Investment In Pollution Control Research Articles

Mitigating boundary pollution: Evidence from China's environmental protection inspection centers

The efficacy of a vertical environmental protection system in managing transboundary pollution has not been extensively explored. Through a quasi-natural experiment facilitated by China's six environmental protection inspection centers (EPICs), this study assesses their impact on boundary pollution intensity and compares it with their effect on non-boundary pollution intensity. The findings demonstrate that the institution of EPICs significantly mitigates the intensity of boundary pollution, with a more pronounced reduction effect compared to non-boundary areas. Analysis of mechanisms reveals that both boundary and non-boundary enterprises achieve a reduction in pollution intensity through the enlargement of production capacities, enhancement of investments in pollution control, and a decrease in total pollution emissions. Given that boundary enterprises exhibit a greater magnitude in reducing total pollution emissions, the resultant effect on pollution intensity reduction is more significant among these entities. Furthermore, heterogeneity analysis indicates that the impact of EPICs on reducing pollution intensity is more substantial among samples with minimal political connections, elevated political incentives, and within heavily polluting industries, with boundary enterprises experiencing a more pronounced influence. This article unveils that strengthening coordination between central and local authorities, alongside fostering corporate actual investment in environmental protection, serves as pivotal mechanisms, offering innovative strategies for global environmental governance and advancing both the practice and theory of sustainable development.

The impact of pollution transmission networks in a transboundary pollution game

To explore transboundary pollution games with network externalities, this study develops a multi-region differential game which investigates the interaction and co-evolution of multiple pollution stocks across a continuous horizon. Pollution transmission networks are incorporated into the model via an adjacency matrix, detailing transmission paths of pollution across regions. Equilibrium strategies for emissions and investments in pollution control are obtained through a system of coupled differential equations. Our study demonstrates that these equilibrium strategies and the corresponding discounted net welfare of regions depend crucially on the structure of pollution transmission networks. The spectral properties of networks can effectively discern the evolutionary stability of equilibrium strategies. Through a numerical simulation of multiregional pollution dynamics, we also show that regions' motivation for pollution control decreases continuously as their influence in pollution transmission networks (i.e., network influence) increases; Nevertheless, an increase in a region's network influence can significantly reduce local pollution stocks in cycle networks but increase them in tree networks.

Hidden environmental costs of economic ambitions: An empirical study of pollution emissions in the wake of growth targets

The extant body of academic literature has thoroughly examined the influence of political promotion institutions on various aspects of economic growth and corporate behavior. However, there remains a gap in the understanding the extent and mechanisms through which the establishment of economic growth targets influences firms' pollution emissions. Addressing this gap, we construct datasets that encapsulate both micro-level and macro-level perspectives to examine the impact of economic growth targets on corporate pollution. We find that an increase in economic growth targets leads to a significant rise in pollution emissions from industrial firms. To address potential endogeneity issues, we employ various strategies, and our results remain robust across these different approaches. We then estimate the heterogeneous impact of economic growth targets and demonstrate that the positive effect of these targets on pollution emissions tends to be less pronounced for firms situated in cities governed by female mayors. Conversely, the effect appears more pronounced for firms located in the western region, those operating in cities led by older mayors, and those in cities where mayors have lower levels of education. Finally, we explore potential mechanisms through which economic growth targets impact corporate pollution. Our results show that at the firm level, a higher economic growth target primarily leads to increased pollution emissions from enterprises by reducing firms' investment in pollution control. At the city level, an elevation in economic growth targets predominantly results in escalated enterprise-related pollution, chiefly due to its hindrance of urban green innovation, reduction in fiscal allocations for science and technology, and a decrease in educational fiscal outlays. These empirical findings strongly advocate for the implementation of measures aimed at dissuading prefecture-level city governments from formulating excessively ambitious economic growth targets, as a viable strategy for mitigating pollution stemming from manufacturing firms in developing nations. In view of this, our research is conducive to advancing the process of building a sustainable development path in China and providing reliable solutions to global ecological challenges.

