Journal of Environmental Management 274 (2020) 111210

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Journal of Environmental Management

journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jenvman

Research article

Exploring the impact of technological innovation, environmental

regulations and urbanization on ecological efficiency of China in the
context of COP21
Humaira Yasmeen a, *, Qingmei Tan a, Hashim Zameer a, Junlan Tan b, Kishwar Nawaz c
a
College of Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, 211106, China
b
Hongshan College, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, 211106, China
c
LEO, University of Orleans, Orléans, France

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The objective of this study was to explore the roles of technological innovation, environmental regulations, and
Urbanization urbanization in ecological efficiency within the context of the 2015 Paris agreement. Initially, the study
Technological innovation employed the super-efficiency DEA model to estimate the ecological efficiencies of 30 regions in China.
Environmental regulation
Following this, the system GMM method was used to explore the impacts of technological innovation, envi­
Ecological efficiency
Paris agreement
ronmental regulations, and urbanization on ecological efficiency. We used annual data from 2008 to 2018. The
results indicate that, in terms of ecological efficiency, the eastern region was the highest ranked, followed by
central and western regions, respectively. The urbanization index has a negative impact on ecological efficiency
at a national level. However, in the context of regions, it is positively significant in the eastern region, while the
results in the central and western regions are insignificant. The influence of technological innovation on
ecological efficiency is found to be significantly positive at both national and regional levels. It is generally
perceived that environmental regulations are pivotal for sustainability. Our results verify this argument and
indicate that environmental regulations have a positive impact on ecological efficiency in the central and eastern
regions. However, their impact is found to be negative in the western region. Policy suggestions are discussed, in
order to further strengthen environmental laws and sustainability.

1. Introduction pre-industrialization era) and strives to control it within a maximum

Increasing global temperature trends and the growing awareness of
the public of the risks associated with climate change have stimulated
the international community to take stronger actions. Estimates by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have indicated that
human activity has caused global warming and increased the global
temperature by about 1 ◦ C, compared to the pre-industrialization era
(Chesney et al., 2017; Qingchen et al., 2015). According to their esti­
mates, the data presented by the IPCC indicate that, if no additional
measures are taken to reduce carbon emissions, global temperatures are
likely to rise by 4 ◦ C (compared with the pre-industrialization era) by the
year 2100 (Huiming, 2016). Similarly, in this context, the Paris agree­
ment was signed in December 2015, which aims to prevent the global
temperature from increasing by more than 2 ◦ C (compared to the
range of 1.5 ◦ C (Qiang, 2017; Xiang, 2016).
The true spirit of the Paris Agreement is to promote and ensure the
participation of all parties in actions which need to be taken indepen­
dently to deal with the problems arising from global climate change.
Further, participants in the agreement should play active roles in
transforming their economic outlook into green economies, such that
sustainable growth can be ensured. In addition, it is also suggested that
participating countries should emphasize shifting their industrial
structures away from petrochemical production industries, as such in­
dustries have created severe environmental challenges in the past.
Furthermore, there is a consensus that developed countries should take
the lead and ensure strict actions for reducing carbon emissions.
Developed economies can further play positive roles for global envi­
ronmental issues by strengthening their financial support for developing

