One of the main tasks of the circular economy is the decoupling between economic growth and natural resource consumption at the input and the volume of generated waste at the output. The effectiveness of this process can be assessed by the dynamics of the eco-intensity indicators at the macro-, meso- and micro-levels. The article presents the assessment results of the decoupling and growth color of the mining sector in Russia, which show the dynamics of eco-intensity indicators and may reflect the trend towards a circular economy. For the period 2010–2021, it was revealed that negative expansion decoupling and “Black” growth have been observed in terms of generated waste and atmospheric pollution, strong decoupling and “Green” growth in terms of hydrosphere pollution, weak decoupling and “Brown” growth in terms of electricity consumption, and according to water intake from natural water bodies, expansion coupling and “Black” growth. During the study period, the gross value added (GVA) of the mining industry in Russia in comparable prices increased by 77%, while the industry’s negative impact on the atmosphere increased by 34%; the volume of production and consumption waste generation increased by 131%, and the negative impact on the hydrosphere decreased by 51%. The growth of the environmental and economic efficiency of any system can be achieved by influencing the drivers and barriers to moving towards a circular economy, so it is important to identify the most significant factors of influence for a particular industry, region or country in the current conditions. Using the ordinary least squares (OLS) method, it was revealed that factors reflecting innovative activities of the mining industry have a significant impact on reducing eco-intensity in the field of electricity consumption and water intake from natural water bodies. The significance of these factors’ influence has been confirmed not only at the macro-level, but also at the micro-level.
The article analyzes the dynamics of the economic activity level in Russian industrial regions and its impact on the main environmental elements (water, air and soil) by calculating the decoupling coefficient. In the study a hierarchical cluster analysis was carried out, resulted in the formation of seven regional clusters, five of which had a significant share of the industrial sector in the gross value-added structure. Decoupling coefficients were calculated for 64 constituent entities of the Russian Federation belonging to different types of industrial clusters. The ecological and economic balance assessment of industrial regions growth showed the decoupling effect presence for most of them. The movement towards environmentally sustainable growth is more evident in the regions of the industrially diversified cluster. The analysis of three decoupling coefficients showed that in the vast majority of industrial regions the growth rates of pollutant emissions into the atmosphere and the growth rates of polluted wastewater discharges into surface water change at a lower rate than per capita GRP, which indicates a “green trend” in the region’s economic activity. However, the decoupling coefficient, showing the dynamics ratio of production and consumption waste and GRP per capita, has negative value in 37.5% of regions. The most problematic one in terms of this indicator was the Trade and manufacturing cluster, including 21 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. According to the authors, it may be related to the trade sector of these regions.
At present, the significance of the ecological component in the socio-economic development of the regions has grown significantly. Sustainable socio-economic development of the region is possible only with the improvement of the regional ecosystem and ensuring environmental security. The article proposes a methodology for assessing regional environmental factors and their impact on the health of the inhabitants of the territory, as well as assessing the impact of public health on the quality and standard of living of the population (GRP is used as a criterion for assessing the standard of living of the population in the region, and HDI is used as a criterion assessing quality of life in the region). Approbation of the methodology was carried out on the example of seven subjects of the Russian Federation (Perm region, Nizhny Novgorod region, Sverdlovsk, Samara and Chelyabinsk regions, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan Republics). All regions demonstrate a low level of functioning of the ecological component, in addition, three regions (Perm region, the Republic of Bashkortostan and the Sverdlovsk region) show negative dynamics. The regression analysis presented in the article showed a significant influence of the ecological component on the health status of the inhabitants of all the assessed regions. The proposed methodology can be applied not only for interregional, but also for intercountry analysis of environmental conditions. The development and implementation of measures to reduce the dysfunctions of the ecological component of the regional socio-economic system will mitigate the negative impact on the regional economy, improve the quality of life of the population of the regions.
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