Tightening Environmental Regulations Research Articles

Impact of tightening environmental regulations against long-chain perfluoroalkyl acids on composition of durable water repellents containing side-chain fluorinated polymers

Tightening of environmental regulations against long-chain perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) since the 2000s may have led to significant increases in the occurrence of short-chain PFAAs in the environment. Understanding the impact of the regulations on composition of durable water repellents (DWRs) is imperative to guide implementation of pragmatic actions during their use and end-of-life treatment. Substantial decreases in the frequencies of detection and concentrations of long-chain PFAAs and long-chain PFAA-precursors, and substantial increases in those of short-chain PFAAs and short-chain PFAA-precursors, have been observed in the impurities and hydrolysis products of side-chain fluorinated polymers (SCFPs). Comparison of profiles among the DWRs containing fluorinated ingredients in 2011 indicated that DWRs containing C8F17- and C10F21-SCFPs were the dominant products and accounted for 90 % of the samples, whereas DWRs containing C4F9- and C6F13-SCFPs were the dominant products and accounted for 70 % of the samples collected in 2021. Tightening of the regulations have caused decreasing applications of long-chain SCFPs and increasing use of short-chain SCFPs in DWRs containing fluorinated ingredients. The ingredients of one DWR were changed from PFAS-free alternatives to short-chain SCFPs, whereas those of another DWR were changed from short-chain SCFPs to PFAS-free alternatives. The presence of unexplained extractable organic fluorine has been observed in DWRs containing fluorinated ingredients, which may be difficult to be hydrolyzed and form known compounds. A historical series of DWRs available from before and after the tightening of regulations and a multifaceted analytical technique consisting of combustion ion chromatographic and mass spectrometric approaches combined with two extraction techniques involving ultrasonic treatment and alkaline hydrolysis revealed the impact of tightening regulations on composition of DWRs.

Reflections on the Construction of Strategic Performance Management System in Chinese Manufacturing Enterprises

In the surge of global economic integration, China's manufacturing industry is poised at the forefront of a transformational upgrade. Beyond the hum of production lines, the vital pulse lies within the robust rhythm of Strategic Performance Management Systems (SPMS). Yet, studies indicate that despite China's manufacturing sector advancing towards "intelligent manufacturing" and innovation, there are numerous areas within strategic performance management systems that urgently demand enhancement. In the coming years, for China's manufacturing industry to secure higher value positioning within the global supply chain and assert dominance in niche markets, it must seize the nerve center of strategic performance management. Confronted with a series of challenges including slowing growth, rising costs, and tightening environmental regulations, manufacturing enterprises urgently need to construct an efficient and precise performance management system. However, in reality, many enterprises still exhibit a weak strategic execution, lacking a systematic performance orientation and employee incentive mechanisms, often resulting in a disconnect between strategic objectives and performance management. The factors affecting the effective implementation of strategic performance management within enterprises are intricate. Internal factors primarily encompass the rigidity of corporate culture, bottlenecks in leadership style and employee engagement, as well as hindrances in information sharing and communication mechanisms. External factors involve the volatility of market environments, unclear policy directions, and intensifying international competition. The formulation of a comprehensive performance management system undoubtedly holds profound significance for optimizing resource allocation, reinforcing core competitiveness, and enhancing strategic responsiveness.

Does environmental regulation promote green technological innovation of companies? Evidence from green patents of Chinese listed companies

Abstract Environmental regulations stimulate Chinese listed companies to engage in green technology innovation. Moreover, the internal attributes of listed companies such as ownership form, the nature of the industry and locations affect the role of environmental regulations on green technology innovation. This paper selects data on Chinese-listed A-share enterprises from 2010-2019 and constructs a S-GMM model to analyze the impact of environmental regulations on green technology innovation through internal attributes of firms. The empirical results show that, first of all, in the sample period, tight environmental regulations hinder green technology innovation carried out by listed enterprises in state-owned heavy polluting industries in eastern China, and there is no innovation compensation effect. Secondly, green technology innovation in the previous period does not significantly promote green technology innovation in the current period. Finally, overvaluation of listed companies by investors encourage Chinese listed enterprises to engage in green technology innovation, especially among non-state-owned listed companies in non-heavy polluting industries. The findings of this paper provide empirical support for environmental regulation policy recommendations, that foster economic growth and promote green and low-carbon industrial transformation in the direction of high-quality development of the economy.