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: humaira.yasmeen@nuaa.edu.cn (H. Yasmeen), tanchangchina@sina.com (Q. Tan), hashimzameer@yahoo.com (H. Zameer), junlantan@163.
com (J. Tan), kishwar.nawaz@etu.univ-orleans.fr (K. Nawaz).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111210
Received 29 December 2019; Received in revised form 1 August 2020; Accepted 6 August 2020
Available online 13 August 2020
0301-4797/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
H. Yasmeen et al.
economies worldwide, where their co-operation in technological ad­
vancements and the transfer of new technologies can help developing
economies to mitigate environmental challenges (Khosla et al., 2017;
Yang et al., 2017).
At present, China is regarded as the biggest developing country. In
the past, during early reforms and the opening of its economy to the
western world, China’s industrial base was weak and lacked advanced
technology and experience. Therefore, exports at that time were mainly
based on primary energy and pollution-intensive products. In terms of
energy use, fossil energy sources leading to greater environmental
pollution were mainly used (Cui et al., 2019). The usage of fossil energy
generates a large amount of polluting gases, causing significant damage
to the environment. Pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen ox­
ides can form acid rain, whereas large amounts of carbon dioxide
emissions can exacerbate greenhouse gas effects and cause the global
temperature to rise. Combustion resulting in particulate matter, such as
dust, also has a significant impact on human health (Moreira et al., 2020;
Mukherjee and Agrawal, 2017). It is undeniable that the extensive
economic growth mode once promoted the enhancement of economic
strength and improved the living standards of residents; however, in
recent years, many environmental problems such as soil erosion,
increased haze weather, and water pollution have emerged. Similarly,
while maintaining rapid economic growth, policy makers must also pay
attention to the natural environment.
In recent years, considering the economic outlook, it is clear that the
growth of global economies has slowed down. However, in the context
of the Chinese economy, it has entered into a “new normal” phase.
Similarly, changes in economic structure and production methods have
become a major means for reform, such as transforming industrial
structures towards low pollution-driven and high value-added in­
dustries, thus promoting economic development with less pollution and
greater value (Yoder et al., 2019). China has been increasing its in­
vestments into environmental protection and environmental regula­
tions, in order to become more and more perfect. Similarly, the
population’s aspirations for better environmental quality have become
increasingly high.
As an important indicator of sustainable development, changes in
ecological efficiency have attracted the attention of both society and
scholars. The role of ecological efficiency is important for the unified
development of the environment and society (Govindan et al., 2019).
Therefore, it is necessary to calculate and evaluate China’s current level
of ecological efficiency, as well as to analyze the key factors affecting the
level of ecological efficiency, in order to provide theoretical support for
China and to achieve low carbon emissions. In this paper, we compre­
hensively consider the important factors affecting China’s ecological
environment, such as environmental regulations, technological inno­
vation, and urbanization development. The results have great signifi­
cance for the realization of green economic development in China. Based
upon the comprehensive analysis of these phenomena, key policy in­
sights can be suggested.
2. Review of relevant studies
2.1. Ecological efficiency estimations
Exploration of the existing research shows that scholars have con­
ducted much research on methods for measuring ecological efficiency.
Among these, the representative method is DEA, which does not require
specific construction; in the form of a function, no specific information is
required. The measurement process can objectively reflect the problem
and it is not affected by human control. Further, it can reflect the cor­
relation between various element inputs. This method has been widely
applied and is regarded as a more scientific method for measuring
ecological efficiency. Considering the research in this field, some
scholars have used DEA to evaluate the efficiency of thermal power
stations (Korhonen and Luptacik, 2004). Kuosmanen and Kortelainen
2
Journal of Environmental Management 274 (2020) 111210
(2005) proposed a complete theoretical framework for ecological effi­
ciency analysis based on the DEA method. Using their proposed frame­
work, they analyzed the eco-efficiency of the Finnish transportation
industry. Zhang et al. (2008) selected the input element as environ­
mental pollutants and considered the construction of different DEA ef­
ficiency measurement models, employing the developed models to
evaluate the ecological efficiency of different regions in China. Bing
et al. (2008) incorporated pollutant emissions into the DEA analysis
framework and used them as undesired inputs in the context of the
Hangzhou Bay Fine Chemical Industry Park, where 43 companies were
selected to evaluate their ecological efficiencies.
Xueqin and Tingting (2015) targeted 28 resource-based cities in
China based upon data from 2011. They employed the ecological foot­
print method to evaluate ecological efficiency. Their results showed
that, compared with livable cities, resource-based cities tend to have
lower ecological efficiency. Jiefang et al. (2016) used the DEA method
and argued that coal resource-based cities have a steady growth of
ecological efficiency. Wen (2017) employed DEA from the perspective of
new urbanization and examined the factors which affected the change of
ecological efficiency. However, their study did not include the role of
technological innovation and environmental regulations. Shan and
Wenbin (2016) studied the ecological efficiency of various regions in
China. They measured ecological efficiency through a super-efficient
DEA model, and their results demonstrated that FDI has a positive
relationship with ecological efficiency; however, there were certain
differences in the various regions. The recent study of Sun et al. (2019)
used DEA to evaluate the impact of market fragmentation on the envi­
ronment. Considering the above studies, it can be overall concluded that
the advanced form of DEA—the super efficiency DEA model—is more
appropriate to measure ecological efficiency.
2.2. Urbanization and ecological efficiency
In the context of regional ecological efficiency, many scholars have
begun to study its relationship with urbanization. For example, Yushuai
et al. (2017) used the degree of co-ordination model to reveal the rela­
tionship between urbanization and ecological efficiency in eastern
China based on data from 2009 to 2014. Their findings indicated that the
level of coupling and matching between the level of urbanization
development and ecological efficiency in east China showed a slowly
rising trend. Jiangsu province, which was at the highest level, was
approaching the stage of coupling detuning, and Jiangxi province,
which was at the lowest level, was in extreme coupling detuning.
Nengsheng et al. (2013) explored the association between regional
ecological efficiency and urbanization in China through the IPAT model.
Their study showed that the level of urbanization and regional ecolog­
ical efficiency had an asymmetric U-shaped relationship. The ecological
efficiency in the process of urbanization in the context of the eastern
region was higher, and some provinces had entered the growth U-shaped
curve stage. However, the western and central regions were still in the
decline stage; that is, as the level of urbanization increases, their
regional ecological efficiency continues to decline. The western region
was more prominent in this regard.
Zhenling (2016) showed that urbanization has a strong negative
correlation with ecological efficiency and has a negative spillover effect
on neighboring areas. Shahbaz et al. (2016) indicated that urbanization
can contribute toward carbon emissions. Jie et al. (2015) used the
STIRPAT method to explore linkages among urbanization levels and
