use of natural resources. Third, as a system of government bodies, which includes various structures and institutions responsible for the development, implementation and control of environmental policy.
 The features that determine its essence and content of an ecological state are summarized, namely: strict compliance with environmental legislation; supporting sustainable development and promoting the use of renewable energy sources; broad powers of environmental protection authorities; preservation of biodiversity; public participation and transparency; provision of environmental education and formation of citizens' eco-awareness; international cooperation in the field of environmental protection, etc.
 The author's definition of an ecological state is provided.

A novel grey multivariate convolution model based on the improved marine predators algorithm for predicting fossil CO2 emissions in China

The effective prediction of fossil carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions provides a foundation for environmental protection authorities to make relevant management and decisions. CO2 emissions are influenced by various factors and exhibit a nonlinear and complex trend. First, the weighted conformable fractional accumulation (WCFA) method is proposed. WCFA is a generalized form of the existing weighted accumulation and conformable fractional order accumulation. A nonlinear discrete grey Bernoulli multivariate convolution model is introduced to model the sequences processed by WCFA. Then, an improved marine predators algorithm (IMPA) is obtained by improving the marine predators algorithm by the tent map and cosine control parameter. The performance of IMPA is verified by algorithm comparison experiments and Friedman test. The feasibility and predictive effectiveness of the proposed model is validated through three case studies. In prediction of fossil CO2 emissions in China, the fitting and prediction errors of the proposed model reach 1.1773% and 0.5402%, respectively. Finally, the total fossil CO2 emissions in China from 2022 to 2026 are predicted and analyzed. The results indicate a gradual decrease in fossil CO2 emissions over the next five years. Some reasonable suggestions are made based on the prediction results and sources of fossil CO2 emissions.