Embodied pollution research in China's inter-provincial trade based on MRIO model

ZHU Yingying; TIAN Ruobing; GONG Weihua; BAO Chenzhe; SUN Hecao

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1002-9605.2025.6.mtjjyj202506015

Abstract：With the rapid development of regional economic integration,the problem of embodied pollution in China's inter-provincial trade has attracted more and more attention among researches.Based on the inter-regional input-output tables,we use the MRIO model to measure the environmental pollution emissions of 11 departments in 30 provinces of China from the perspective of producers and consumers,and explore the embodied pollution transfer direction and transfer quantity among various provinces and departments in China,which will provide policy recommendations of environmental governance for each province.The results show that,① the environmental pollution emissions are obviously different between the two perspectives,and the environmental pollution emissions of producer responsibility are almost significantly higher than consumers.② The embodied pollution is mainly exported from the underdeveloped regions in the central and western parts of China and is imported to the developed eastern regions,and Beijing,Tianjin,Shanghai,and Zhejiang are the provinces that have the largest net inflow of embodied pollution.③ Heavy industry is the primary cause of the embodied pollution transfer in the inter-provincial trade,and the eastern coastal areas of China are the most likely destinations for embodied pollution flow.④Provinces with rich energy and heavy industry will transfer a relatively large amount of pollution to the economically developed provinces with scarce resources.For example,Inner Mongolia,Xinjiang,Ningxia and Shanxi's mining and dressing industries and electric heating supply industries have a large transfer of environmental pollution,while the heavy industries in Shandong,Liaoning and Jiangsu shows a large trend of outflows.⑤ The embodied pollution transfer has obvious regional correlation characteristics,i.e.,the closer the distance between provinces,and the stronger the economic complementarity,the larger the scale of embodied pollution transfer between provinces.Comprehensively consider the pollution transfer among various departments in different provinces,we can define the emission reduction responsibilities of each province scientifically and rationally when formulating environmental pollution control policies.