Evaluating the synergy strength among environmental pressures at the sectoral level of China from the producer, consumer and supplier perspectives

Abstract There is a growing interest among policymakers on synergies and trade-offs among environmental pressures (EPs). However, there is a gap in the literature to quantitatively measure the synergy strength among EPs; and more specifically, the synergy strength involving multiple pollutant emissions from various perspectives (e.g., the producer, consumer, and supplier perspectives). In this avenue, this study proposes and demonstrates the utility of the ‘synergy strength’ metric – a measure of the level of co-benefits of changes in EPs. Using the Environmentally Extended Input-Output database of China, we examine the ‘synergy strength’ of changes among China’s 27 EPs during the 2002-2012 period from the producer, consumer, and supplier perspectives. Our results reveal that: (1) In recent years, i.e., during the 2007-2012 period, synergy strength has increased. (2) During the 2007-2012 period, the synergy strength was higher from the consumer and supplier perspectives in comparison to the producer perspective. (3) Synergy strength induced by consumption decreased during the 2007-2012 period. (4) The synergy strength is very low in the Electricity and heat production and supply; Construction; and Coal mining and processing sectors. Our study demonstrates how the analysis of ‘synergy strength’ among EPs supplements the evaluation of the sectorial mitigation of emissions. More specifically, our study demonstrates how environmental and energy policy can be improved by considering the effective utilization of the co-benefits of the mitigation of particular emissions and by formulating relevant integrated policies.