A longitudinal study of seaport selection: the perspective of container shipping companies

PurposeCompetition among seaports is rapidly increasing due to various factors such as the global recession, resurgence of COVID-19, tight environmental regulations of IMO, sharp rise in ocean freight charges, increasing global uncertainties and growth in ship sizes. It is essential to have precise knowledge of shipping companies' port selection factors to secure the competitive advantage of seaports. This study aims to empirically analyze recent changes in the importance of port selection factors.Design/methodology/approachBy employing a longitudinal study, this study conducted the t-test analysis. The first survey was conducted from January 2005 to April 2005. Then, the second survey was conducted in May 2021.FindingsFirst, the importance of port facilities (berth length and the number of berths, shed and terminal areas, possession of adequate equipment and maximum berth size) increased significantly. Second, while ship and cargo safety were the critical port service factors in previous studies, speed, flexibility and reliability for handling cargo and berthing schedule were found to be crucial in this study. Third, the importance of ship arrival/departure frequency, route diversity and ship arrival/departure information systems increased when shipping companies selected the port.Originality/valueThis study has academic significance in that it reveals the changing importance of port selection factors in the 2020s and has taken the form of a longitudinal study on the importance of port selection factors from 2005 to 2021, moving beyond the cross-sectional approach. This study can provide valuable insights into and implications for port policymakers and managers when developing and formulating port policies and strategies.

Do tight environmental regulations cause economic contraction? Panel evidence from the European countries

AbstractDeveloped countries have long tried to increase their environmental standards to mitigate the negative effects of economic activities. For this purpose, they impose environmental taxes, energy taxes, and emission limits. In the last decade, a new measurement technique for environmental policy was introduced: the Environmental Policy Stringency Index (EPS index). This index takes values from 0.00 to 6.00, and higher values refer to more stringent environmental policies, whereas lower values suggest lax policies. This study aims to explore the impact of the EPS index on economic activities at the aggregate and sectoral levels for 20 European countries covering the period 1995–2020. For this purpose, this study utilizes the dynamic panel data approach, the two‐step system generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation method. The empirical findings show that an increase in the EPS index causes a decline in economic growth at the aggregate level. At the sectoral level, it was found that the industry sector is negatively affected by increases in environmental standards. In addition to the system GMM results, this study employs the Dumitrescu–Hurlin panel non‐causality test to detect causal linkages between variables. The empirical findings show that the EPS index Granger causes economic activity in almost all sectors. The empirical results indicate that environmental regulations should be carefully designed to prevent economic contraction. Policymakers need to develop policies to decrease dependency on fossil fuels in industrial production. Thus, they can subsidize firms to invest in productive and innovative areas.

The effect of innovation pilot on carbon total factor productivity: Quasi-experimental evidence from China

Since the policy design for carbon emission reduction must consider both the efficiency and the cost of emission reduction, improvement in carbon total factor productivity (CTFP) is widely regarded as an important economic path in reducing carbon emissions. With prefecture-level data in China from 2003 to 2016, this paper explores the role of innovation pilot on the CTFP using China's Innovative City Pilot (ICP) policy as a quasi-experiment. First, we construct a novel CTFP framework, that combines the non-parametric Luenberger productivity indicator with the biennial non-radial directional distance function, to take the slack issues and infeasibility problem into consideration. Next, with the staggered difference-in-differences model, we examine whether innovation can stimulate CTFP improvement. The results show that the ICP policy exerts a significant positive effect on CTFP, increasing cities' CTFP by 0.015 on average. Moreover, we identify five potential channels from both economic analysis and comprehensive factor decomposition: technological and low-carbon innovation, industrial upgrading, energy efficiency, carbon emission intensity, and efficiency change. These positive impacts are heterogeneous across different kinds of cities. Specifically, the effects of innovation are stronger in the eastern and central cities, large cities, and cities with tighter environmental regulations. Meanwhile, the political incentives analysis shows that in cities with higher political incentives, officials perform better in energy intensity reduction and CTFP improvement. This paper explores direct evidence for the innovation's effect on carbon productivity, which provides a novel perspective for improving carbon productivity and the future direction of innovation in China.