Spatial-temporal differentiation of urban eco-efficiency and its driving factors: A comparison of five major urban agglomerations in China.

This paper utilizes an improved undesirable output DEA model to measure the eco-efficiency of cities in five major urban agglomerations in China during 2006-2020. It employs the Theil Index and Geodetector to investigate the spatial-temporal distribution differentiation characteristics and driving factors of urban eco-efficiency. The main findings are as follows. Firstly, the eco-efficiency of all urban agglomerations showed a fluctuating upward trend, but the eco-efficiency performance of different urban agglomerations in China shows a stratification characteristic. Specifically, the Pearl River Delta urban agglomeration consistently ranks first in China, while the mean values of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration, and Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration are lower than the national average. Secondly, the overall differences in the urban eco-efficiency of all sample cities show a consistently fluctuating downward trend. The factor that affects the level differences of eco-efficiency in different cities is the intra-regional differences. Last but not least, the top three factors affecting the spatial distribution difference of urban eco-efficiency in the whole sample are environmental pollution control investments, innovation level, and environmental infrastructure investments. In the end, this paper proposes that reducing the intra-regional differences is the primary task to achieve the coordinated improvement of urban eco-efficiency in urban agglomerations, and then puts forward some policy suggestions to improve eco-efficiency for the five major urban agglomerations.

Research on the impact path of China’s environmental protection investment on green development—based on the perspective of industrial structure upgrading

As a special category of investment, environmental protection investment can provide important funds and technological support for a region, achieve green production, and promote green development. This article uses a benchmark regression model based on panel data from 30 provinces in China from 2007 to 2020 to analyze the impact of environmental protection investment on the level of green development. It specifically examines the effects of urban environmental infrastructure investment, industrial pollution control investment, and completion of environmental protection acceptance projects on the level of green development. It also explores how different regions can make use of environmental protection investment according to local conditions. Additionally, due to the spatial spillover effect of environmental protection investment, this article introduces the spatial Durbin model to study the spillover effects. Furthermore, in order to effectively promote green economic development through environmental protection investment, it is necessary to upgrade the industrial structure. Therefore, this article also uses the mediation effect model to explore the relationship between environmental protection investment, industrial structure upgrading, and the level of green development. The research findings are as follows: 1) environmental protection investment can promote the development of green level; 2) the various components of environmental protection investment have different effects on the level of green development. Urban environmental infrastructure investment has a promoting effect on the level of green economic development, while industrial pollution control investment and completion of environmental protection acceptance projects have a restraining effect; 3) environmental protection investment has a positive spillover effect in spatial terms, promoting the green development of surrounding areas while driving the local green development level; 4) as an important driving force for promoting green economic development, environmental protection investment relies on the support of industrial structure upgrading, and further optimization and upgrading of the industrial structure can achieve green economic development. Based on these findings, this article proposes that each region should increase environmental protection investment, implement the concept of green development, and leverage the positive impact of each component of environmental protection investment on local green development according to local conditions. At the same time, each region should also pay attention to the role of industrial structure upgrading and make rational use of environmental protection investment to promote green development.

Synergizing policies for carbon reduction, energy transition and pollution control: Evidence from Chinese power generation industry

To mitigate climate change and achieve sustainable development, Chinese governments have introduced “1+N” “dual-carbon” policy system aimed at reducing CO2 emissions, transforming energy structures and controlling pollution. An effective policy mix and synergy is crucial for achieving the emission reduction targets and for ensuring the effectiveness of the policies, and it is therefore of great practical importance to provide a pathway for policy synergy based on assessing policy effectiveness. This paper selects three policies, namely the carbon Emission Trading System (ETS), Coal Control and Clean Utilization (CCCU), and Green Financial Reform and Innovation Pilot Zone (GFPZ), sets up ten scenarios, adopts difference-in-differences (DID) models to evaluate the impact, and give a pathway for policy synergy. The results show that ETS, CCCU, and GFPZ policies have significant positive effects on carbon emission reduction, energy structure transformation, and industrial environmental pollution control, respectively; CCCU has synergistic effects with ETS and GFPZ policies in controlling coal consumption and increasing the completion of industrial pollution control investments, respectively; while GFPZ policies have conflicting effects with CCCU and ETS in reducing carbon emissions and coal consumption, the GFPZ policy has conflicting effects with CCCU and ETS in reducing carbon emissions and controlling coal consumption. Finally, the study proposes a phased policy support system around carbon emission reduction in the power generation industry, energy structure transformation, and industrial environmental pollution control before 2030 and from 2030 to 2060.

