Evaluation of the Effects of the Ecological Environmental Damage Compensation System on Air Quality

Abstract

This study constructs comprehensive panel data based on the China City Statistical Yearbook and environmental indicators disclosed by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment from 2013 to 2017, using a difference-in-difference (DID) model to empirically validate the effects of the ecological environmental damage compensation system on urban air quality, followed by a further analysis of the system’s effect mechanism, namely, how the system has generated effects on reducing environmental pollution. This study finds that: (1) the ecological environmental damage compensation system can significantly improve urban air quality, and small cities are more sensitive to the pilot policy; and (2) the main impact is that the pilot policy mechanism improved the urban pollutant treatment capacity and reduced the proportion of the secondary industry. After multiple robustness tests, this conclusion still holds. This study provides empirical evidence for fully implementing an ecological environmental damage compensation system.

The impact of basin horizontal ecological compensation policies on carbon emissions: A case study of the Yangtze river economic Belt

“…The relatively vulnerable ecological environment and lower level of economic development in the middle and upper reaches have resulted in a comparatively inadequate allocation of ecological compensation funds, leading to less pronounced policy outcomes in these regions compared to the lower reaches and, consequently, weaker pollution control effects. Conversely, Xia et al and Wu et al [ 25 , 26 ] contend that in regions characterized by lower per capita GDP, more conspicuous environmental pollution, and a higher proportion of secondary industry, the basin horizontal ecological compensation policy yields a more pronounced impact in enhancing pollution control measures.…”

Spatiotemporal Patterns and Driving Factors of the Ecological Environmental Quality along the Jakarta–Bandung High-Speed Railway in Indonesia

“…Globally, climate change, dramatic increases in human activities and irrational natural resource use patterns have led to a rapid decline in the self-adjustment capacities of ecosystems and a proliferation of ecological and environmental problems [1][2][3][4]. For example, water resources have become polluted [5,6], extreme incidents occur frequently [7,8], vegetation destruction has led to species extinction [9] and air quality has degraded [10]. Ecological and environmental research has become a key concern in the fields of global environmental change and sustainable development.…”