regional ecological efficiency. Their research showed that the urbani­
zation level and regional ecological efficiency have a U-shaped rela­
tionship. Most cities in the peninsula and central Shandong were in the
growth stage, whereas the urbanization level in the western part of Luxi
had a linear relationship with regional ecological efficiency. Similarly,
efficiency was found to decrease as the level of urbanization rises. Fiscal
investment in environmental protection and energy consumption per
10,000 RMB of GDP affect the regional ecological efficiency in the
H. Yasmeen et al.
process of urbanization, to varying degrees. Hui et al. (2017) concluded
that the urbanization rate has not yet promoted ecological efficiency in
the western and central regions of China. Liu et al. (2018) stated that
such coupling is categorized as basic coupling among the various regions
of China. Although many studies have explored the relationship between
urbanization and the environment, the related mechanisms remain un­
clear. In addition, in the context of technological innovation and envi­
ronmental regulations, the link with urbanization is missing. Therefore,
it is necessary to incorporate the roles of technological innovation and
environmental regulations to explore the relationship between urbani­
zation and the environment.
2.3. Technological innovation and ecological efficiency
Hongjuan and Chenghao (2016) used the Tobit model to analyze the
influence of internal R&D expenditure on ecological efficiency and
found that R&D expenditure had a negative effect on ecological effi­
ciency, which may be due to limitations of expertise in the field of
innovation and pollution control. Liangwen and Wanli (2017) found
that green technological innovation can promote the increase of the
expected output. Therefore, green technology innovation is a significant
way to expand China’s ecological efficiency. However, at present, the
promotion effect of green technology innovation on ecological efficiency
in China is low and needs to be improved. Jiliang and Xiaoting (2018)
found that R&D investment increased the eco-efficiency of enterprises,
but the impact of technological transformation was not found to be
obvious.
Xiaohong and Shi (2013) highlighted that the contribution of tech­
nological progress to corporate eco-efficiency is not uniform in its dis­
tribution intervals. At the high end of the distribution of corporate
eco-efficiency, the technological progress of capital-intensive enter­
prises has a significantly greater contribution to eco-efficiency than that
in labor-intensive enterprises; meanwhile, at the lower end of the dis­
tribution, the difference in this contribution is not obvious. Quanhui and
Haiyan (2019) found that there exists a “U”-shaped environmental
Kuznets curve for technological progress in China. This indicates that,
prior to 2010, technological progress deteriorated ecological efficiency.
After 2010, technological progress continued to improve ecological ef­
ficiency. Keliang et al. (2016) used the common technology rate to
measure the industrial environmental technology gap between the three
regions of China. The results of their study highlighted that the indus­
trial ecological efficiency and environmental technology were signifi­
cantly different in the three regions. Chen and Lei (2018) found that
technological innovation can reduce carbon emissions and help to cope
with challenges of environmental sustainability. In a recent study,
Zameer et al. (2020) indicated that green innovation and cleaner pro­
duction can play significant roles in environmental sustainability.
Shahbaz et al. (2018) argued that energy innovations can play a sig­
nificant role in the betterment of environmental quality.
2.4. Environmental regulation and ecological efficiency
Nengsheng and Yuze (2017) found that there were “U”-shaped re­
lationships among “governance investment”, environmental regula­
tions, and ecological efficiency. Xueguo and Junjie (2019) empirically
analyzed the impact of regulations on industrial ecological efficiency.
Their findings indicated that the estimated parameter values of its
square terms were significantly positive, and that informal regulation
significantly promoted ecological efficiency. There was a positive
interaction effect between the two types of regulations (i.e., formal and
informal) in improving industrial ecological efficiency.
Further, in the study of Yuling and Ye (2018), the authors pointed out
that in all three regions (i.e., east, west, and central), the relationship
between environmental regulations and regional ecological efficiency
was a U-shaped curve, with the east of China being on the right side,
while the central and western regions were generally located on the left.
3
Journal of Environmental Management 274 (2020) 111210
Xiaohui and Jianying (2016) showed that, after a certain threshold is
crossed, environmental regulations shift from having negative effects to
having positive spillovers on ecological efficiency. Li et al. (2018)
showed that mandatory environmental regulations are negatively
related to regional ecological efficiency, while market-inspired envi­
ronmental regulations and the voluntary acceptance of environmental
regulations have inverted ‘U’-shaped relationships with regional
ecological efficiency. Similarly, in areas with low resource dependence,
compulsory environmental regulations are also negatively related to
ecological efficiency. Market-inspired environmental regulations have
an inverted ‘U’-shaped relationship with ecological efficiency. However,
the voluntary acceptance of environmental regulations had no obvious
impact on it. Ren et al. (2018) indicated that environmental regulations
have dynamic influences on ecological efficiency. Yasmeen et al. (2019)
modeled the roles of the government, firms, and civil society in envi­
ronmental sustainability. Their study indicated that environmental
regulations introduced by policy makers can provide a way forward for
environmental sustainability.
3. Research methods
3.1. Super efficiency DEA
DEA is basically an evaluation method which combines linear plan­
ning and convex analysis calculations (Charnes et al., 1978). The prin­
ciple of DEA is to first ensure that the input and output indicators remain
unchanged, and then to determine the relatively effective production
frontier. Following this, the true effectiveness of each decision unit is
evaluated by comparing the extent to which it has deviated from the
production frontier. The effectiveness of DEA refers to the time when the
decision unit falls on the production frontier.
Assuming that the production system has n decision-making units,
with S species in each decision-making unit, and m inputs, the efficiency
of the ith decision-making unit is denoted by θ. Then, the DEA model can
be presented as follows:
[ ]
min θ − εeT (s− + s+ )
∑
n
λj xij + s− = θx0
S.t. (1)
j=1
∑
n
λj xij − s+ = y0
j=1
θ, λj , s− , s+ ≥ 0, j = 1, 2, 3⋯, n
Let θ* , λ* , S− * , S+* be the optimal solution for a given problem. Then,
the DEA evaluation rule is: when θ* = 1 and S− * = S+* = 0, the
ecological efficiency of area j is DEA-effective; when θ* =
1 and S− * ∕= S+* ∕ = 0, area j is DEA weak and effective; that is, S− * can be
reduced while keeping the original output. Moreover, when θ* < 1, the
ecological efficiency of area j is in a state of ineffective DEA.
In 2001, due to slack variables among the selected variables, Tone
(2001) proposed the SBM model. Basically, this model is based on the
consideration of slack variables and belongs to the non-radial DEA
model group. The result is not only maximization of the benefit ratio, but
also maximization of the actual profit. At the time of the evaluation of
decision unit efficiencies, the estimated value of the traditional model of
DEA can range from 0 to 1, where 1 indicates an effective
decision-making unit. In the case where there are multiple
decision-units with an efficiency value of 1, the next step is to make a
choice among them, which is more difficult. Andersen and Petersen
(1993) made improvements to the traditional DEA model and proposed
the super efficiency DEA model. In this model, the efficiency value may
be greater than 1, such that all effective decision-making units can be
H. Yasmeen et al. Journal of Environmental Management 274 (2020) 111210

