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Arid Land Geography ›› 2023, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (2): 284-293.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2022.182

• Regional Development • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Regional sustainable development based on green GDP and ecological efficiency: A case of Shaanxi Province

YU Huan(),LEI Min(),MA Jinjing,LI Rui   

  1. College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, Shaanxi, China
  • Received:2022-04-27 Revised:2022-08-27 Online:2023-02-25 Published:2023-03-14

Abstract:

Sustainable development research has piqued the interest of people from all areas of life. Effective measurement and estimation of the status of regional sustainable development are conducive to the transition to a high-quality development stage. Using an energy analysis method and the Super-SBM model, this study measured the green GDP and ecological efficiency, respectively, of Shaanxi Province from 2000 to 2019. Further, the sustainable development level of Shaanxi Province was measured by establishing a sustainable development appraisal system. The study can address the lack of a single research field or the use of a single assessment method to investigate past regional sustainable development, provides a scientific basis for the planning and layout of future sustainable development in Shaanxi Province, and plays a crucial role in promoting sustainable development strategies for northwest China. The following results are obtained. (1) From 2000 to 2019, the total amount of solar energy invested in the system in Shaanxi Province continued to rise, the total green GDP and GDP increased, the growth rate of green GDP was far less than that of GDP, and the green GDP index continued to decline with an average annual decline of 1.88%. An economic development model that heavily relies on natural resource consumption leads to the widening gap between GDP and green GDP, affecting the improvement of a sustainable development level. (2) Shaanxi Province’s ecological efficiency declined between 2000 and 2019. Regarding ecological efficiency values, the greatest value in 2000 was 1.069, the lowest value in 2017 was 0.891, and the average value from 2000 to 2019 was 1.007. During the research period, input and output efficiency can be quite effective. Rapid economic development has resulted in an increase in the total energy consumption and an extension of urban built-up regions, exerting strain on the natural environment and reducing the capacity for sustainable development. (3) Overall, the ESI (emergy sustainable indices) and modified ESI values of Shaanxi Province decreased from 2000 to 2019, falling to 3.848 and 2.225, respectively, in 2019. The energy yield ratio is declining, whereas the environmental load ratio is growing. Conversely, the energy ratio of waste to renewable has remained basically stable from 2000 to 2016, and its value has increased in 2017. This increase is due to the growing environmental strain in Shaanxi Province as the local economy grows. A study on comprehensive economic and ecological sustainable development discovered that the state of sustainable development is typically satisfactory. Further, economic development is unduly reliant on conventional industries, and a single inefficiency of the development model, as well as the rising strain on the ecological environment, requires the establishment of a green economy to transition into a high-quality development model.

Key words: emergy analysis, Super-SBM model, green GDP, ecological efficiency, sustainable development, Shaanxi Province