Linking tourist's footprint and environmental tragedy through transportation, globalization and energy choice in BIMSTEC region: Directions for a sustainable solution using novel GMM-PVAR approach

The rising temperature in the world's atmosphere is an outcome strongly linked to man-made manufactured interventions. Recreational activities in the form of tourism are such interventions that can unleash multidimensional negative externalities if not regulated properly. The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) region has become one of the major hubs for recreational activities in the last few decades. However, the region's tourism-led environmental degradation has received scant attention in the literature. As such, this paper unveils how tourist footprint affects the region's environmental sustainability and explores potential solutions to encourage the tourism industry to be more pro-environmental. We have used the novel GMM-PVAR technique to assess how globalization, transportation, green energy, and economic growth have affected the tourism industry and carbon footprint in the BIMSTEC region from 1990 to 2019. We lean on the empirical outcomes to propose regional sustainable tourism development policies. The GMM-PVAR model indicates that renewable energy, economic growth, and the transportation sector's development positively affect the tourism industry's growth in the region. However, globalization and environmental degradation negatively influence tourists' arrival. Contrarily, transportation services, economic growth, and tourism boost the carbon footprint in the region. Although globalization and clean energy reduce carbon footprint, these indicators are insignificant, indicating that this region is still lagging in renewable energy generation and failed to reap the positive spillovers of globalization. Based on these outcomes, we propose that the region redesign its tourism industry to encourage eco-friendly tourism by leaning more on pro-environmental strategies (i.e., powering the tourism industry through the penetration of renewable energies) and tightening environmental regulations.

Renewable Energy Sources in Decarbonization: The Case of Foreign and Russian Oil and Gas Companies

The necessity of implementing the Sustainable Development Goals and solve the problem of climate change, technological progress and the conscious climate policy of many countries has led to the transformation of the world economy and power industry towards low-carbon development, which should be based on renewable energy sources. Oil and gas companies are actively criticized by the international community for contributing significantly to total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, with emissions from hydrocarbon fuel combustion being the largest. In order to meet the tightening environmental requirements and regulations, oil and gas companies implement various initiatives for decarbonization and reducing the carbon footprint, including operating with renewables, whose scale, essence and variety depend on the decarbonization model. This paper attempts to identify, first, how renewable sources of energy have been integrated into the oil and gas companies; second, what decarbonization models are possible; and third, what the major determining factors in the formation of their decarbonization model and the scale of renewable usage are. Based on an extensive literature review, survey, websites and corporate sustainability reports of Russian and foreign oil and gas companies, models of decarbonization and the role of renewables in decarbonization are defined and the classification and interpretation of determining factors are offered, justifying their impact on the decarbonization model and the scale of renewable usage. The authors present an assessment of factors and prove the correlation between the factors under consideration and the scale and diversity of renewable usage by oil and gas companies, confirming the adequacy of the offered approaches.

Computer‐Aided Molecular and Process Design

Increasing energy prices, tighter environmental regulation, and global competition urge the industry to optimize its processes for converting chemicals and energy. This optimization is far from trivial. Often, the key to major breakthrough relies not only on optimal process conditions but also on selecting suitable molecules as solvents, catalysts, or heat transfer fluids. This selection is highly coupled with the process itself: Choosing the right molecule is a crucial lever for process performance. However, the molecular search space is vast: more than 200 000 000 molecules have already been reported in the CAS registry. The search for the best molecule is thus the search for the needle in the haystack. The ultimate success of a process is only ensured if a molecule is selected based on its optimal process performance. Traditionally, however, the selection of a molecule and the design of the process have been approached sequentially and independently. Computer-aided molecular and process design (CAMPD) methods have been developed to tackle this challenge and systematically tailor molecules for a given application. Thereby, CAMPD can contribute to the transition towards a more sustainable energy and chemical industry, for example, by identifying energy-efficient carbon capture materials, sustainable working fluids for heat pumps, or green solvents for production processes. What is required for a successful application of CAMPD? The basis of a CAMPD problem is a computer-aided molecular design (CAMD) formulation that allows treating the molecular structure as a degree of freedom in an optimization problem. The CAMD formulation is linked with a property model that enables predicting all molecule properties required to evaluate the constraints and objective functions. To reflect the process performance, classical CAMD methods used simplified property-based indicators as the objective function. Recent CAMPD methods integrate detailed process models to assess process performance directly. The recent development of CAMPD/CAMD includes using advanced physically-based and data-driven property models. Moreover, the scope of predicted properties moves beyond the thermodynamic properties to environmental properties such as global warming potential. After decades of CAMPD/CAMD development, these tools have become available for industrial use by implementing CAMPD in flowsheet simulators. Thereby, the effort and required expert knowledge are greatly reduced to set up and solve a CAMPD problem. However, including such new tools in the daily workflow usually takes time. The urge to develop new sustainable processes hopefully will enhance the application of these CAMPD tools. In this special issue of Chemie Ingenieur Technik, authors from industry and academia present their latest developments and applications of CAMPD in energy and chemical engineering. The special issue cannot provide a comprehensive picture of this rapidly developing field. Thus, we aim to provide the reader with an impression of the current status and possible future directions of CAMPD. We hope readers will find inspiration in this special issue and thank all authors for their highly appreciated contributions! Norbert Asprion André Bardow Jonas Mairhofer Johannes Schilling