evaluated for the next efficiency. The principle is that, when evaluating Eliminating individual effects through differences:
the efficiency of each decision unit, the model first excludes this decision p
∑
unit, then replaces the input and output of this decision unit with a linear ΔYit = ρj ΔYit− j + ΔXit’ β + Δεit (4)
combination of other DMU inputs and outputs. When a decision unit j=1

with an efficiency score higher than or equal to 1 increases its input

proportionally, if its efficiency value remains unchanged, then we call yit = αi + Xit ’β + εit , i ​ = ​ 1, 2, ...., N; ⋅t = 1, 2, ...., T (5)
the increase ratio of the input of this decision unit its super efficiency
evaluation value (Picazo-Tadeo et al., 2011). where αi is a random variable, yit is the explanatory variable, εit is the
The SBM (slack-based model) proposed by Tone (2001) is basically a error term, Xit is the kth first-order explanatory variable column vector,
DEA model based on relaxation measures. Similarly, based upon that β is the kth first-order regression coefficient column vector, and the
mechanism, the super-efficiency DEA model can be written as follows: regression coefficients for different individuals are the same. This model
[ ( )] is an individual fixed-effect regression model, where the ρi are the
∑m
−
∑s
+
autoregression coefficients. It can be seen, from the formula, that the
min θ − ε si + sr
model solves the individual fixed effects after differential processing.
i=1 r=1
Although the system GMM method does not need to consider the sta­
∑
n bility of the data, there may be endogenous relationships among the
λj Xij + s− ≤ θXip variables. In order to solve this endogenousness, we used the Sargan test
j=1 and the Arellano–Bond test to verify the model and variables.
j∕
=k

4. Results and findings

∑
n
λj Yrj − s+ = Yrp (2)
j=1
4.1. Measurement of regional ecological efficiency in Chinese provinces
j∕
=k
4.1.1. Indicator selection and data source
λj ≥ 0, j = 1, 2, ..., n; s+ ≥ 0; s− ≥ 0 As mentioned in the previous section, the improvement of ecological
efficiency should maximize the economic benefits under the premise of
where Xip and yrp represent the ith input and rth output of the pth de­ low resource consumption and low environmental pollution under the
cision unit DMUp, while Xij and Yrj represent the ith input and rth output guidelines of the Paris agreement. Therefore, the DEA evaluation system
of the jth decision unit DMUj, respectively; λj is the weight of the vari­ of regional ecological efficiency can be divided into resource indicators
able Yrj; s-i is the relaxation variable; s+r is the remaining variable; and ε and environmental indicators for the input part, and economic in­
is an infinitesimal quantity. dicators for the output part. The resource indicators selected were
regional system of water resources, energy consumption, and land-use.
3.2. Generalized moments of the system Among them, total water consumption, total energy consumption, and
land were used as input indicators for resources. However, environ­
In the field of statistics, maximum likelihood estimation is usually mental indicators used the most common indicators, such as regional
performed by non-linear optimization. For a single parameter in the wastewater discharge, waste gas discharge, and general solid waste
model, the moment method is usually used for estimation. Henson et al. production volume. For the output, regional GDP was selected. The
(2015) proposed the substitution principle, which is a moment method. specific indicators are shown in Table 1 and the descriptive statistics of
The “moment estimation” method replaces the overall moment function each indicator are shown in Table 2.
with a sample moment function. Using this replacement principle, even
if the form of the overall distribution is unknown, the target parameters 4.1.2. Results of regional ecological efficiency
can be estimated. Moment estimation has a clear and simple statistical We analyzed China’s ecological efficiency in two aspects. First, the
idea and is widely used in statistics. However, in most cases, there are overall ecological efficiency of overall was estimated; that is, the
often more moment conditions than the number of parameters. As a ecological efficiency of all 30 provinces, municipalities, and
result, the problem of “over-recognition” has arisen.
Further, the instrumental variable, ordinary least squares, and
maximum likelihood estimation methods are basically the traditional Table 1
estimation techniques used in econometrics. If we look into the prop­ Input and output index system.
erties of these methods, then it can be seen that these methods have their Index classification Composition of indicators
own limitations; for example, the maximum likelihood estimation Input Environmental Wastewater Wastewater discharge
method must have a known distribution, but a fixed distribution is indicators pollution pollution (tons)
typically greatly affected by human factors. If the distribution assump­ Chemical oxygen demand
(tons)
tion itself is wrong, the maximum likelihood estimates obtained from it
Exhaust SO2 emissions (tons)
will be biased. As another example, the reliability of the estimator in a pollution Smoke and dust emissions
linear regression model can be guaranteed only when the mean value of (tons)
the random error terms is zero, homoscedastic, and uncorrelated. CO2 emissions (tons)
However, the generalized moment technique estimation method does Dust emissions (tons)
Solid waste Solid waste production
not need to assume the distribution of the variables, nor does it need the
pollution (tons)
entire density function. It only requires obtaining certain moment con­ Resource Energy 10,000 tons of standard
ditions, while the random error term can have sequence correlation and consumption consumption coal
heteroscedasticity. Compared with other estimation approaches, the Water Total amount of water
GMM estimation method was determined to be suitable for this study. consumption used (10,000 cubic
meters)
The model is designed and presented as follows: Land Construction land (square
p
∑ consumption kilometers)
Yit = ρj Yit− j + Xit’ β + δi + εit (3) Output Regional economic growth Regional GDP
j=1 indicators

