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中国人口·资源与环境(英文版)
中国人口·资源与环境(英文版)

王伟中

季刊

1004-2857

wenwj@sdnu.edu.cn;lxw@sdnu.edu.cn

0531-86182968

250014

山东省济南市文化东路88号

中国人口·资源与环境(英文版)/Journal Chinese Journal of Population, Resources and EnvironmentCSTPCD
查看更多>>本刊是中国唯一以可持续发展综合研究为宗旨的英文学术期刊。中文刊名对小平同志亲笔题写。
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    Addressing Japan's disposal of nuclear-contaminated water from the perspective of international human rights law

    Yen-Chiang ChangXiaonan Zhao
    1-9页
    查看更多>>摘要:The discharge of nuclear-contaminated water containing radionuclides into the ocean by Japan will lead to its integration into the entire ecosystem through processes of circulation and biomagnification,eventually enter-ing the human body via the food chain.This poses a substantial risk of irreversible damage to both the ecosys-tem and human health,a situation that will worsen with the ongoing discharge of such water.The respect and protection of human rights represent an international consensus,and safeguarding fundamental human rights is a substantial obligation that states must undertake in accordance with both international and domestic law.Since the Fukushima nuclear disaster,Japan has continuously violated its international legal obligations to protect human rights in several areas,including the resettlement of disaster victims,the reduction of nuclear radiation levels,and the handling of contaminated water.Such actions have compromised and will continue to compromise the basic human rights of not only its citizens but also those of people worldwide,including en-vironmental rights,the right to life,development rights,and food rights.In the aftermath of the Fukushima meltdown,the public and workers involved in handling nuclear contaminants have been continually exposed to high radiation levels,endangering their rights to life,development,and health.Japan's inadequate efforts in victim resettlement and environmental restoration have jeopardized the environmental and food rights of its citizens to live healthily and access food in an environment unaffected by nuclear radiation.The release of nuclear-contaminated water poses a risk of Japan's nuclear pollution to the people of neighboring countries and the global population at large.The principle of human rights underpins the theory of a community with a shared future for humanity,and human rights are a crucial area of China's active participation in United Na-tions affairs and global governance.By voicing concerns over Japan's potential human rights violations glob-ally,China demonstrates its role as a responsible major country.In response to Japan's breach of legal obliga-tions and human rights violations,China can adopt a reasoned and beneficial approach,including calling on the international community to hold Japan criminally accountable for crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute and advancing scholarly discussions on ecocide and crimes against the marine environment.Fur-thermore,China should persist in seeking advisory opinions from the International Court of Justice and strive for substantive accountability,utilizing the mechanisms of international human rights organizations to make its voice heard.

    International law obligations for the disposal of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water under the principles of nuclear safety

    Wei Gong
    10-19页
    查看更多>>摘要:The disposal of contaminated water from Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant is a significant international nuclear safety issue with considerable cross-border implications.This matter requires compliance not only with the law of the sea but also with the principles of nuclear safety under international law.These principles serve as the overarching tenet of international and China's domestic nuclear laws,applicable to nuclear facili-ties and activities.The principle of safety in nuclear activities is fully recognized in international and domestic laws,carrying broad legal binding force.Japan's discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea vio-lates its obligations under the principle of safety in nuclear activities,including commitments to optimum pro-tection,as low as reasonably practicable,and prevention.The Japanese government and the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA)have breached the obligation of optimum protection by restricting the scope of assessments,substituting core concepts,and shielding dissenting views.In the absence of clear radiation stan-dards,they have acted unilaterally without fulfilling the obligation as low as reasonably practicable principle.The discharge of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water poses an imminent and unpredictable risk to all countries worldwide,including Japanese residents.Japan and the IAEA should fulfill their obligations under international law regarding disposal,adhering to the principles of nuclear safety,including optimum protec-tion,the obligation as low as reasonably practicable,and prevention through multilateral cooperation.Specifi-cally,the obligation to provide optimum protection should be implemented by re-evaluating the most reliable disposal technologies and methods currently available and comprehensively assessing various options.The standard of the obligation as low as reasonably practicable requires that the minimization of negative impacts on human health,livelihoods,and the environment should not be subordinated to considerations of cutting costs and expenses.Multilateral cooperation should be promoted through the establishment of sound multilat-eral long-term monitoring mechanisms for the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water,notification and con-sultation obligations,and periodic assessments.These obligations under international law were fulfilled after the accidents at the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl nuclear power plants.The implications of the principles of nuclear safety align with the concept of building a community of shared future for nuclear safety advocated by China.In cases of violations of international law regarding the disposal of nuclear-contaminated water that jeopardize the concept of a community of a shared future for nuclear safety,China can also rely on its own strength to promote the implementation of due obligations through self-help.