Rigorous Regional Air Quality Standards for Substantial Health Benefits

AbstractFollowing a series of actions in China, the annual mean fine particle (PM2.5) concentrations have considerably reduced since 2013. However, in some cities, the PM2.5 concentrations exceed the national ambient air quality standard of 35 μg/m3. Herein, we evaluated the historical trends of PM2.5 from 2014 to 2022 in mainland China and found continuously declining trends. However, the annual decline rates decreased despite increasing investments on pollution control, showing considerably diminishing marginal effects of these investments. Accumulative reduction in PM2.5 concentrations is linearly dependent on the log‐transformed accumulative investment in air pollution control. The standard of 35 μg/m3 can be achieved by 2035 if the current efforts continue at the same pace. However, the standard of 35 μg/m3 can weaken the momentum of future actions in cities where the standard has already been implemented. We proposed and tested two tiers with four or six levels of specific regional standards based on the regression model predictions from the historical data and demonstrated that more rigorous standards for regions where the current standard is already attained could provide more momentum for strengthening abatement efforts. The results show that both tiers are feasible if the level of abatement endeavor is maintained even with marginal effects. We also demonstrate that additional 135,000 or 384,000 deaths can be avoided by applying the regional standards. Health benefits are monetized and compared with the control costs, suggesting that compared to Tier‐2, Tier‐1 is more cost‐effective and balanced across the mainland China.

Does information disclosure mitigate air pollution? Evidence from China

AbstractFrom 2013 to 2015, China gradually established nationwide air quality monitoring stations and began to release real-time air pollution information to the public. We exploit step-by-step environmental regulations across cities to identify the effects of information disclosure on air pollution. We find that information disclosure significantly decreases the concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10. Through mechanism analysis, we find that information disclosure raises the level of government awareness, increases the amount of investments in air pollution prevention and control, stimulates green innovation, and forces heavily polluting enterprises to shut down. Additionally, we find evidence that the effectiveness of information disclosure varies across cities.

The impact of digital inputs on pollution reduction in Chinese manufacturing enterprises

Facilitating pollution reduction in manufacturing enterprises is crucial for implementing the new development concept and achieving sustainable, environmentally friendly growth. This research delves into the influence of digital inputs on pollution emission reduction in Chinese manufacturing enterprises. The study utilizes a combination of the World Input-Output Database, the Chinese Industrial Enterprises Database, and the Chinese Industrial Enterprises Pollution Emission Database covering the period from 2000 to 2012. The findings reveal that digital inputs make a significant contribution to pollution reduction in Chinese manufacturing enterprises. Specifically, digital software inputs and foreign digital factor inputs display more pronounced effects on pollution reduction. The analysis of the mechanism reveals that the pollution reduction effects of digital inputs in manufacturing enterprises can be attributed to several effective mechanisms: the enhancement of energy efficiency, technological innovation, and servitization, as well as the crowding-out effect of pollution control investment. The former mechanisms demonstrate a promoting effect, while the latter exhibits an inhibiting effect. The impact of digital inputs on pollution reduction in manufacturing enterprises displays heterogeneity, with a more significant emission reduction effect observed in industries facing higher environmental regulatory intensity, digitization-unrelated industries, non-state-owned firms, and firms with higher levels of financing constraints. These findings offer empirical evidence and serve as a policy foundation for promoting digital transformation and achieving green economic development in China.

