The distribution and drivers of PM2.5 in a rapidly urbanizing region: The Belt and Road Initiative in focus

Kai Fang; Tingting Wang; Jianjian He; Tijian Wang; Xiaodong Xie; Yiqi Tang; Yang Shen; Anqi Xu

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137010

The distribution and drivers of PM_2.5 in a rapidly urbanizing region: The Belt and Road Initiative in focus

Sci Total Environ. 2020 May 10:716:137010. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137010. Epub 2020 Feb 7.

Authors

Kai Fang¹, Tingting Wang², Jianjian He², Tijian Wang³, Xiaodong Xie⁴, Yiqi Tang², Yang Shen⁵, Anqi Xu²

Affiliations

¹ School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, Yuhangtang Road No. 866, 310058 Hangzhou, China; Center of Social Welfare and Governance, Zhejiang University, Yuhangtang Road No. 866, 310058 Hangzhou, China.
² School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, Yuhangtang Road No. 866, 310058 Hangzhou, China.
³ School of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University, Xianlin Road No. 163, 210023 Nanjing, China. Electronic address: tjwang@nju.edu.cn.
⁴ School of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University, Xianlin Road No. 163, 210023 Nanjing, China.
⁵ International Institute for Earth System Science, Nanjing University, Xianlin Road No. 163, 210023 Nanjing, China; School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Xianlin Road No. 163, 210023 Nanjing, China.

PMID: 32044484
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137010

Abstract

The accelerating urbanization has led to serious air pollution dominated by PM_2.5, posing a critical challenge for the environmental sustainability of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). However, a focus on the distribution and drivers of PM_2.5 concentrations in BRI is lacking. To fill in the gap, this study explores the spatio-temporal distribution of PM_2.5 concentrations in 74 nations partnering the BRI and identifies the socioeconomic and natural drivers behind the variation through the joint use of spatial autocorrelation and regression analyses. We find that the PM_2.5 concentrations of BRI show significant spatial autocorrelation and spatial heterogeneity on the national scale. The most heavily polluted regions are observed mainly in China, Southeast Asia, South Asia, West Asia and North Africa, particularly in the Arabian Gulf region. Energy intensity and per capita electricity consumption act as the major drivers of the PM_2.5 concentrations, whereas the expanding forest area contributes to the decrease in PM_2.5 concentrations notably. Our findings highlight the need for speeding up new-type urbanization as part of the green BRI practice, calling for international cooperation and coordinated action aimed at enhancing synergies of air-quality and climate policies that at present are mostly launched and implemented in isolation. From a broader point of view, in struggling towards BRI's cleaner air, more attention should be paid to creating policy synergies between the green BRI, the Paris Agreement, and the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Keywords: Air pollution; Belt and Road Initiative; PM(2.5) concentrations; Spatial econometrics; Urbanization.