Hydrogen-based steel production and global climate protection: An empirical analysis of the potential role of a European cross border adjustment mechanism

The European Union's aim to become climate neutral by 2050 necessitates ambitious efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Large reductions can be attained particularly in energy intensive sectors like iron and steel. In order to prevent the relocation of such industries outside the EU in the course of tightening environmental regulations, the establishment of a climate club jointly with other large emitters and alternatively the unilateral implementation of an international cross-border carbon tax mechanism are proposed. This article focuses on the latter option choosing the steel sector as an example. In particular, we investigate the financial conditions under which a European cross border mechanism is capable to protect hydrogen-based steel production routes employed in Europe against more polluting competition from abroad. By using a floor price model, we assess the competitiveness of different steel production routes in selected countries. We evaluate the climate friendliness of steel production on the basis of specific GHG emissions. In addition, we utilize an input-output price model. It enables us to assess impacts of rising cost of steel production on commodities using steel as intermediates. Our results raise concerns that a cross-border tax mechanism will not suffice to bring about competitiveness of hydrogen-based steel production in Europe because the cost tends to remain higher than the cost of steel production in e.g. China. Steel is a classic example for a good used mainly as intermediate for other products. Therefore, a cross-border tax mechanism for steel will increase the price of products produced in the EU that require steel as an input. This can in turn adversely affect competitiveness of these sectors. Hence, the effects of higher steel costs on European exports should be borne in mind and could require the cross-border adjustment mechanism to also subsidize exports.

Power system transient stability improvement with FACTS controllers using SSSC-based controller

Early power systems were rudimentary and local in nature. Power consumption has risen quickly in recent years, resulting in more complicated systems. However, expansion of transmission and generating is limited due to limited resource availability and tight environmental regulations. As a result, today's power systems are increasingly loaded and running under stress, putting them close to their transient stability limits. The study discussed in this paper focuses on employing contemporary PSS to improve power system reliability. The work presented in this thesis mainly focuses on power system stability improvement using modern PSS. In modern power systems trend of using wide area damping controllers and wide area signals are increasing. Also Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS) based controllers are most suitable for stability enhancement and power control. This method proposed tie line power as a broad area control signal for the Static Synchronous Series Compensator (SSSC) based controller based on the geometric measure of joint index value. Kundur's two-area, four-machine system is controlled by this controller. For this system, the effectiveness of the selected signal is applied to an SSSC-based controller. The results reveal that the picked signal performs better than the non-selected signal (rotor speed deviation).

Preliminary Design and Blade Optimization of a Two-Stage Radial Outflow Turbine for a CO2 Power Cycle

Recently, the CO2 power cycle has attracted attention because of tightening environmental regulations. The turbine is a factor that greatly affects the efficiency of the cycle. The radial outflow turbine is a turbomachine with the various advantages of an axial flow turbine and a radial inflow turbine, but the design theory for the turbine is uncertain. In this study, a preliminary design algorithm for a radial outflow turbine with a multi-stage configuration is presented. To verify the preliminary design algorithm, a preliminary design for a two-stage radial outflow turbine for a CO2 power cycle was carried out, and a computational fluid dynamic analysis was performed. Consequently, values close to the target performance were obtained, but blade optimization was performed to obtain more satisfactory results. The final geometry of the radial outflow turbine was obtained through optimization considering the blade exit angle related to the deviation angle, blade maximum thickness-true chord ratio, and incidence angle. In the final geometry, the error rates of power (W˙), efficiency (ηts), and pressure ratio (PRts) between target performance and computational fluid dynamic results were improved to 5.0%, 4.8%, and 1.8%, respectively. The performance and flow characteristics of the initial and final geometries were analyzed.