    Establishing a mechanism for international cooperation for Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water monitoring

    Shumei YueXiaodi Yang
    20-33页
    查看更多>>摘要:The Japanese government's unilateral decision to discharge the nuclear-contaminated water from the Fuku-shima nuclear power plant into the ocean has caused immense nuclear safety risks.Monitoring the unclear-contaminated water is a starting point to combat these risks and seek remedies for the rights and interests of all concerned parties.The establishment of a mechanism for international cooperation in this respect is neces-sary to handle the risks of the Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water and to lay the foundation of a frame-work for tackling any future disposal of nuclear-contaminated water following Japan's example.At present,the international legal systems in the spheres of nuclear safety and security,marine environmental protection,and other areas,as well as the questioning of the monitoring reports of the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA)by the relevant parties,the monitoring practices of historical nuclear accidents,and numerous radioactivity monitoring mechanisms have provided the institutional and practical basis for constructing such a mechanism.The mechanism can be promoted by the IAEA through its existing mechanisms or be jointly ini-tiated by China,the Russian Federation,the Republic of Korea,the Democratic People's Republic of Korea,and the Pacific Island countries,among other stakeholders.Specifically,this mechanism should consist of three levels:first,the framework of the basic legal system,including the cooperative principles of national sov-ereignty,interest-relatedness,and procedural fairness,and the signing of the Framework Convention on the Monitoring of Fukushima's nuclear-contaminated water and its Optional Protocol;second,the organizational structure and its responsibilities,which may include the Conference of Parties as the decision-making body,the Secretariat as the central coordinating body,and the monitoring committees in various fields as specific implementing agencies;and third,specific administrative arrangements,which involve the standardization of monitoring,the management system of monitoring networks and stations,the rules for monitoring proce-dures,and the rules for the utilization of the monitoring data,etc.With the urgent need for the scientific and fair monitoring of Fukushima's nuclear-contaminated water,China,as a stakeholder country,can promote the establishment of such a mechanism for monitoring nuclear-contaminated water through the following paths:① It is necessary to clarify the factors affecting the construction of an international cooperation mechanism for monitoring nuclear-contaminated water so as to ascertain the standpoints of the stakeholders,claims of their interests,contents of their cooperation,and the relevant international relations.② On the basis of exist-ing practices,China should consider improving the monitoring mechanism to cope with the risks of the dis-charge of Fukushima's nuclear-contaminated water by formulating targeted policies and systems,setting up specialized monitoring institutions,and establishing a systematic monitoring network system.③ This is an ef-fective way for China to actively promote the participation of stakeholders in the construction of an interna-tional cooperation mechanism for monitoring nuclear-contaminated water in Fukushima by further innovating the dissemination mechanism to address the risk of Fukushima's nuclear-contaminated water discharging into the sea and facilitating the identification of issues for international cooperation in monitoring Fukushima's nuclear-contaminated water based on the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind.

