Reducing industrial pollution and inter-regional environmental inequality via the world's largest high-speed railway network.

ABSTRACT: Industrial pollution and the associated spatial environmental inequality increase health risks and hinder sustainable development, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Large-scale public transportation infrastructure that connects developed and developing cities, exemplified by high-speed railway (HSR), has the potential to be an effective instrument. Here, we provide nationwide micro-level estimates for the overall and distributional environmental impacts of HSR in a middle-income context. Using over half-a-million emission records of industrial firms during the rapid expansion of Chinese HSR, the world's largest HSR program, we find significant reductions in firm emissions after HSR opening (by 5.11-13.80%). The contributions come via facilitating intercity element flows lik

SUBMITTER: Liu Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11631272 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature