The roles of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development strategy in industrial energy and related pollutant emission intensities

Abstract

This study investigates the different impacts of coordinated development in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region on industrial energy and pollution intensities based on the difference-in-difference (DID) method and the quantile DID method. The panel data cover industrial energy consumption and three wastes, which are industrial wastewater, sulfur dioxide, and dust emissions, from all 13 cities in the BTH region and 17 cities in Henan Province for the period 2007–2017. The study finds that China’s BTH coordinated development strategy, on average, tends to restrain regional industrial energy intensity, especially in lower quantile level (0.1–0.4) cities. However, it tends to promote industrial energy intensity in higher quantile level (0.7–0.9) cities. The impacts on pollution intensities vary among industrial wastewater, sulfur dioxide, and dust emissions. The results suggest that, in addition to paying attention to dust pollution caused by transportation integration in the BTH region, China should also pay more attention to green relocation of industries from Beijing to Hebei and strengthen coordinated environmental regulation while maintaining corporate interests.