Assessing the Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Environmental Sustainability in China

Abstract

Environmental sustainability is crucial to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We can gain an overview of a region’s or country’s dynamics by quantifying and analyzing its patterns over time and space. It can then be used to develop more sustainable policies. This study created a database of indices covering China’s environment, economy, and resource domains. Using an improved Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) approach, we assessed sustainability and its spatiotemporal dynamics in 31 Chinese provinces between 2000 and 2017. Our findings suggest that provinces with high levels of socioeconomic development tend to have higher environmental scores, especially after experiencing severe environmental issues. Some underdeveloped provinces achieved high scores due to their relatively low environmental pressure and high resource efficiency. However, most underdeveloped provinces had high environmental pressure and low resource efficiency, leading to low environmental sustainability. We also discovered that sustainability scores improved between 2000 and 2017, mainly due to socioeconomic advancements. Yet, some environmental issues, such as air pollution, worsened during the latter part. Therefore, we confirmed an inverted U-curve relationship between environmental, resource, and socioeconomic components. Clustering analysis based on provincial economic and demographic characteristics also revealed different chronological patterns of environmental scores across the clusters. Additionally, we detected the transfer of pollution from developed to less-developed regions during the early 2000s.