Environmental Impact Assessment Review最新文献

The transportation sector significantly contributes to carbon emissions, prompting a surge in research on emission reduction. Carbon estimation methods include bottom-up, top-down, and life cycle assessment (LCA). Unlike the first two, LCA offers a holistic view of emissions throughout the entire transportation system, facilitating precise reduction strategies. This study examines LCA research on transport carbon emissions, revealing scope, impact factors, and policy assessments in 243 selected articles. The primary focus is on road transport and vehicles, with fuel well-to-wheel and vehicle LCAs comprising 32.9% of analyses. While emerging technologies like electric vehicles show direct emission advantages, a life cycle perspective is crucial for accurate assessment. Policy evaluations centers on banning fossil fuel vehicle and promoting zero-emission vehicles. Coordinated policies are essential, as isolated ones may not achieve emission reduction goals, and comprehensive policies must balance stakeholder interests. Future carbon reduction LCA should considering technological innovations, mode optimization, and regional disparities.

Comprehensive resilience management schemes are vital to urban risk governance and sustainable development. In this study, we decompose the urban physical system into the built environment subsystem (BES), information subsystem (IS), and metabolic flow subsystem (MFS), then construct a microscopic mechanism model of the urban system to quantify urban resilience, characterize the dynamics of urban resilience, and analyze the effect of network topology on urban resilience with the complex network method. The results provide several points: (1) There is a tipping point of the system, which crashes at 104.74% times the observed shock intensity in the case of Typhoon Morakot, taking the model parameters unchanged; (2) The topology of resource allocation network has a significant effect on urban resilience; (3) The externality of subsystem varies with the losses caused by negative shocks; and (4) The effects of network topology are contingent on the levels of urban resilience; therefore, for emergency management, city managers need to select resource allocation strategies based on urban resilience, by balancing the functional levels of operational and defensive parts. This study proposes a set of integrated management solutions based on resource deployment relationships among subsystems that can help urban systems better cope with shocks and increase resilience.

The rural human settlement environment, closely related to the fundamental well-being of most farmers, is a crucial determinant of farmers' quality of life and is essential to the strategy for rural revitalization of China. This study first constructs an evaluation index system to assess the human settlement quality of 31 provinces and cities in China from 2018 to 2021 and to analyze the internal logical relationship of its dimensions based on the causal DPSIR (Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response) theoretical framework and PLS-SEM (Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Model). Secondly, using the evaluation results as a basis, this study examines the evolution characteristics in the spatial and temporal distribution pattern of rural human settlements in China. Finally, the study identifies the constraints by analyzing the variances among the five subsystems of the rural human settlements. It was found that: (1) The ecological “pressure” and environmental “impact” caused by socio-economic “driver” in the countryside, and “response” measures, have combined to result in a change in the “state” of rural human settlements. (2) Temporally, China's human settlements have improved markedly in all 31 provinces (cities). Spatially, the extent of rural human settlements is characterized by “strong in the east and weak in the west”, with obvious spatial heterogeneity. (3) The distribution of rural human settlement quality in China's 31 provinces (cities) exhibits a strong positive spatial correlation, clearly exhibiting high-high (HH) type and low-low (LL) type agglomerations. (4) There are differences in the evaluation value and the magnitude of change of each subsystem, showing that the value of “pressure” dimension is the highest and the magnitude of change is the smallest. Based on the findings of this study, corresponding countermeasures are proposed to provide the current government with a foundation for making decisions to improve the rural human living environment.

Cold chain logistics are crucial for transporting fresh agricultural products from farms to consumers in China. However, geographical and resource differences significantly challenge its development across provinces. Drawing on data from 30 Chinese provinces in 2022, this research identifies and examines 12 critical factors that impede cold chain logistics' progress. We use the CRITIC method to assign weights of these factors, and employ the minimum cumulative resistance model to compute comprehensive resistance values for each province. Additionally, this study utilizes the minimum-cost path and gravity model to outline potential corridors for the sustainable development of cold chain logistics for fresh agricultural products (SD-CCLFAP) at various hierarchy levels. The results indicate that number of cold chain-related policies issued by the government, railway distance, highway distance, and annual mean temperature exert higher weights on China's provincial SD-CCLFAP. Notably, the western region of China encounters greater resistance in this respect. Primary corridors for SD-CCLFAP are more prevalent in North China and East China. In contrast, Northeast China, Northwest China and Southwest China have fewer primary corridors. This study offers valuable insights for enhancing the efficiency of cold chain logistics for agricultural products, informing sustainable logistics development and strategic planning for both governments and businesses.