4
H. Yasmeen et al. Journal of Environmental Management 274 (2020) 111210

Table 2 that the ecological efficiency tended to be higher in the east and lower in
Descriptive statistics of input-output variables. the west. However, from 2013, the ecological efficiency in the central
Variable Standard Maximum Minimum Mean and western regions increased faster than in the eastern region. The
deviation main reason for this is that, under the constraints and promotion of the
Wastewater discharge 7892 13,451 5991 7688 “Paris Agreement”, China adopted the five concepts of “innovation”,
Chemical oxygen 33,021 4930 1345 29,001 “harmony”, “opening”, “green”, and “sharing” to guide its economic and
demand social transformation throughout the “13th Five-Year Plan”, regarding
SO2 emissions 3945 9032 225 3209 the establishment of ecological civilization as the direction and devel­
CO2 emissions 2391 7633 368 2123
Dust emissions 2109 3499 546 1933
opmental goal of economic and social transformation. Secondly, the
Solid waste production 786 1032 220 657 development strategy in the western region has provided development
10,000 tons of standard 2990 3489 447 2788 opportunities for its economic development. In addition, the trans­
coal formation and upgrading of industries has promoted the improvement of
Total amount of water 21,998 33,678 1564 15,888
ecological efficiency.
Construction land 23,984 67,832 6432 15,621
Regional GDP 14 21 6.3 11
4.2. Generalized moment estimation of the system
Source: Author’s estimations.

4.2.1. Variable selection

autonomous regions in the country. In the second phase of the study, we
evaluated the ecological efficiencies of the eastern, central, and western
regions. The principle for this division (i.e., into three regions) was
based on the national administrative division. The ecological efficiencies
of the three regions were calculated by averaging the ecological effi­
ciency scores of sub-regions. The regional ecological efficiency results
are presented in Table 3.
From the perspective of the ecological efficiencies of the selected
regions in China, the results indicated large differences among regions.
Among the three regions, China’s ecological efficiency was highest in
the eastern region. Its average efficiency score was higher than 1.0, as
eastern China has paid more attention toward regional ecological effi­
ciency while developing its economy. The ecological efficiency of the
central region was lower, compared with the eastern part, but higher
when compared with the western region. Therefore, it can be concluded
(1) Dependent variable: Ecological efficiency. We used the data
envelopment analysis method described the previous section to
determine ecological efficiency. The measured ecological effi­
ciency is used in the model, denoted by EE.
(2) Explanatory variables
Energy Consumption Structure (EC). Coal has occupied a major posi­
tion in China’s energy structure, which has led to increasingly serious
contradictions in electric coal resources and transportation in contrast
with serious environmental problems. In addition, coal pollution
emerges at both early coal development and terminal consumption
levels. Similar views have been indicated by many scholars (Rattanapan
et al., 2013; Wang, 2020). Relevant statistics have shown that, during
the mining process, mining 1 ton of coal causes 2.5 tons of groundwater

Table 3
Regional ecological efficiency based on super-efficiency DEA.
Region 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Mean

