Characterizing the Influences of Economic Development, Energy Consumption, Urbanization, Industrialization, and Vehicles Amount on PM2.5 Concentrations of China

Abstract

The speeding-up of economic development and industrialization processes in China have brought about serious atmospheric pollution issues, especially in terms of particulate matter harmful to health. However, impact mechanisms of socio-economic forces on PM2.5 (the particle matter with diameter less than 2.5 μm) have rarely been further investigated. This paper selected GDP (gross domestic product) per capita, energy consumption, urbanization process, industrialization structure, and the amount of possession of civil vehicles as the significant factors, and researched the relationship between these factors and PM2.5 concentrations from 1998 to 2016, employing auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL) methodology and environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) theory. Empirical results illustrated that a long-term equilibrium nexus exists among these variables. Granger causality results indicate that bi-directional causality exist between PM2.5 concentrations and GDP per capita, the squared component of GDP per capita, energy consumption and urbanization process. An inverse U-shape nexus exists between PM2.5 concentrations and GDP per capita. When the real GDP per capita reaches 5942.44 dollars, PM2.5 concentrations achieve the peak. Results indicate that Chinese governments should explore a novel pathway to resolve the close relationship between socio-economic factors and PM2.5, such as accelerating the adjustment of economic development mode, converting the critical industrial development driving forces, and adjusting the economic structure.

PM2.5 Pollution and Inhibitory Effects on Industry Development: A Bidirectional Correlation Effect Mechanism

“…The impulse response function indicated that economic growth of the primary and secondary industries can raise PM 2.5 emissions, whilst the tertiary industry had an inhibitory effect. This result is consistent with the findings of Cao [67] and Zhao [68]. Therefore, it can be found that industry improvement (defined as economic growth) is an important factor affecting the intensity and direction of PM 2.5 emissions.…”

Trans-Provincial Convergence of per Capita Energy Consumption in Urban China, 1990–2015

“…It suggests that the demand for energy consumption in China is still huge. To effectively control the rapid growth of energy consumption, the current economic development pattern and urbanization mode that rely heavily on natural resources and ecological environment [49][50][51][52] should be adjusted. For instance, China should promote the development of a low-carbon economy by accelerating the development of tertiary industry and industries with new technology and high added-values.…”

The Direct and Spillover Effect of Multi-Dimensional Urbanization on PM2.5 Concentrations: A Case Study from the Chengdu-Chongqing Urban Agglomeration in China

“…Some studies have briefly discussed the impact of different types of urbanization (e.g., population, economic and land urbanization) on air quality and the atmospheric environment [14,15]. With reforms in the household registration system and the rise of small cities, China's population urbanization (PU) level has rapidly increased, resulting in the widespread use of kitchen fumes and cars and generating large amounts of PM 2.5 pollutants in daily life [16,17].…”