This study examines the impact of skyscrapers on urban resilience in China using a panel dataset of 295 cities from 2002 to 2018. Urban resilience is evaluated across economic, social, ecological, and infrastructure dimensions, focusing on the impact of skyscrapers' quantity and height. The study finds that skyscrapers have a positive effect on urban resilience. Specifically, one standard deviation increase in the skyscraper index (1.010) corresponds to a 0.229 increase in urban resilience, approximately 23% of its own standard deviation. The qualitative result remains robust across different model specifications and instrumental variable estimation methods. Mechanism tests reveal that skyscrapers drive economic and societal shifts, such as increased urban density and diverse populations, which enhance urban resilience. Conversely, they present challenges to ecological resilience. The paper also finds that the skyscraper effect is complex, characterized by the nonlinear, heterogeneous, and persistent effects of skyscrapers. This study highlights the importance of balancing economic growth with social and ecological sustainability in urban development. The findings also suggest that future research should continue to explore the complex relationships between urban spatial patterns, economic resilience, and ecological sustainability to support the development of sustainable and resilient cities.

Many countries have implemented premium subsidies for agricultural insurance to prevent the spread of natural disaster risks. However, whether such subsidies on agricultural insurance promoted the risk protection level remains unclear. In this study, we assessed the impact of premium subsidies on the risk protection level of agricultural insurance in China by combining the input-output (IO) model with the difference-in-difference (DID) model, using provincial panel data of China from 2003 to 2016. The IO model was employed to calculate direct and indirect economic losses from natural disasters. A risk protection level index was constructed by evaluating the loss compensation ability of agricultural insurance. The time-varying DID model was applied along with robustness tests to identify the effects of subsidies on the risk protection level. Heterogeneity analysis was conducted according to different levels of natural disaster losses. The results revealed that, on average, indirect losses accounted for 38% of annual total economic losses at a national scale. With the implementation of premium subsidies, the risk protection level significantly increased. Heterogeneity analysis indicated that the positive effect of subsidies was more evident in areas with higher economic losses as well as higher incidence of disasters. By evaluating the risk protection level of agricultural insurance and the effects of subsidies, this study aims to provide insights for subsidy design to mitigate economic losses from natural disasters and promote agricultural resilience.

Enhancing urban ecological resilience can promote sustainable and eco-friendly urban development by reducing environmental risks and vulnerabilities. However, current studies rarely offered ecological resilience assessment method along with an understanding of the coevolution mechanisms. In this study, we selected Guangzhou as the study area to create a dynamics model to diagnose the coevolution mechanism, and quantify ecological resilience according to the depiction of the basin of attribution. The results showed that 1) there were 535 ecological patches covering an area of 121,628 ha and featuring 1229 edges and 11 ecological groups. 2)The northern and eastern regions showed relatively high closeness and betweenness centralities, however, straightness centrality was lower in these areas; the ecological edges were presented lower connectivity in the northern and southern regions. 3) By using nonlinear dynamic equation, the origin state of each group increased toward the equilibrium point E3 suggested a declining trend in ecological sustainability under current conditions. The ecological resilience was decreased from Group 8 to Group 5. This research will help to understand the coevolution mechanism of the urban system for giving practical suggestions.