Eastern region Beijing 2.711 2.738 2.798 2.817 2.882 2.901 2.939 2.981 3.134 3.378 3.421 2.973
Tianjin 0.802 0.806 0.834 0.858 0.879 0.897 0.917 0.938 1.011 1.104 1.165 0.928
Hebei 0.432 0.437 0.446 0.466 0.483 0.492 0.509 0.531 0.563 0.585 0.596 0.504
Liaoning 0.342 0.347 0.358 0.365 0.379 0.389 0.398 0.413 0.425 0.443 0.486 0.395
Shanghai 2.157 2.168 2.179 2.279 2.375 2.434 2.559 2.613 2.727 2.831 2.931 2.478
Jiangsu 0.811 0.817 0.821 0.827 0.838 0.848 0.853 0.867 0.881 0.895 0.909 0.852
Zhejiang 0.823 0.834 0.844 0.856 0.869 0.879 0.883 0.898 0.911 0.927 0.948 0.879
Fujian 0.712 0.722 0.729 0.738 0.755 0.767 0.775 0.789 0.793 0.817 0.842 0.767
Shandong 0.501 0.512 0.519 0.525 0.537 0.551 0.564 0.579 0.583 0.595 0.618 0.553
Guangdong 0.922 0.931 0.942 0.957 0.969 0.975 0.986 0.999 1.042 1.144 1.252 1.011
Hainan 0.845 0.848 0.857 0.869 0.879 0.887 0.898 0.921 0.957 0.961 0.983 0.900
Mean of eastern region 1.005 1.015 1.030 1.051 1.077 1.093 1.116 1.139 1.184 1.244 1.286 1.113
Central region Shanxi 0.421 0.426 0.431 0.445 0.456 0.464 0.473 0.488 0.491 0.494 0.498 0.462
Jilin 0.656 0.663 0.676 0.685 0.691 0.699 0.713 0.721 0.762 0.796 0.821 0.717
Heilongjiang 0.621 0.626 0.644 0.663 0.676 0.679 0.685 0.699 0.712 0.729 0.758 0.681
Anhui 0.755 0.765 0.769 0.786 0.798 0.809 0.826 0.837 0.853 0.877 0.889 0.815
Jiangxi 0.812 0.816 0.821 0.833 0.837 0.856 0.877 0.883 0.896 0.904 0.927 0.860
Henan 0.517 0.529 0.554 0.569 0.578 0.589 0.594 0.609 0.635 0.654 0.676 0.591
Hubei 0.516 0.526 0.535 0.542 0.549 0.556 0.566 0.579 0.587 0.599 0.622 0.562
Hunan 0.901 0.912 0.943 0.955 0.965 0.976 0.982 0.986 0.997 1.023 1.033 0.970
Mean of central region 0.650 0.658 0.672 0.685 0.694 0.704 0.715 0.725 0.742 0.760 0.778 0.707
Western region Neimenggu 0.811 0.823 0.835 0.847 0.853 0.862 0.876 0.886 0.896 0.913 0.924 0.866
Guangxi 0.722 0.734 0.746 0.756 0.776 0.787 0.791 0.799 0.819 0.843 0.879 0.787
Chongqing 0.816 0.822 0.833 0.845 0.857 0.869 0.879 0.893 0.899 0.911 0.924 0.868
Sichuan 0.755 0.763 0.769 0.777 0.788 0.778 0.789 0.797 0.803 0.813 0.834 0.788
Guizhou 0.443 0.455 0.465 0.471 0.489 0.489 0.495 0.505 0.519 0.533 0.539 0.491
Yunnan 0.725 0.743 0.751 0.768 0.776 0.789 0.799 0.811 0.824 0.839 0.853 0.789
Shaanxi 0.755 0.764 0.775 0.786 0.794 0.802 0.816 0.821 0.835 0.844 0.857 0.804
Gansu 0.411 0.418 0.423 0.431 0.449 0.459 0.473 0.479 0.488 0.498 0.522 0.459
Qinghai 0.393 0.398 0.405 0.411 0.429 0.437 0.442 0.457 0.471 0.481 0.495 0.438
Ningxia 0.376 0.378 0.387 0.391 0.398 0.411 0.429 0.434 0.445 0.459 0.469 0.416
Xinjiang 0.383 0.388 0.395 0.404 0.423 0.435 0.448 0.457 0.468 0.484 0.499 0.435
Mean of western region 0.599 0.608 0.617 0.626 0.639 0.647 0.658 0.667 0.679 0.693 0.709 0.649
National (country) mean 0.762 0.770 0.783 0.797 0.814 0.826 0.841 0.856 0.881 0.912 0.939 0.835

Source: Author’s estimations.

