Examining industrial structure changes and corresponding carbon emission reduction effect by combining input-output analysis and social network analysis: A comparison study of China and Japan, (2017),

Taking dioxin emissions from incineration and the recycling of home electric appliances in Japan as two case 14 studies, this paper aims to clarify the impact of environmental policy on technological innovation. For our case 15 studies, relevant Japanese patent data were gathered and analyzed for the period 1990-2008. To demonstrate 16 that environmental regulations induce technology innovation, we conducted statistical analysis to compare the 17 number of patents related to each regulation between the period under regulation and period outside the 18 regulation. The results show that after the regulations were introduced, new technological developments 19 occurred for most technological types and the total number of related patent applications was larger even when 20 controlling for other exogenous and endogenous factors such as business cycles and expenditures in Research 21 and Development (R&D). We finally argue that while a possible weakness in these types of direct regulations is 22 the lack of incentives for further innovations, they can still induce innovation if they are flexible and with 23 specific targets.

To decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, the Chinese government proposed the circular economy (CE) strategy as part of its 11th 5-Year Plan. This strategy expands the application of CE from individual enterprises to eco-industrial parks (EIPs) and to the cities, provinces, and regions. We carried out field studies in three EIPs in Baotou, Suzhou, and Shanghai. In this paper, we discuss the current state of CE and the sustainable development of EIPs in China. We first provide detailed information on the three EIPs' infrastructures, preferential policies, CE frameworks, and eco-chains. We then examine the status of sustainable development in the three EIPs from the perspectives of socio-economic, resource and material efficiency, and environmental performance. The results indicate that the overall performance of the three EIPs is reasonably good with respect to socioeconomics, resources and materials, and efficiency and environmental protection, whereas green management is rather weak and thus requires further improvement. We found that the CE frameworks along with eco-chains within the EIPs are effectively improving resource and material efficiency. Moreover, we demonstrate that there are positive associations among socio-economic, resource and material, and environmental indicators. Given the large presence of EIPs in the local economies, these results suggest that EIPs play a key role in promoting sustainable development in China.

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Summary The closing of material loops is a critical challenge in industrial ecology. It relies mainly on the utilization of recovered materials/parts/products in the original and principal production system while their original function is retained at the highest level possible. In this study, advanced loop‐closing systems for the recycling of end‐of‐life vehicles and electric household appliances are first designed in “Hyogo Eco‐town.” Second, a methodology for evaluating the eco‐efficiency of these systems is developed. Finally, the eco‐efficiency of the designed advanced loop‐closing strategies for the two products is evaluated, based on the results of materials flow analysis and life‐cycle assessment. The results show that, compared with conventional recycling systems, when an industrial complex and an advanced loop‐closing system for end‐of‐life vehicles are established, the total economic value increases by 114% and the eco‐efficiency in terms of the amount of direct material input is improved by 57%. This system permits the utilization of the by‐products, wastes, and recovered materials that originate from other industrial sectors as input to production activities. In the case of end‐of‐life electric household appliances, an advanced loop‐closing strategy to lengthen the product life with parts reuse improves the eco‐efficiency in terms of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 4% compared with the conventional replacement of the appliance with a new product along with the material recycling option.