Fiscal centralization and urban industrial pollution emissions reduction: Evidence from the vertical reform of environmental administrations in China

The relationship between fiscal regimes and urban industrial pollution emissions is unclear. This paper aims to explore the effects and mechanisms of fiscal centralization on urban industrial pollution emissions and environmental quality. Using the vertical reform of environmental administrations (VREA) in China as a quasi-natural experiment of fiscal centralization, this study applies a staggered difference-in-differences (DID) model to explore the differences in industrial pollution emissions between centralization cities and decentralization cities. The main findings are: (1) VREA significantly inhibits regional industrial pollution emissions, and the reform effect increases over time. This conclusion still holds after considering a series of robustness issues. (2) Industrial sulfur dioxide (SO2) and solid particulate emissions in the fiscal centralization cities have decreased significantly by 0.3281% and 0.2240%, respectively. However, there is no significant change in industrial wastewater discharges. (3) Environmental regulations, environmental expenditures, and pollution control investments of local governments are the main channels through which VREA reduces industrial pollution emissions. (4) The effects of VREA are more significant in central and western cities and small cities. (5) Relative to decentralization cities, centralization cities have improved air and water quality by 0.0825% and 0.1628%, respectively. These findings help to accurately assess the effects of fiscal centralization on regional environmental governance and provide a decision-making reference for further deepening environmental centralization reform in China.

Water quality improvement and existing challenges in the Pearl River Basin, China

This study highlights the effectiveness of a national water quality improvement initiative on water quality in the Pearl River Basin. The dynamic characteristics of surface water quality in the Pearl River Basin from 2006 to 2018 were analyzed, and the effects of driving factors, including economy, population, land use, water resources, forestry, industry, energy and animal husbandry on water quality were determined. There was a significant improvement in the overall water quality of the Pearl River basin (except Guangzhou) by controlling the discharge of wastewater pollutants and emphasizing environmental protection of forests and disposal of domestic waste. That is particularly evident from the exponential decrease of GDP normalized ammonium (NH4+-N) and COD concentrations. The modeling of water quality and driving factors indicates water quality in the Pearl River Basin was closely related to industrial pollution control investment, afforested area, innocuous disposal capacity of domestic garbage, vegetable sown area, use of natural gas, ecological water consumption, production of sulfuric acid and mutton yields. The improvement in water quality occurred at a time when GDP was increasing providing evidence that economic development and environmental protection can occur through appropriate environmental investment. It is worth noting that although water quality in Guangzhou has improved, nitrogen pollution resulting from domestic sewage and industrial pollutants remains a severe challenge for water quality in this region.

Assessing Water Sustainability in Northwest China: Analysis of Water Quantity, Water Quality, Socio-Economic Development and Policy Impacts

Northwest China (NWC) is one of the driest areas of the world. Over the past decades, NWC has experienced rapid socio-economic development, further stressing its freshwater quantity and quality. However, there is little knowledge on the long-term status of NWC’s water resources and the anthropogenic impacts—positive (environmental policies) or negative (uncontrolled development). We present a holistic spatiotemporal assessment of NWC’s water quantity, water scarcity, and water quality based on water use intensity (WUI), water scarcity index (WSI), and statistical analyses and tests, combining multiple datasets spanning the past two decades. Moreover, we analyze the impacts of socio-economic development on water resources and mention the relevant governmental efforts and policies to preserve NWC’s water resources. NWC’s water use was found to be unsustainable, having significantly increased by 10% over the past two decades, but without being able to adequately cover the needs of most sectors. Our results also reveal water scarcity inequalities among NWC’s provinces; perennial water scarcity exists in Xinjiang and Ningxia Provinces, and there is no water stress in Qinghai. A remarkable wastewater treatment rate (from 27.3% in 2003 to 97.1% in 2020) and river water quality improvement have been achieved under continuous efforts, huge restoration and water pollution control investments. However, water shortages are a persistent issue. Balancing the water availability and demand will be crucial to achieve a truly sustainable development.