The real estate industry, an end user and pivotal economic driver worldwide, significantly affects material and energy consumption, and indirectly determines air pollutant emissions. Assessing these variables from the angle of end users is essential to provide a national evaluation strategy for energy consumption and air pollutant emissions, particularly for future policies. As the first step, this study aims to develop a framework to estimate the consumption of building materials and energy, and the resultant embodied pollutant emissions from real estate development in China between 2000 and 2020. Data derived from the framework indicate a rise in building material consumption from 111.8 Mt. in 2000 to 325.1 Mt. in 2020, despite a post-2014 decline due to reduced construction activities. The real estate sector is integral to the demand for key materials, such as steel, cement, and glass, although their relative consumption has decreased within the sector. In detail, energy use in real estate development increased from 57.1 Mtce in 2000 to 134.7 Mtce by 2020, representing 3–5% of China's total energy consumption. A substantial decrease in major pollutant emissions from the real estate occurred from 2010 to 2020 in China, which is attributed to improved control measures and technologies. In addition, a focused regional analysis indicated a developmental shift towards the central and western provinces, emphasizing the need for tailored emission-reduction strategies therein. These findings underscore the substantial role of China's real estate development in material, energy consumption, and pollutant emissions. The insights provided by this study are vital for formulating strategic plans and foundational data to support China's continuous efforts to improve air quality.

As emphasized by the challenging sustainable development agenda, countries are facing a complicated combination of environmental stress and social challenges, leading the Earth system towards an unsustainable path. Therefore, it is crucial to accurately assess past fluctuations contributing to current situations and apprehend plausible future implications. This study integrates safe and just operating space (SJOS) with Sustainable Development Goals to depict multiple “windows” of environmental and social evolution in different historical periods, with 31 provinces in China as a case study. Then, we track the spatiotemporal evolution trajectory of environmental performance and social well-being in each province from 2012 to 2021. The Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model is utilized to capture the temporal relationships between various indicators and to forecast the spatial trends of SJOS in the provinces from 2022 to 2030. Research findings indicate that: (1) over the 2012–2021 period, the environmental performance of the majority of provinces far exceeds the warning thresholds, with no province falling within all threshold boundaries simultaneously. The phosphorus cycle is the most challenging boundary, with only 6.8% of provinces within the safe boundary over the past 10 years. In comparison, freshwater use performs the best, with 80% of provinces staying within the threshold. (2) Social well-being generally improves across all provinces from 2012 to 2021, but the spatial and temporal trajectories are more varied. All provinces meet the thresholds for the food security and employment indicators. However, none of the provinces meet the standard for the social equity indicator. (3) Over the 2022–2030 projection period, environmental performance and social well-being trend in opposite directions across provinces. This culminates in no province being entirely within the safe and just space by 2030. Sanitation shows the most significant change compared to other indicators. Xinjiang had the largest improvement at 59.12%, while Tianjin had the most significant downward trend at 53.88%. Adjustments in national policies and priorities are essential if China wants to accomplish the sufficiency of biophysical resources whilst ensuring social equity in the access and exploitation of these resources.

Changes in the distribution of marine birds in their at-sea foraging, resting, and migratory habitats are frequently observed following construction of offshore wind energy installations. However, the presence and strength of both displacement and attraction effects have been shown to vary widely among species and locations. An understanding of the underlying factors driving both occurrence and detection of distributional changes is required to inform wind farm design and develop best practices for environmental impact assessment, monitoring, and mitigation. Drawing from 39 publications and reports, we conducted a meta-analysis to assess the likelihood of detecting attraction or displacement of marine birds by wind energy infrastructure as well as the proportional change in use of the wind energy areas. We evaluated these outcomes as functions of wind farm characteristics, biological characteristics of birds, and the observation process. We found that the presence and strength of distributional change varied most strongly among taxa and seasons, followed by study design criteria and wind farm characteristics. Displacement and attraction effects were more frequently detected during the breeding season and in studies with a larger overall study area footprint relative to the size of the wind farm. Effects were also greater at wind farms further offshore and with lower turbine densities. Effects were significant and negative for loons, grebes, sea ducks, alcids, and gannets, and were mainly neutral or slightly positive for gulls, waterfowl, and cormorants. Less frequently-observed taxa such as fulmars and skuas had low frequency of significant displacement effects but large negative effect sizes, suggesting that displacement may be underestimated in these groups. Overall, we recommend that future monitoring studies clearly report underlying metrics (i.e., abundance and/or density) within defined study areas to allow for robust comparison among sites, species, and survey methodologies.