Research on Characteristics of Economic Development and Environmental Pollution in Typical Energy Regions

Abstract

The data on economic development quality and environmental pollution intensity from 2001 to 2021 was selected by taking Shanxi province, a typical energy region of the country, as the research object was analyzed in the evolution characteristics of economic development quality and environmental pollution intensity in Shanxi province over the past two decades by using linear regression, numerical fitting, and Pearson correlation coefficient, and was explored on their mutual relationship. The results show that Shanxi province has made long-term progress in economic development since 2001, with GDP increasing nearly 10 times and maintaining an average annual growth of about 7%. The main pollutants in the last 20 show a trend of steady change, first ascending and then descending, with the turning point occurring in the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011–2015), which shows that the environmental policies and investments made by China and Shanxi governments in the last 10 years of the new era have taken effect. The results of the numerical fitting curve suggest that the per capita GDP shows a classical inverted “U” curve relationship with wastewater and SO2 emissions, respectively. The turning point occurs at around 20,000 yuan per capita GDP, while the relationship between chemical oxygen demand and ammonia nitrogen emissions is monotonically decreasing. The relationship with solid waste generation is monotonically increasing without the turning point. The results of the correlation analysis further supported the conclusion of the fitted curve.