    The coordinated evolution of ecological environment,public service,and tourism economy along the Silk Road Economic Belt,using the Dual-Carbon Targets

    Shuo YangWei GuoTianjun XuTongtong Liu...
    34-47页
    查看更多>>摘要:Carbon peak and carbon neutrality(dual-carbon)are important targets for the international response to cli-mate change.The Silk Road Economic Belt is a strategic resource region and is important for future ecological environment and tourism development.Based on the"dual-carbon"targets,the Single index quantification,Multiple index synthesis,and Poly-criteria integration evaluation model were used in this study to measure the coordinated development index of the ecological environment,public service,and tourism economy along the Silk Road Economic Belt and to analyze its spatial and temporal evolution.Further,it explores the dy-namic evolution and development trend of the three systems using the Kernel Density and Grey Markov Pre-diction Model.The results show that the coordinated development index along this region needs to be im-proved during the study period.Furthermore,the coordinated development index of the Southwest region is relatively higher than that of the Northwest region.From the development trend of the three systems,all of them develop in a stable manner;however,the tourism economy system is easily affected by external distur-bances.The coordinated development index of the three systems changes dynamically and tends to be in a good state of coordination.There is a certain spatial and temporal heterogeneity.The gravity center of the co-ordinated development index has been in the Southwest region.During the forecast period,the coordinated development index along this region will improve significantly,while insufficient and unbalanced develop-ment will continue.

    Do companies influenced by smart cities pay more attention to green governance?Mechanism and optimal spatial correlation

    Xiaoxu GuoRao ZhangYue Zhang
    48-57页
    查看更多>>摘要:Smart cities are a way for China to construct an innovative and environmentally conscious nation.The paper examines the impact of smart cities on corporate green governance and provides a theoretical foundation for formulating and executing smart city policy in China.Based on panel data from Chinese A-share listed compa-nies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2008 to 2020,this study constructs a multiperiod double-difference model to examine the influence of smart cities on corporate green governance.Additionally,it uses a spatial double-difference model to investigate the spatial spillover effect of smart cities on neighboring areas.The findings indicate that smart cities effectively enhance corporate green governance.Analyzing the influencing mechanisms reveals that resource allocation efficiency,technological innovation,management environmental awareness,and regional environmental enforcement efforts act as mediators.Furthermore,the study reveals that the impact of smart cities on promoting corporate green governance is more pronounced in regions with lower levels of marketization and resource-based cities.Moreover,the research explores the spatial spillover effects of smart cities,with an effective radius of approximately 350 km.The optimal spatial correlation zone for green governance of businesses in neighboring areas in relation to smart cities is within a range of 250-350 km.This is manifested by the significant promotion of green governance in neighboring area businesses facilitated by smart cities.

    Comprehensive evaluation and spatial-temporal evolution characteristics of urban resilience in Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle

    Xin LiShuyi ZhangRongxi RenYafei Wang...
    58-67页
    查看更多>>摘要:To clarify the connotations and extensions of urban resilience,this study focuses on the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle with 16 cities as research subjects.A comprehensive evaluation index system was constructed to measure the resilience of each city from 2003 to 2020.The spatial-temporal evolution characteristics were analyzed using Kernel density estimation,standard deviation ellipse,and spatial Markov chain analysis,and the spatial Tobit model was introduced to discover the influencing factors.The results indicate the following:① Urban resilience in the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle displays an upward trend,with the center of gravity moving to the southwest,and the polarization phenomenon intensifying.② The urban resilience level in a region has certain spatial and geographical dependence,while the probability of urban resilience transfer differs in adjacent cities with different resilience levels.③ Urban centrality,economic scale,openness level,and financial development promote urban resilience,whereas government scale significantly inhibits it.Fi-nally,this paper proposes countermeasures and suggestions to improve the urban resilience of the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle.