A Study on the Impact of Reform and Opening-up on Sustainable Development: Evidence from China

This paper selected the data of 284 prefectural-level cities in China in the time range of 2011 to 2020 as the research sample, and established an index system of sustainable development consisting of 22 indicators including economic development, social progress, ecological environment and public institutions and so on, to comprehensive evaluate the sustainability of the cities. Total annual investment in pollution control is selected as the proxy variable of reform, and annual actual amount of foreign investment used is selected as the proxy variable of opening-up, to empirically explore the impact of the two on sustainable development. The results of empirical analysis show that reform and opening-up has a significant positive impact on sustainable development. After fixing time and individual effect, it is found that the effect of reform is more prominent. Regional heterogeneity analysis shows that, the impact strength of reform and opening-up in the east is larger than that in the middle and west of China. To study the spatial auto-correlation and spillover effect, Moran’s I was calculated and spatial Durbin model was constructed based on the weight matrix of geographical distance, which produced the results that spatial agglomeration is evident for sustainability, and that reform has a significant positive spillover effect. Further, considering the time auto-correlation of sustainability, a dynamic panel model is established, and dynamic threshold regression is carried out. Results show that lag effect of sustainability is significant, and a certain threshold must reform reach can sustainable development be promoted. This paper puts forward several policy suggestions in terms of formulating effective sustainable development strategy, to provide insights for new-pattern urbanization in the future.

Spatiotemporal evolution of ecological entropy in an ecologically vulnerable area

Abstract The spatiotemporal evolution of ecological entropy (EE) reflects the differences and correlations among the different elements (roads, rivers, land, etc.) and regions in an ecosystem. In this study, an index system for evaluating the EE in an ecologically vulnerable area in China from 2005 to 2020 is constructed according to the pressure–state–response model. Models of the EE and its gradient are constructed, and they are evaluated using GIS and remote sensing. The results show that except for the utilization rate of solid waste, the index values of EE have increased dramatically in the past 16 years. Investment in waste pollution control, GDP per capita, vegetation index in July, and utilization rate of solid waste make large contributions to the EE. The EEs on the edge of the ecologically vulnerable area increased from 2005 to 2020, indicating that the ecological environment in these areas has deteriorated year by year. The regions with the largest outflow of EE indicate that the EEs of these regions had a large impact on those of their surrounding regions. The regions with the largest inflow of EE indicate that the ecological security of these regions is relatively stable to the surrounding regions. Large EE gradients existed between adjacent regions show large rate of change and inflow and outflow of EE. The results contribute to alleviating the high entropy, reversing the ecological imbalance, enhancing the ecological benefits, and improving the environmental quality in an ecological entropy system. The present results offer decision support for ecological evaluation, protection, restoration, compensation, and security.

One Belt and One Road Impact on Environment, Economy & Health in Western China Through Industry Transfer

Abstract Based on fully absorbing and learning from the relevant research results at home and abroad, this paper focuses on four aspects: the transfer of polluting industries in the central and western regions and residents’ health problems. Firstly, the current pattern and development trend of regional pollution transfer in China; secondly, the economic effect of the transfer of polluting industries on the western undertaking areas; finally, from the micro and macro perspectives, the paper investigates the impact of the transfer of polluting industries on the individual health and health expenditure of residents in western China. The results show that the gap between industrial environmental and economic efficiency in the western region narrowed and gradually stabilised from 2008 to 2017. However, the gap between industrial environmental efficiency and economic efficiency in the western region widened from 2017 to 2020. The impact of environmental pollution on industrial environmental efficiency in the western provinces and regions has regional differences. Secondly, the present situation and trend of pollution control in western China are macroscopically investigated by comparing the output of general industrial solid waste and the investment in pollution control in different regions. Finally, this paper reveals the impact of the transfer of polluting industries on the health of residents in western China. Based on the characteristics of household category, age, and income of interviewees, the income growth effect of the transfer of polluting industries is less than the health loss caused by the transfer of pollution. It can be found that the transfer of polluting industries has a significant impact on the environment, economy, and the health of residents in western China.