Environmental Regulation and Corporate Innovation Behavior Based on the “Double Carbon” Strategy – Empirical Analysis Based on A-Share Listed Companies of Heavy Pollution Industries on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges

Environmental regulations have been intensified across the country under the pressure of the national “double carbon” strategy, the constraints of energy-saving and emission-reduction targets by enterprises, and public opinion. The tightening of environmental regulations is bound to impact the innovation behavior of heavily polluting enterprises; however, it remains uncertain whether the impact is positive or negative. Using a differences-in-differences approach of data from listed companies in China’s heavily-polluting industries between 2010 and 2016, this paper examines the changes in their innovation behavior under the tightening environmental regulations after the “smog explosion” event as a “quasi-natural experiment” at the end of 2011. The study found that the “smog event” had a significant net negative effect on the innovation behavior of heavily polluting firms, with a significant decrease in their innovation inputs. The quantile regression results show that the R&D intensity of enterprises is related to the haze treatment effect in a U-shaped curve. Further research found that the decline in innovation investment was more significant for state-owned heavily-polluting firms compared to private heavy polluting firms. Robustness tests indicate that the empirical results of this paper are somewhat robust. This paper aims to identify the contradictory roots of the “Porter hypothesis” debate by analyzing the differences in innovation behavior of enterprises with different R&D intensity and different property rights.

A study of micro hardness in the machining of Inconel 625 using TiAlSiN coated tools under dry cutting conditions

ABSTRACT Inconel 625, a nickel-based super alloy, has a high tendency to form a work-hardening layer during the milling operation, resulting in further difficulty to process it. However, Inconel 625 is extensively used in the manufacturing of aero-engine exhaust and in many other industries due to its admirable mechanical properties. Further, tighter environmental regulations and higher coolant and disposal costs associated with the nickel-based super alloys are forcing researchers to think about dry machining. PVD TiAlSiN coating is the most suitable in dry machining of difficult-to-cut materials. In this context, this study analysed the micro-hardness of machined surface and sub-surfaces up to 200 µm during the dry milling with coated tool. It was observed from the in-depth analysis of process parameters as well as their interaction effect with TiAlSiN-coated tool in dry conditions that it has a low influence on the micro-hardness gradient in the top layer of machined surface. A blend of the lowest level of cutting speed with the central level of feed per tooth, radial rake angle and depth of cut resulted in minimum micro-hardness due to the balancing of the effects of mechanical and thermal deformation.

Firms’ production and green technology strategies: The role of emission asymmetry and carbon taxes

Firms in major polluting industries have different carbon intensities. The degree of emission asymmetry varies in different industries. In some industries, the carbon intensity of some firms may be several times higher than that of others. Yet surprisingly, emission asymmetry has been largely ignored in the literature. In this paper, we adopt a game-theoretical framework that incorporates emission asymmetry with a carbon tax and imperfect competition. We show that emission asymmetry plays a key role in shaping firms’ production and investment decisions toward green technologies. Due to emission asymmetry, among other factors, a carbon tax does not necessarily induce the adoption of green technology. Nevertheless, upon the introduction of a carbon tax, the carbon-inefficient firm is more likely to benefit from the green technology than the carbon-efficient firm because the green technology can mitigate or even eliminate the initial emission asymmetry. This might be an important driver for firms to further invest in new technology to have an edge over their rivals. One particularly compelling insight is that besides social welfare, industry profit may also improve upon the introduction of a carbon tax if it is properly enacted. Our findings therefore provide renewed support for alleviation of the economic concerns of governments as well as businesses and the general public about the impact of tightening environmental regulations. Policymakers may also foster green technology through well-designed carbon regulations.

