Driving forces and the spatial patterns of industrial sulfur dioxide discharge in China

Rapid industrialization in China has brought forward serious and harmful atmospheric pollution. In this study, spatial econometric analysis was used to analyze the spatial change and the driving forces behind the industrial sulfur dioxide (SO₂) discharge in China from 2001 to 2014. The study found that the amount of industrial SO₂ discharge (ISOD) increased first and then decreased during this period. ISOD intensity witnessed a fluctuating drop. There were large differences among intercity ISOD amount and intensity, which had various spatial patterns. Global Moran's I of ISOD amount and intensity had a tendency to increase on the whole, showed positive spatial autocorrelation, and revealed a more and more remarkable clustered spatial pattern. Local spatial autocorrelation analysis found that the spatial patterns of ISOD amount and intensity changed considerably over space and time. The spatial patterns of ISOD were significantly influenced by the regional differences in land use and environmental policy. The study also found that the driving forces of ISOD in China changed significantly from 2001 to 2014.