Research on the comprehensive Efficiency Evaluation and Spatial Effect of New Green Dynamic Energy in China

Due to regional differences, different parts of the country attach different importance to green development, resulting in different measures and effects. In order to comprehensively and directly evaluate the benefits of new green kinetic energy and compare and analyze between different regions, this paper studies the measurement and influencing factors of new green kinetic energy. Based on the panel data of 31 provinces in China from 2010 to 2019, this paper first uses the entropy weight method to measure the score of new green kinetic energy and discusses its spatio-temporal evolution; Then, the spatial econometric panel model is used to explore the influencing factors of the new kinetic energy effect of green development in China's provinces. The results show that: (1) The amount of comprehensive utilization of industrial solid waste per unit and the amount of completed investment in industrial pollution control per unit played an important role in the new momentum of development;(2) Different provinces have different grades of green scores, which leads to regional differences. Most of the lower scores are in northwest China;(3) The number of research and test developers per unit of GDP, the number of high-tech enterprises per unit of GDP, and the reduction rate of energy consumption per unit of GDP play a negative role in the development of new green kinetic energy scores, while the increase rate of the secondary industry plays a positive role. This paper measures the new green kinetic energy from the aspects of environmental protection and green production and consumption. On this basis, the spatial effect is included in the analysis framework of the influencing factors of the new green kinetic energy, and the spatial econometric model is used to explore the mechanism of the new green kinetic energy. There is some innovation in research perspectives and methods.

Analysis of Change and Driving Factors of River Environmental Quality in China from 2002 to 2020

According to the river environmental quality, pollutant emission, and investment in environmental pollution control from 2002-2020, the change law and driving factors of river environmental quality in China were evaluated using canonical correlation analysis and the Spearman correlation coefficient to analyze the influence between environmental and pollutant emission/investment in environmental pollution control. The results indicated that the river environmental quality was improved significantly based on the proportion of Class Ⅰ-Ⅲ increasing from 29.1% to 87.4% and the proportion of inferior Class Ⅴ decreasing from 40.9% to 0.2% from 2002-2020. The emission of wastewater and domestic wastewater increased from 4.395×1010 tons and 2.323×1010 tons to 8.491×1010 tons and 6.598×1010 tons, respectively. However, emissions of industrial wastewater decreased from 2.072×1010 tons to 1.680×1010 tons. Investment in environmental pollution control increased from 110.66 billion yuan to 1063.89 billion yuan. The proportion of Class Ⅰ-Ⅲ in seven major river basins, river basins in Zhejiang and Fujian, southwest river basins, and northwest river basins showed a negative correlation for industrial pollutant emissions and a positive correlation for investment in environmental pollution control. The primary measure for the seven major river basins, river basins in Zhejiang and Fujian, and northwest river basins cut down the industrial pollutant emissions, in the order of COD>NH4+-N>total wastewater. The primary measure for southwest river basins increased the investment in environmental pollution control, in the order of industrial investment in environmental pollution control>urban environmental infrastructure construction investment and environmental protection investment in construction projects. These results can provide theoretical and policy suggestions for the improvement of river environmental quality during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period.

Improving the effectiveness of watershed environmental management—dynamic coordination through government pollution control and resident participation

To improve the effectiveness of envir onmental management of watersheds and improve the environmental management mechanism of cross-administrative watersheds, we develop a neoliberal framework for action using incentives, examine the cooperative strategies of local governments in watershed treatment and people-oriented environmental protection under central government subsidies, and analyze the cost effectiveness of multiple strategies in a dynamic perspective, and we have the following important findings: (1) Compared to vertical ecological compensation, the introduction of horizontal cost-sharing contracts is more effective in enhancing inter-local cooperative environmental governance. (2) When the marginal benefit of the downstream local government is greater than half of the upstream marginal benefit, the upstream local government's pollution control investment and the effect of pollution control are improved, and the Pareto improvement of the environmental governance benefit of the watershed is realized, i.e., the cost-sharing contract driven by the downstream can achieve a win-win situation for both environmental and government governance benefits. (3) When the marginal benefit of downstream environmental advocacy is between 0.5 and 1.5 times the marginal benefit of upstream government, the cost-sharing contract is more effective in improving downstream benefits. Conversely, when the marginal benefit of downstream is greater than 1.5 times, the marginal benefit of upstream, the more effective the cost-sharing contract is in improving the marginal benefit of downstream. The results of the study provide useful insights for the government to develop reasonable pollution management cooperation mechanisms to improve environmental management performance and thus enhance the sustainable development of the watershed.