Recovery of ro-pax ferry traffic from covid-19 under tightening environmental regulations: case Helsinki-Tallinn

In 2020, the number of passengers on international ro-pax ferries collapsed due to the pandemic caused by the Covid-19 virus and subsequent travel restrictions. At the same time, both the International Maritime Organisation and the European Union are setting stringent regulations on carbon dioxide emissions from ships. In this research, we look at what options companies offering ro-pax services have to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic under-tightening environmental regulations and the future options for the industry. The case under study is ro-pax ferry traffic between Helsinki and Tallinn. It is one of the busiest international passenger ferry connections in the world. The economics of transport are based on large high-speed vessels, the combination of passengers and cargo, and sales onboard. We created four scenarios for the traffic: to continue the same high-speed ro-pax system as in 2019, to reduce the number of vessels, to switch to new types of ships, to slow down the speed of the vessels or to divide traffic into faster and slower ships. The research contributes to discussion of competitive strengths of ro-pax transport.

Clearing the air through pipes? An evaluation of the air pollution reduction effect of China's natural gas pipeline projects

Natural gas is one of the most important clean energy and has played crucial roles in curbing air pollution in developed world. To facilitate the use of natural gas and reduce air pollution by reaching a similar energy consumption structure to the developed world, Chinese government has vigorously constructed natural gas pipeline projects (NGPPs) during the past decades. This paper evaluates the impact of China's NGPPs on air pollution reduction, by using national data of pollutant emissions of over 800,000 firm-level observations from 1998 to 2010. The difference-in-differences approach shows that the introduction of pipeline natural gas reduces sulfur dioxide (SO2) discharge intensity in connected cities by about 22.8%. The magnitude of the reduced SO2 emissions is estimated to be at least 17.41 million metric tons, a size of 7.33% of the total industrial SO2 discharge from 1998 to 2010. We also find that a substitution effect channel that NGPPs facilitate firms to replace fuel coal with natural gas under tightening environmental regulations.

Structural analysis and optimization of an automotive propeller shaft

It is a trend to implement weight reduction in parts in recent years when developing a new car. This trend is because weight reduction is essential to respond to tightening environmental regulations. In other words, parts manufacturers of body, chassis, and power train systems have made considerable efforts to reduce weight from the proto design stage. This study performed structural analysis and optimization for weight reduction of a propeller shaft for a passenger car. The natural frequency and the durability of the developing propeller shaft were examined through finite element analyses and tests. Then, optimization was accomplished by focusing on the weight reduction of the tubes made of given steel material. In this process, the metamodel-based optimization technique, kriging interpolation, was applied, and the weight was reduced by 5.3% based on the propeller shaft and 14.1% based on the tube. ANSYS Workbench was used for structural analysis, an in-house program was used to build the kriging model, and MATLAB was used for optimization.

New Trends in Sustainable Environmental Governance in Mainland China. The Zhejiang Case.

The trade-off between environmental sustainability and economic growth has been the focus of an extensive debate in the developing world and in this debate China is no exception, as it moves away from a single-minded growth-only policy toward a more sustainable economic model. The reason for this new policy trend has to be found in civil society’s rising environmental awareness and the growing accountability by local governments and multinational companies. Interviews with civil society and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) mainly based in Zhejiang province, together with secondhand data from national online database show that a political feedback mechanism is possible also in a non-democratic country like China, and despite the Chinese political framework lacking an accountability mechanism, the civil society growing environmental concerns and multinational companies’ reputation abroad have indirectly forced policymakers to act toward tighter environmental regulation. In conclusion, this study shows that the Chinese middle class is not fully passive in its relationship with the local government, but it activates when its key interest is threatened, and as the Chinese middle class grows rich and educated and the economic growth slows down, a similar accountability mechanism could be replicated concerning issues where political legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is not questioned like economic or social issues.

The Impact of China’s Tightening Environmental Regulations on International Waste Trade and Logistics

In recent years, China’s influence as the dominant importer of waste products has reshaped global waste trade through restrictive programs such as Operation Green Fence in 2013 and National Sword in 2017. These restrictions have greatly affected not only China’s import of waste products but also the international trade and global logistics of these products. China’s import restrictions in 2017 decreased the country’s import of waste plastic by 92% and used paper by 56%. It also increased the unit value of these two categories of waste by 27% and 13%, respectively, showing an improvement in the quality of imported waste. Most of these impacts originate from intensive margins. The restrictions diverted the flow of waste mostly to the low- and middle-income countries of the East Asian and Pacific regions along with Europe and Central Asia, as their imports increased by 161% and 266% for waste plastic and 101% and 77% for used paper, respectively. Compared with Operation Green Fence, the impact of the 2017 National Sword has been much higher, with shipping companies faced with a lack of products on backhaul routes and forced to change their longstanding practices.