Environmentally vulnerable or sensitive groups exhibiting varying concerns toward air pollution can drive government response to improve air quality
Z.H. Wang,
W.H. Zhao,
B. Wang,
J. Liu,
S.L. Xu,
B. Zhang,
Y.F. Sun,
H. Shi,
D.B. Guan
Affiliations
Z.H. Wang
School of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China; Research Center for Sustainable Development and Intelligent Decision, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
W.H. Zhao
School of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China; Research Center for Sustainable Development and Intelligent Decision, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
B. Wang
School of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China; Research Center for Sustainable Development and Intelligent Decision, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China; Corresponding author
J. Liu
School of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China; Research Center for Sustainable Development and Intelligent Decision, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
S.L. Xu
School of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China; Research Center for Sustainable Development and Intelligent Decision, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
B. Zhang
School of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China; Research Center for Sustainable Development and Intelligent Decision, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China; Corresponding author
Y.F. Sun
School of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China; Research Center for Sustainable Development and Intelligent Decision, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
H. Shi
School of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China; Research Center for Sustainable Development and Intelligent Decision, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
D.B. Guan
Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100083, China; The Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction, University College London, London, UK; Corresponding author
Summary: Air pollution seriously threatens human health, and its consequences are particularly prevalent among environmentally vulnerable or sensitive groups. However, whether the concerns among these groups are different and how they affect air pollution governance remain unclear. Here, we extract 3.8 million haze-related posts from China’s Sina Weibo and analyze the concerns raised by these groups by constructing an air pollution notability index. The results show that protection is the key theme for women aged 20–35 years, while elderly individuals are easily influenced by haze-related product ads yet lack awareness of scientific-based protection. Concerns shared by young individuals are more effective in pressuring the government in cities that experience higher levels of pollution. Concerns shared by women are more effective in cities that experience lower levels of pollution. This study evidences the influence of the public concerns conveyed via social media on air pollution governance in China.
