Singapore, 12 December 2023 – An environmental study on Yangtze River Economic Belt (YEB) in China has found that an increase of both official and unofficial environmental regulations (ER) can lead to an improvement in environmental quality (EQ). In addition, cities with better EQ will experience a greater positive effect of ER than those with poorer environmental quality. The insights are timely for China as the effective management of environmental pollution remains integral to the transformation of the country’s economic growth model. The study was conducted by Professor Thompson Teo from the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School, as well as Ms Qiang Feng and Professor Tao Sun from the College of Economics and Management at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA).
Prof Teo said, “In understanding the dynamic relationship between environmental regulations and environmental quality, we will be better able to formulate effective policies and systems to solve climate related issues. It is not only useful for China but also for countries around the world seeking means to address environmental problems.”
Effectiveness of China’s environmental regulations
In 1979, China enacted the first environmental law, the Environmental Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China as part of its trial implementation, in anticipation of possible environmental pollution that might accompany economic development. Since then, China introduced the official environmental regulations (OER) and the unofficial environmental regulations (UER) to mitigate further deterioration of the environment. OER is a mandatory means of ER such as laws, tax, and penalties, while UER is driven by the public or consumers’ environmental awareness and protection attitude. However, there was insufficient evidence of the effect of ER, either as a whole or a single type of ER, in achieving better environmental quality.
This research was conducted to evaluate China’s OER and UER on EQ including the effects of different types of ER on 45 major cities in the YEB between 2013 and 2020. Three key findings were established from the research:
The findings underpin the need for consistent and intensified, integrated ER efforts to curb disguised pollution by companies involved in industrial activities. Such disguised pollution has been a significant challenge in China’s pursuit of improving air quality. Many firms are releasing more pollutants at night when emissions are much less visible and inspectors are less likely to be on duty. As part of ER, the use of continuous emissions monitoring systems (CEMS), an instrument that continuously measures actual emissions levels from a stationary source, in key industrial locations can further help identify and act against the industrial polluters.
By customising ER strategies to align with the local environmental challenges and situations, there can be further prevention of environmental degradation in the wake of economic and social development in China.
For more information on the study, please access Effects of official and unofficial environmental regulations on environmental quality: Evidence from the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China.
There is a separate study by School of Business, School of Arts and Social Science, National University of Singapore and Jinan University Disguised pollution: Industrial activities in the dark for reference.
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Natalie Law Assistant Manager, Corporate Communications NUS Business School National University of Singapore Tel: +65 6601 1206 Email: natalielaw@nus.edu.sg
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