The Environmental Co-benefits Of Environmental Regulation Policy

In recent years,there are frequent outbreaks of severe environmental pollution problems such as haze in various parts of China.The situation of environmental pollution is very severe.Research shows that haze has significant negative externalities on health.Obviously,this is a counterattack from nature to the development of industry in China for many years,which blindly pursues high GDP and neglects the"extensive"development of environmental quality.To realize the coordination between economic development and environmental resources has become a major strategic goal in the construction of ecological civilization in China.As a result,in 2013,the State Council issued an Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution in response to China’s particularly prominent air pollution problems,which is aimed at Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and the Yangtze Delta and Pearl River Delta three major urban agglomeration PM_2.5.5 pollution put forward a clear control goal.This paper uses generalized synthetic control method（GSCM）to quantitatively analyze the effect of the Action Plan of Air Pollution Prevention and Control and possible environmental co-benefits based on the data of 279 prefecture-level city panels in China from 2003 to 2016with PM_2.5.5 concentration and industrial SO₂ emissions as the result variables.In addition,considering that there are great differences in the development characteristics of different regions or cities,this paper further analyzes the three urban agglomerations of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei,Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta separately.The results of empirical research show:First,from the overall perspective of the three urban agglomerations,the Action Plan of Air Pollution Prevention and Control did not achieve the desired effect on PM_2.5.5 governance,but SO₂emissions were significantly controlled,which confirmed the existence of environmental co-benefits of environmental regulation policies.Second,from a regional perspective,there are regional differences in the PM_2.5governance effects of the Action Plan for Air Pollution Prevention and Control,Pearl River Delta has received certain governance results,while Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Yangtze River Delta are"dragging their feet",in which there are both weather reasons and human factors,while the effect of coordinated emission reduction in SO₂ is stable,which have certain help to the future pollution control in China.Finally,according to the conclusion of the study and the reality of our country,this paper provides a practical reference for air pollution control control in China and using the environmental co-benefits of environmental regulation policy to make pollution control more efficient.