5
H. Yasmeen et al. Journal of Environmental Management 274 (2020) 111210

to become contaminated, causing China’s water resources to lessen. Table 4

After mining coal, silicosis, waste gas, wastewater, surface subsidence, Descriptive statistics of empirical variable data.
and other problems can arise (Van Caneghem et al., 2010); therefore, it Variable Standard Maximum Minimum Mean
can be argued that the energy consumption structure influences deviation
ecological efficiency at a broader level. This paper takes regional coal Energy consumption 9.123 4.3421 0.2211 0.8733
consumption and the total energy use ratio as the energy consumption structure (EC)
structure. Urbanization (UR) 12.3321 2.9327 0.2786 2.1123
Urbanization (UR). Urbanization means migration of the rural pop­ Foreign direct investment 1.7188 0.3923 0.1567 0.6786
(FDI)
ulation and the consequent changes in lifestyle, land-use, and economic Environmental regulation 0.5457 0.0712 0.2135 0.4156
development. Under the conditions of an energy structure dominated by (ERI)
fossil energy, the urbanization rate affects regional ecological efficiency Technological innovation 0.9125 0.1109 0.2452 0.7853
(Liddle, 2014; Wang, 2019). As the living standards of urban residents (TE)
Ecological efficiency (EE) 0.2178 0.1543 0.0127 0.0632
rise, their demand for material products leads to an increase in carbon
emissions, thereby affecting ecological efficiency (Raggad, 2018). At the Source: Author’s estimations.
same time, many urban residents have backward consumption concepts
and a lack of corresponding awareness in energy conservation and
environmental protection, which indirectly causes declines in ecological ln EE = α + β1 ln ECi + β2 ln URi + β3 ln FDIi + β4 ln TEi + β5 ln ERIi + μ
efficiency. We express urbanization by the resident population in an area (6)
at the end of the year. We used the Stata 12.0 software and adopted the system generalized
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). FDI can bring about changes in the moment estimation technique to estimate the model. The results are
technology, industrial structure, and market size of the host country. shown in Table 5.
These factors have a certain impact on the regional ecological envi­ The results presented in Table 5 indicate that the energy consump­
ronment and have different effects on the ecological efficiencies of tion structure negatively relates to regional ecological efficiency; that is,
different regions (Wang, 2018). Shahbaz et al. (2015) also found that an increase in coal consumption reduces regional ecological efficiency.
FDI impedes the environmental quality. In this article, FDI is represented The elasticity coefficient was highest in the context of the western region
by the ratio of FDI to regional GDP. and lowest in the eastern region. These findings enrich the purpose of
Technological Innovation (TE). Technological innovation has resulted the Paris Agreement, which requires the reduction of high-emission
in greater progress in regional technology and can affect ecological ef­ energy sources such as coal. It indicates that a high proportion of coal
ficiency in two distinguished ways: First, clean energy can be applied to consumption among regions reduces regional ecological efficiency. In
the source of production through technological progress and, so, modern addition, the economic growth of the western and central regions relies
labor methods can be adopted. Correspondingly, this reduces pollutant on a large proportion of coal consumption, thus making these regions
discharge and improves resource utilization rates through cleaner pro­ less ecologically efficient. The impact of urbanization rates on regional
duction (Mormina, 2019). Secondly, technological progress can improve ecological efficiency were found to be negative, but only the eastern
the recycling, recovery, and treatment of pollutants, thus achieving a regions passed the significance test. This means that the impact of ur­
reduction in pollutant discharge and improving environmental effi­ banization on ecological efficiency, in the context of the other two re­
ciency. In this article, we use the number of patent licenses (in millions) gions, was not obvious. Although there was no significant impact on
to represent technological innovation (unit: pieces/million regional ecological efficiency, an increased urbanization rate is not
people/province). conducive to the improvement of ecological efficiency. Thus, controlling
Environmental Regulation (ERI). Zhengming and Xiaochen (2015) the scale of urbanization is one of the main measures put forward by the
found that environmental regulation is conducive to driving regional Paris Agreement.
industrial structure upgrades, making production greener, and The impact of FDI on the overall ecological efficiency in China was
achieving ecological efficiency improvements. Jingyan and Lisha (2010) significantly positive, with an elasticity coefficient of 0.047. Although
highlighted the effects of environmental regulation on the international the elasticity coefficient was small, the p-value confirmed a significant
competitiveness of Chinese industries. Xiaohui and Jianying (2016) and positive relationship. Further investigation of the results indicated
stated that the scale of environmental regulation has a significant that the three different regions in China showed diverse characteristics;
threshold characteristic. After crossing this threshold, environmental among which, the central and western regions had negative correlations
regulations shift from having negative effects to positive spillovers on
ecological efficiency. We use the ratio between the collection of sewage
charges and the regional gross output value for measurement and Table 5
analysis of environmental regulations, following the study of Hua et al. Regression results from system GMM model.
(2014). The ratio between the collection of sewage charges and the gross Variable National Eastern Central Western
domestic product value of various industries is used to reflect the in­ α 0.132** NA 1.641*** 1.121***
tensity of environmental regulations. Data were gathered from the en­ （0.0000） (0.0000) (0.0000)
ergy consumption structure of the China Environmental Statistics lnEC − 0.142*** − 0.121*** − 0.232*** − 0.312***
(0.0021) (0.0001) (0.0013)
Yearbook. （0.0003）
lnUR − 0.113** − 0.135* − 0.0221 − 0.036
The descriptive statistics of the variables used in GMM model are （0.030） (0.087) (0.1231) (0.241)
shown in Table 4. lnFDI 0.047*** 0.0243* − 0.252* − 0.574***
（0.0001） (0.074) (0.086) (0.0002)
4.2.2. Results and analysis based on system GMM model lnTE 0.161*** 0.0116* 0.2115* 0.2356*
(0.075) (0.086) (0.066)
This article combines the existing literature, with consideration of
（0.0001）
lnERI 0.1426*** 0.113** 0.165** − 0.239***
the availability of data, using energy consumption structure (EC), ur­ （0.0000） （0.0001） （0.0002） （0.0013）
banization (UR), foreign direct investment (FDI), environmental regu­ Sargan 0.063 0.071 0.052 0.034
lation (ERI), and technological innovation (TE) as explanatory variables. Wald 0 0 0 0
Ecological efficiency (denoted as EE) is used as the dependent variable. Note:***,**,*are significant under the conditions of 1%, 5%, and 10%, respec­
The equation was constructed as follows: tively. The data in parentheses are P values and NA represents no data. Source:
Author’s estimations.

