Research On The Impact Of The Opening Of High Speed Rail On Environmental Pollution

Since the reform and opening up,with the sustained and rapid economic growth,the problem of environmental pollution has become increasingly serious.In order to solve the problem of environmental pollution,the academic community has conducted in-depth research on the factors that affect environmental pollution.With the continuous advancement of China’s urbanization and industrialization process,significant achievements have been made in the construction of traditional transport infrastructure,making the relationship between the construction of traditional transport infrastructure and environmental pollution gradually emerge.In recent years,high-speed railway construction(hereinafter referred to as "high-speed railway construction")has emerged in China and rapidly achieved leapfrog development,leading China to officially enter the era of high-speed railway(hereinafter referred to as "high-speed railway").As a new type of transport infrastructure construction,high-speed railway construction may be closely related to environmental pollution.On the one hand,the opening of high-speed rail has optimized the transportation structure of areas along the line,which can reduce motor vehicle exhaust emissions along the line.On the other hand,the opening of high-speed rail has accelerated the flow and allocation of factors in the areas along the line,which can enhance the level of economic agglomeration,industrial structure,technological innovation,and human capital in the areas along the line,and play a role in improving environmental pollution in the areas along the line.Based on the panel data of 284 prefecture-level and above cities in China from2003 to 2020,this paper defines the opening of high-speed railway as a quasi-natural experiment,and uses the multi-period double difference model(DID)to investigate the impact of the opening of high-speed railway on the environmental pollution of cities along the line.The research results show that compared with cities without high-speed rail,the opening of high-speed rail can significantly reduce the pollutant emissions of cities with high-speed rail.Using parallel trend test,placebo test,endogenous test,replacement of explained variables test,single time point double difference model test and other methods for robustness test,the research results are still valid.The results of geographical location heterogeneity analysis show that compared with the eastern region,the opening of high-speed rail can significantly reduce the pollutant emissions in the central and western regions.Compared with the southern region,the opening of high-speed rail can significantly reduce the emissions of pollutants in the northern region.The results of economic scale heterogeneity analysis show that compared with small and medium-sized cities,the opening of high-speed rail can significantly reduce the pollutant emissions of large cities.The results of resource endowment heterogeneity analysis show that compared with non-resource-based cities,the opening of high-speed rail can significantly reduce the pollutant emissions of resource-based cities.The intermediary mechanism analysis results show that the opening of high-speed rail can reduce the pollutant emissions of cities along the line by improving the level of economic agglomeration,industrial structure,technological innovation and human capital of cities along the line.In order to achieve high-quality development of China’s economy,this paper puts forward the following policy recommendations.First of all,the government should continue to promote the construction of high-speed railway and support the green development of China’s economy with the help of high-speed railway construction.Secondly,the government should scientifically plan the construction of high-speed rail,give full play to the green and environmental nature of high-speed rail,and promote the green development of China’s economy.Finally,the government should change the economic growth model,increase investment in science and technology education,and strictly formulate and implement environmental regulation policies to help China’s green economic development.