Governance matters: Urban expansion, environmental regulation, and PM2.5 pollution

Increasing PM2.5 pollution in urban expansion threatens citizens' health. Environmental regulation has proven to be an effective tool to directly combat PM2.5 pollution. However, whether it can moderate the impacts of urban expansion on PM2.5 pollution, in the context of rapid urbanization, is an interesting and unexplored topic. Therefore, this paper constructs a Drivers-Governance-Impacts framework and explores in depth the interactions among urban expansion, environmental regulation, and PM2.5 pollution. Based on 2005–2018 sample data from the Yangtze River Delta region, the estimation results of the Spatial Durbin model imply that (1) urban expansion has an inverse U-shaped association with PM2.5 pollution. The positive correlation may reverse when the ratio of urban built-up land area hits 0.21. (2) Of the three environmental regulations, investment in pollution control has little impact on PM2.5 pollution. Pollution charges and public attention exhibit a U-shaped and inverted U-shaped relationship with PM2.5 pollution, respectively. (3) In terms of moderating effects, pollution charges can exacerbate PM2.5 pollution from urban expansion, while public attention can inhibit it through its monitoring role. Therefore, we suggest that cities adopt differentiated strategies of urban expansion and environmental protection according to their urbanization levels. Meanwhile, appropriate formal regulation and strong informal regulation will help improve air quality.

Applying the framework to study climate-induced extremes on food, energy, and water systems (C-FEWS): The role of engineered and natural infrastructures, technology, and environmental management in the United States Northeast and Midwest

Change to global climate, including both its progressive character and episodic extremes, constitutes a critical societal challenge. We apply here a framework to analyze Climate-induced Extremes on the Food, Energy, Water System Nexus (C-FEWS), with particular emphasis on the roles and sensitivities of traditionally-engineered (TEI) and nature-based (NBI) infrastructures. The rationale and technical specifications for the overall C-FEWS framework, its component models and supporting datasets are detailed in an accompanying paper (Vörösmarty et al., this issue). We report here on initial results produced by applying this framework in two important macro-regions of the United States (Northeast, NE; Midwest, MW), where major decisions affecting global food production, biofuels, energy security and pollution abatement require critical scientific support. We present the essential FEWS-related hypotheses that organize our work with an overview of the methodologies and experimental designs applied. We report on initial C-FEWS framework results using five emblematic studies that highlight how various combinations of climate sensitivities, TEI-NBI deployments, technology, and environmental management have determined regional FEWS performance over a historical time period (1980–2019). Despite their relative simplicity, these initial scenario experiments yielded important insights. We found that FEWS performance was impacted by climate stress, but the sensitivity was strongly modified by technology choices applied to both ecosystems (e.g., cropland production using new cultivars) and engineered systems (e.g., thermoelectricity from different fuels and cooling types). We tabulated strong legacy effects stemming from decisions on managing NBI (e.g., multi-decade land conversions that limit long-term carbon sequestration). The framework also enabled us to reveal how broad-scale policies aimed at a particular net benefit can result in unintended and potentially negative consequences. For example, tradeoff modeling experiments identified the regional importance of TEI in the form wastewater treatment and NBIviaaquatic self-purification. This finding, in turn, could be used to guide potential investments in point and/or non-point source water pollution control. Another example used a reduced complexity model to demonstrate a FEWS tradeoff in the context of water supply, electricity production, and thermal pollution. Such results demonstrated the importance of TEI and NBI in jointly determining historical FEWS performance, their vulnerabilities, and their resilience to extreme climate events. These infrastructures, plus technology and environmental management, constitute the “policy levers” which can actively be engaged to mitigate the challenge of contemporary and future climate change.