Environmental Regulation, Manufacturing Technological Progress and Pollution Emissions: Empirical Evidence from China

Abstract

Based on the provincial panel data of China from 2004 to 2020, this paper uses the empirical model of mediating effect to theoretically analyze and empirically test the mechanism of environmental regulation affecting pollution emissions, and the mediating effect of manufacturing technology’s progress. The study of this paper found that the improvement of pollution treatment technology is not the only technical means to reduce the level of pollution emissions. The progress of manufacturing production technology has a crucial role in promoting the reduction of pollution emissions. The high-quality development of the manufacturing industry and the improvement of the production technology level means that pollution emissions can be effectively reduced from the source. At the same time, although environmental regulation can have a significant positive impact on reducing pollution emissions, the progress of manufacturing production technology is a crucial intermediary variable for environmental regulation to promote pollution reduction. The above research conclusions have passed the influence mechanism test of this paper. Through the heterogeneity test, this study also found that in the stage of higher manufacturing development scale and technology level, manufacturing technology progress’ intermediary role as an environmental regulation affecting pollution emissions, is more apparent, and the role of environmental regulation in promoting pollution reduction is more prominent. The degree of effect increases with the improvement of the production technology level of the manufacturing industry. After the robustness test, the research conclusion of this paper is still valid. According to the conclusions of the research, this paper puts forward policy suggestions that should be oriented to promote the upgrade of manufacturing technology, introduce environmental regulation policies, support manufacturing enterprises to increase the innovative application of energy-saving and emission-reduction technologies, and vigorously develop and expand high-tech manufacturing.

Impact on green finance and environmental regulation on carbon emissions: evidence from China

“…Therefore, environmental regulatory tools can provide institutional guarantee in the process of green finance affecting carbon emissions and strengthen the effect of carbon emission reduction. Specifically, firstly, environmental regulation, as policy support, can directly improve the efficiency of fund allocation of green finance, build a green capital flow carrier, and form a new model of environmental protection policy system and green finance to support low-carbon development, thus guiding social idle capital to flow into the field of green production and breaking the limitation of single green investment (Cui et al, 2022;Yan et al, 2023b). Second, with the continuous improvement of the environmental regulatory policy system, the government will force enterprises to meet the specified environmental standards or immediately shut down for rectification, so that they will no longer choose terminal treatment technologies that are easy to imitate and low-cost to avoid administrative punishment, and will force enterprises to adopt standardized green production technologies, speed up the development of new energy, green innovation and green industrial structure transformation, and then control carbon dioxide emissions from the source (Tong et al, 2022;.…”