Ecological Indicators (Dec 2021)
Does improvement of industrial land use efficiency reduce PM2.5 pollution? Evidence from a spatiotemporal analysis of China
Abstract
The improvement of industrial land use efficiency (ILUE) in China not only promotes economic development, but also brings about the air pollution problem with PM2.5 as the primary pollutant. However, little work has been done on the effect of ILUE on PM2.5 pollution. In this study, geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model is used to analyze the relationship between ILUE and PM2.5 pollution in 270 cities of China from 2015 to 2018. The results show that the improvement of ILUE is a potential factor of PM2.5 pollution change, and its effect on PM2.5 pollution has obvious spatial heterogeneity in intensity and direction. The ILUE in the eastern region is significantly higher than that in the central and western region of China. The cities with higher PM2.5 concentration are mainly concentrated in the north, while the cities in the southeast coast and southwest inland region have lower PM2.5 concentration. Based on the results of four years, most of the cities with negative correlation between the improvement of ILUE and PM2.5 pollution are concentrated in economically developed areas, while the cities with positive correlation are mainly distributed in economically underdeveloped areas. In addition, the impact of ILUE on PM2.5 pollution presents an inverted U-shaped Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC). Other control variables, namely per capita gross domestic product (PGDP), population density (PD), industrial soot (dust) emission (ISDE), industrial structure (IS), and precipitation (PRE), have significant impacts on PM2.5 pollution. These results are helpful for the correct understanding of environmental impact caused by the improvement of ILUE, and provide a theoretical reference for the government to formulate relevant land and industrial policies.
