Over the past decade, China has undergone rapid environmental improvement, making significant strides in sustainability across various fronts. Both central and local levels of government have implemented policies aimed at reducing pollution, mitigating carbon emissions, and restoring ecological systems. These initiatives have resulted in marked improvements in air quality in urban areas, global leadership in the adoption of green technologies, and large-scale afforestation programs to enhance ecosystems. China has also established ambitious targets, aiming to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
However, amid this dynamic progress, notable challenges have emerged, requiring additional efforts to address environmental issues comprehensively. The effectiveness of existing policies and regulations needs thorough evaluation, and new situations demand ambitious responses from both the public and private sectors. This special issue aims to explore recent approaches to sustainable development, highlighting the challenges faced in combating pollution and mitigating climate change in China.
Recently, an increasing number of economic scholars in China have become actively involved in addressing environmental issues, resulting in significant advancements in research and notable achievements. This collection comprises seven papers authored by active and exceptional young environmental economists in China, providing valuable insights into their focused research topics.
This thematic collection delves into various aspects of sustainable development in China, examining the intricate interplay between environmental monitoring and enforcement, biodiversity challenges, government social media’s role in governance, regional carbon market construction, tax enforcement, and the impact of air pollution and extreme weather events. The papers in this collection contribute to a comprehensive understanding of China’s efforts, challenges, and prospects in achieving sustainable and resilient environmental governance. Below, I briefly introduce each paper:
Paper 1 (Lyu and Yang) surveys historical milestones, current status, and evolving trends in environmental monitoring and enforcement in China, pointing to future advancements in policy and research within this domain.
Paper 2 (Liang and Zhuang) provides an overview of the key challenges China faces in biodiversity conservation and summarizes China’s efforts in preserving the ecosystem over the last three decades.
Paper 3 (Chang, Li, and Liu) investigates the role of government social media in enhancing environmental governance in China and highlights prospective research topics on the use of social media in e-government within environmental protection departments.
Paper 4 (Sun and Zuo) studies the effects of regional carbon markets on a city’s carbon emission efficiency, using the example in Fujian province, and examines the feasibility of local carbon markets in achieving sustainable development goals.
Paper 5 (Luo, Zhang, and Zhang) investigates the role of tax enforcement in air quality improvement, finding that stricter tax enforcement could curb the expansion of tax-evading firms and ensure the government’s provision of environmental public goods.
Paper 6 (Li, Ma, Xu, and Zhang) focuses on the health consequences of air pollution, studying the effects of ozone pollution on stroke hospitalization in a major Chinese city, finding that reducing ozone pollution could lead to sustainable reductions in medical spending and duration of hospital stays.
Paper 7 (Han and Zhu) focuses on the consequences of climate change, exploring the relationship between extreme temperature and online complaints to local government officials, finding that netizens are more likely to complain under hot weather about inadequate provision of public facilities to cope with extreme temperature.
I hope readers find this special issue enjoyable and gain a better understanding of sustainable development in China, along with insight into the research agenda of younger environmental economists. It is my aspiration that these studies will motivate future research and bridge the gap between academic studies and policy implementation in the realm of sustainable development.