Health Impacts of Clean Energy Development:A Case Study of the West-east Natural Gas Transmission Project
Energy green low-carbon development weighs on the future of mankind.Traditional fossil energy and consumption of pollution emissions have serious consequences on public health.Therefore,accelerating the development of green low-carbon as the basic characteristics of clean energy is the world's key approach to realizing energy transition and reducing environmental pollution.The green transformation of major initiatives is not only important for promoting China's production and lifestyle but also for protecting the country's energy security.The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China emphasized the need to accelerate the planning and construction of a new type of energy system and in-depth promotion of the energy revolution,as well as clean,low-carbon,and efficient use of energy.These are important discussions for the new era of China's promotion of clean energy high-quality development direction.This article takes the commissioning and operation of the Second West-east Gas Pipeline Project as a quasi-natural experiment and utilizes data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey(CHNS)from 2009 to 2015.It constructs a double-difference model to examine how clean energy development affects public health.The study reveals that the West-east Gas Pipeline Project has yielded health benefits,and after various robustness tests,it still significantly enhances the health levels of communities along the pipeline route.However,this effect is primarily manifested among urban residents and the elderly,with improvements in household energy consumption patterns,reductions in industrial emissions,and enhancements in urban environmental quality serving as the main channels of influence.Further welfare analysis indicates that the project reduces individual medical expenses and promotes local employment.Lastly,the"coal-to-gas"policy contributes to strengthening the project's effectiveness.The findings of this article offer distinct policy implications for advancing structural reforms in energy supply,supporting the implementation of the Healthy China strategy.These include the following three aspects:The first is to strengthen the construction of energy infrastructure and enhance the health effects of clean energy development.The second is to guide social actors to optimize the structure of energy use and promote the clean and efficient use of energy.The third is to strengthen the design of the policy synergy system and expand the comprehensive benefits of energy transformation.The contributions of this study are in the following three aspects.First,this study enriches empirical research on the effectiveness of the West-east Gas Pipeline Project.Previous studies often focused on the macro perspective or the enterprise level,seldom addressing the impact on individuals.This study adopts a micro perspective,concentrating on the health impacts of the West-east Gas Pipeline Project on residents.It further explores the welfare effects of improved health,such as reduced medical expenses and increased employment,providing empirical evidence for the project's role in promoting the Healthy China initiative.Second,this study expands research on the factors influencing residents'health.Unlike studies that focus on the environmental impacts on health or the environmental impacts of the West-east Gas Pipeline Project and its impact on urban carrying capacity,this study considers the subsequent effects of improved environmental quality.By placing the analysis of residents'health within the context of China's rapid clean energy development and using the West-east Gas Pipeline Project as a case study,it systematically examines the significant influence of clean energy development on enhancing residents'health.Finally,this study supplements our understanding of the mechanisms through which clean energy development improves residents'health.It first investigates how the West-east Gas Pipeline Project optimizes household energy consumption and reduces enterprise pollution emissions to improve residents'health.It then corroborates these findings by analyzing improvements in urban environmental performance from a macro perspective.It provides theoretical support for government initiatives to promote residents'health through clean energy development and confirms the significant historical and practical value of the West-east Gas Pipeline Project in advancing the energy revolution and the Healthy China initiative.
West-east Natural Gas TransmissionClean Energy DevelopmentHealth Effects
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