6
H. Yasmeen et al.
with ecological efficiency. The economic development level of these two
regions was relatively low. The negative impact on the environment was
greater in the western region, indicating that the central region was
better than the western region; it was also superior to the western region
in terms of the utilization of foreign capital. It can be seen that FDI in­
vestment projects in these two regions relied on resource development
and utilization, thus causing more serious environmental pollution and
resource consumption. Further, the openness degree of east China had a
positive correlation with ecological efficiency, indicating that the inflow
of foreign capital could promote technological levels and the techno­
logical innovation of high-end equipment, which is conducive to
reducing pollution emissions. This means that an inflow of foreign
capital could serve to improve the ecological efficiency of the eastern
region.
In the context of technological progress, it was found that, regardless
of the national or sub-regional view, the technological level had a pos­
itive effect on ecological efficiency, with much higher elasticity co­
efficients. This confirms that technological effects can significantly
improve regional ecological efficiency. These findings are consistent
with the ultimate goal of the “Paris Agreement”, which emphasizes
improving the ecological environment through technological progress.
Finally, the role of environmental regulations toward ecological effi­
ciency was measured, as the final conclusion of the “Paris Agreement”
states that the governments of all countries must take into account
environmental protection while striving to promote their economic
development. Governments need to adopt a series of environmental
regulations in order to address environmental challenges. In general,
environmental regulations have a positive correlation with the overall
regional ecological efficiency; that is, strict environmental regulation
levels can allow companies to improve their technical level and promote
regional ecological efficiency. In terms of the different regions, envi­
ronmental regulations had a positive correlation in the central and
eastern regions, but a negative correlation in the western region. The
main reason for this is that sewage charges were increased significantly,
which may have reduced the profitability of companies. However, this
loss in profitability was less than the cost of environmental governance,
such that the companies still increased their emissions and, thus, were
not conducive to improving ecological efficiency.
5. Conclusion and policy suggestions
5.1. Conclusion
In the context of the signing of the Paris Agreement (COP21), this
article uses super-efficiency DEA to analyze regional ecological effi­
ciency in China from 2008 to 2018. A system GMM model was selected
to study the impacts of urbanization, technological innovation, and
environmental regulations on regional ecological efficiency. We drew
following conclusions:
In the study period, the overall level of ecological efficiency in China
was not high; however, the overall trend was an increase in ecological
efficiency. Different regions had different characteristics, mainly man­
ifested as the highest ecological efficiency being in the eastern region,
with average ecological efficiency greater than 1. The ecological effi­
ciency in the central region was lower than the eastern region, but
greater than that in the western region. The regions with lower
ecological efficiency were concentrated in the west. The economic level
and the technical conditions of the western region were backward, with
a strong dependence on resources resulting in a low level of ecological
efficiency. Although the impact of urbanization on regional ecological
efficiency was negative, only the eastern region passed the significance
test. The current urbanization level is low, but further urbanization will
certainly deteriorate the ecological efficiency. In the eastern region, the
negative impact of urbanization on ecological efficiency was evident.
Urbanization in the eastern region is in a fast-moving stage, which will
inevitably cause a decline in ecological efficiency.
7
Journal of Environmental Management 274 (2020) 111210
Regional ecological efficiency can be improved significantly through
technological progress. The improvement of technological level was
shown to be able to promote the regional ecological efficiency of all
three regions under investigation. The intensity of environmental
regulation was shown to positively affect the ecological efficiency in the
eastern and central regions; however, a negative impact was seen in the
context of the western region. Further, energy consumption was
generally negatively related to regional ecological efficiency, where the
three regions showed the same result as the overall national level.
However, the elasticity coefficient in the eastern region was the lowest
of the three regions and, so, its pollution capacity is stronger than that in
other regions.
5.2. Policy suggestions
The implementation of the “Paris Agreement” can help countries to
start and advance relevant work processes. At the same time, the “Paris
Agreement” is also an arrangement for the mid-to long-term interna­
tional climate system by 2030. China’s active participation in the
formulation and implementation of the “Paris Agreement” shows that
the country’s low-carbon and green development planning will not stop
after this period; instead, it is a medium-to long-term institutional
arrangement which must be implemented throughout the critical period
of industrialization and urbanization in China. Therefore, the imple­
mentation of the “Paris Agreement” will not only guide China’s low-
carbon development during the “Thirteenth Five-Year Plan” period,
but also promote the continuity and stability of low-carbon and green
development policies. Similarly, it can make positive contributions to­
wards green transformation and development. This article, in the
context of the Paris Agreement combined with empirical analysis, puts
forward the following suggestions for improving China’s regional
ecological efficiency:
Increase investment in scientific and technological research and
development, as well as vigorously promoting technological progress
and technological innovation. Based on the government’s increased in­
vestment in scientific and technological research and development,
guide enterprises to expand financing channels for technological inno­
vation, increase investment in R&D, and promote their accelerated R&D
application and promotion of energy-saving and environmentally
friendly technologies. Moreover, investment into technological inno­
vation will bring exponential growth in efficiency in later stages. Prov­
inces and cities can also introduce advanced technologies, according to
their different strategic development plans and resource endowments, in
order to shed backward technological levels in a short time. Regional co-
operation and sharing of green technologies should also be strength­
ened, in order to improve the capacity of cities and towns to deal with
environmental pollution, thus achieving the sustainable development of
resources and preservation of the environment.
In the process of urbanization, the positive role of urban agglomer­
ation economies and economies of scale in optimizing and upgrading the
industrial structure should be brought into full play. First, the country
must accelerate the development of agricultural modernization;
following this, it must increase the transformation of industries and
change the development mode of traditional industries. Local govern­
ments should adopt “regulation investment” as the mainstay, supple­
mented by “economic incentives”, and gradually improve their existing
environmental regulations. On one hand, investment into industrial
pollution treatment for the eastern, central, and western regions has not
yet reached the inflection point of the U-shaped curve. Therefore, local
governments in these regions should proactively increase their invest­
ment in the control of various environmental pollutants, in order to
promote the positive effect of environmental protection funds on the
improvement of ecological efficiency. On the other hand, they should
also improve “economic incentive” environmental regulations, such as
sewage charges, establishing a reasonable sewage charge standard, and
strengthening pollution detection and management, such that their
H. Yasmeen et al.
economic incentives can be brought into full utilization.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Humaira Yasmeen: Data curation, Writing - original draft. Qingmei
Tan: Conceptualization, Supervision. Hashim Zameer: Methodology,
Software, Supervision. Junlan Tan: Visualization, Investigation. Kish­
war Nawaz: Software, Validation, Writing - review & editing.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
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