    Assessing environmental impact:Micro-energy network optimization in a Chinese industrial park

    Guanzhun CaoChuan FengTong LiHongjuan Zhang...
    68-73页
    查看更多>>摘要:Micro-energy systems contribute significantly to environmental improvement by reducing dependence on power grids through the utilization of multiple renewable energy sources.This study quantified the environ-mental impact of a micro-energy network system in an industrial park through a life cycle assessment using the operation of the micro-energy network over a year as the functional unit and"cradle-to-gate"as the sys-tem boundary.Based on the baseline scenario,a natural gas generator set was added to replace central heat-ing,and the light pipes were expanded to constitute the optimized scenario.The results showed that the key impact categories for both scenarios were global warming,fine particulate matter formation,human carcino-genic toxicity,and human non-carcinogenic toxicity.The overall environmental impact of the optimized sce-nario was reduced by 68%compared to the baseline scenario.A sensitivity analysis of the key factors showed that electricity from the power grid was the key impact factor in both scenarios,followed by central heating and natural gas.Therefore,to reduce the environmental impact of network systems,it is necessary to further optimize the grid power structure.The research approach can be used to optimize micro-energy networks and evaluate the environmental impact of different energy systems.

    Spatiotemporal variations,influencing factors,and configurational promotion paths of energy efficiency in China's cities

    Ruyu XuKeliang WangZhuang MiaoLingxuan Sun...
    74-86页
    查看更多>>摘要:The promotion of energy efficiency(EE)helps address energy constraints and promote environmental sustain-ability.This study comprehensively explores the spatiotemporal variations,influencing factors,and configura-tion promotion paths of EE in 284 Chinese cities during 2003‒2019 using the global super-efficiency mini-mum distance to strong efficient frontier(G-S-MinDS),exploratory spatial data analysis(ESDA),multiscale geographically weighted regression(MGWR),and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis(fsQCA)methods.The findings are:① China's cities have an annual average EE of 0.658 with a growth rate of 0.53%,showing considerable promotion potential.② Industrial structure optimization,population agglomeration,economic development,and increased green coverage contribute positively,while government intervention and open-ness hinder China's urban EE.③ Four configurational promotion paths for enhancing China's urban EE are identified,where among those paths population density is a core condition,while government intervention is not.This study provides valuable insights into substantially improving urban EE,emphasizing the need for tar-geted policies to address energy and environmental crises in China.

    Emission-side drivers affecting carbon neutrality based on vegetation carbon sequestration:Evidence from China

    Han Wang
    87-97页
    查看更多>>摘要:To address climate change,the world needs deep decarbonization to achieve carbon neutrality(CN),which im-plies net-zero human-caused CO2 emissions in the atmosphere.This study used emission-side drivers,includ-ing socioeconomic and net primary productivity(NPP)-based factors,to determine the changes in CN based on vegetation carbon sequestration in the case of China during 2001-2015.Spatial exploratory analysis as well as the combined use of production-theoretical decomposition analysis(PDA)and an econometric model were also utilized.We showed that CN was significantly spatially correlated over the study period;Yunnan,Hei-longjiang,and Jilin presented positive spatial autocorrelations,whereas Guizhou showed a negative spatial au-tocorrelation.More than half of CN declined over the period during which potential energy intensity(PEIE)and energy usage technological change were the largest negative and positive drivers for increasing CN.PEIE played a significantly negative role in increasing CN.We advise policymakers to focus more on emission-side drivers(e.g.,energy intensity)in addition to strengthening NPP management to achieve CN.

    Impact of carbon disclosure on debt financing costs

    Yiming HuYunfeng Liang
    98-108页
    查看更多>>摘要:Creditors,such as banks,often use disclosed environmental information to assess a company's environmental risk and ensure the safety of debt funds.Consequently,carbon disclosures have become an important consider-ation for creditors when making investments.This study explores the relationship between carbon disclosure and debt financing costs using data on listed companies from 2008 to 2019.The results show that carbon dis-closure can reduce the debt financing costs of enterprises,and that this influence is more significant for pri-vate companies than for state-owned enterprises.Instrumental variables and Propensity Score Matching(PSM)were used to evaluate the robustness of negative relationships.Furthermore,carbon disclosure has a more sig-nificant impact on debt costs with less environmental supervision pressure,weak residents'environmental awareness,and weak product market competition.These findings provide guidance for companies'carbon in-formation disclosure and support the establishment of official carbon disclosure standards.