Many stakeholders recognize that the transport sector should be a major focus for reducing the emissions of carbon and air pollutants since it is the third largest sector for energy consumption in China. This study analyzed and projected the energy consumption and emissions of CO₂ and conventional air pollutants (CO, NO_X, SO₂, and PM_2.5) from four transport sectors (highway, waterway, railway and aviation) based on the LEAP model, compared the emission reduction potentials of different transport sectors under different scenarios in 2020-2060, and finally explored the co-reduction effect for CO₂ and the four pollutants under different control measures. The results showed that the CO₂ emissions from the transportation sectors in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region would increase greatly under the baseline scenario. Estimates indicate that the CO₂ emissions of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province would increase by 263.72%, 225.87% and 405.43% in 2060, respectively. Under the comprehensive policy scenario, the emission reductions would be 88.78%, 76.86% and 83.20% respectively, and the maximum emission reduction rate of pollutants is expected to reach 78.73%-99.34%. The sectors with major reduction potentials for CO₂ and conventional pollutants are the aviation and road transport sectors, which contribute 38.19%-99.85% of the total, respectively. The co-reduction achieved by optimizing the energy structure in the road transport and aviation sectors would be the best. The results of this study can provide a basis for the formulation of low-carbon reduction strategies for the transport sectors in the BTH region.

This study systematically sorted out the situation of the water ecological environment in the river basins of the Altay region, and analyzed the main problems that exist concerning water environmental quality, water ecology, water resources, and other aspects. The Altay region has three major river systems: the Irtysh River, the Ulungur River and the rivers of Jimunai County. The water environmental quality of major rivers in the region remained stable, and the total amount of water resources in the Altay region is at the forefront of Xinjiang. However, insufficient ecological flow in the Altay basin, serious water ecological damage and water environmental risks are still prominent. Based on the main problems which were identified and the distribution of the river system, the Altay region would be divided into four areas: the Irtysh River Basin, the Ulungur River Basin, the river basins of Jimunai County, and the desert control unit in the south, and the four areas was divided into eleven water ecological environment control units. In order to provide scientific and technological support for the improvement of the water ecological environmental quality of the river basins in the Altay region, general ideas and countermeasures are put forward for protecting the water ecological environment of the river basin from the three aspects of enhancing water pollution prevention and control, strengthening the protection of water resources, and reinforcing water ecological protection and restoration.

With the rapid development of Quanzhou, the risk of offshore oil spill accidents has increased. Once a spill accident takes place, the spilled oil causes decades or even hundreds of years of continuous pollution to the marine environment. The direct economic loss may be as high as hundreds of millions of yuan, while the natural resources that are almost impossible to fully recover after such pollution may generate inestimable indirect economic losses in the long term. Therefore, predicting the accident probability, analyzing the causes of risk and putting forward suggestions for improvement have important practical guiding significance for reducing the risk and improving the emergency prevention and ability to control offshore oil spill accidents. Based on the statistical data of cargo throughput, the number of ships entering and leaving the port, and maritime pollution accidents in Quanzhou from 2011 to 2020, the frequency of oil spills during the 14th Five-Year Plan could be predicted by using the direct calculation method and fault tree analysis (FAT). The results show that the frequency of operational and average oil spills from ships are once in 4.92 years and once in 2.41 years, respectively, while the frequency of oil spills from storage tanks is once in 7.28 years. The main causes are anthropic factors, which are manifested as irregular operation, misoperation, unfamiliar equipment, disorganization of the emergency response and failure of the emergency facilities. Therefore, the suggestions put forward for reducing accidents in the future include enhancing the inspection of crew member qualifications as well as the offshore supervision of engineering operation vessels and fishing vessels, increasing the proportion of terminal emergency equipment and personnel and participation in emergency actions, clarifying the division of responsibilities between the terminal and cleanup company, and revising the relevant standards for the evaluation of the terminal’s ability to cope with the emergency of offshore oil spill accidents.

As global warming leads to increases in the frequency and intensity of high temperatures, the negative impacts of high temperatures on human society are becoming increasingly severe. In recent years, heat risk has become the focus of many studies. To effectively address high temperature risks, a high temperature risk evaluation index system was constructed based on Chinese meteorological, demographic, and economic data in three dimensions: hazard, exposure, and vulnerability. The results of this study reveal the spatial pattern of high temperature risks, and identify the main factors contributing to these risks through a contribution model. (1) During 1961-2020, the intensity of high temperatures and the number of high temperature days in China showed a fluctuating upward trend, which was most obvious in the southeast and northwest. (2) The clustering characteristics of high-temperature risk distribution in China were clear, and the high-risk areas were mainly distributed in the southeast and northwest. The urban high-temperature risk values were between 0.00 and 0.50, among which Yuxi, Turpan, Hangzhou, Nanchang, and several other cities had greater high temperature risks. (3) The hazard and vulnerability contributions were the largest among high-risk cities and low-risk cities, respectively. Among the hazard-causing cities, Turpan had the largest hazard contribution; while among the exposure-causing cities, Shenzhen had the largest exposure contribution; and among the vulnerability-causing cities, Pingliang had the largest vulnerability contribution. The findings of this study are of great significance by providing information that will enable an effective response to high-temperature risks and that can be used to strengthen regional disaster prevention as well as mitigation and sustainable economic development.

The countries along the “Belt and Road” (B&R) should devote their efforts to top-level planning in the field of agriculture, so as to ensure the sustainable development of agriculture in the region. This will require a precise assessment of the sustainability of agriculture along the B&R. With a view to understanding the concept of sustainable agriculture along the B&R, combined with the interpretation of the agricultural objectives contained in the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this study uses statistical regression analysis and trend prediction to predict the social and economic development trends in terms of economic growth and urbanization in the countries along the B&R up until 2030, and the corresponding impacts on agricultural resources and the environment. The results show that the future prospects for agricultural resources and the environment along the B&R are not promising, and meeting the future food security needs of the region will be difficult. Only by adopting innovative policies and implementing strategic planning can the goals of sustainable agricultural development and food security by 2030 be achieved in this region. Therefore, countries along the B&R should formulate agricultural development strategies from three aspects: building an agricultural cooperation platform, setting up special funds, and innovating the agricultural cooperation mode, so as to achieve the sustainable development of agriculture in the region.

The duration of travel climate comfort degree is an important factor that influences the length of the tourism season and the development of a tourism destination. In this study, we used the monthly average meteorological data for the last 10 years from 46 weather stations in Heilongjiang Province (China) and Primorsky Krai (Russia) to calculate the temperature-humidity index (THI) and wind chill index (WCI) based on ArcGIS software interpolation technology. We obtained the climate comfort charts of the study area with a grid size a 1 km ² grid size, and analyzed the spatial distribution of comfort for each month. The results show the following: 1) The THI and WCI of the cross-border region gradually decrease from south to north and from low altitude to high altitude. The annual comfortable climate period is longer when analyzed in terms of the WCI rather \than the THI. 2) The travel climate comfortable period of the study area shows significant regional difference and the length of the comfortable period in Heilongjiang Province is 4 to 5 months. Meanwhile, the period in Primorsky Krai decreases from south to north and the length of the comfortable period length in its southern region can reach 7 months. 3) The predominant length of the climate comfortable period in the cross-border area is 5 months per year, and it covers 46.6% of the total area, while areas that have a climate comfortable period of 2 months are the most limited, covering less than 0.3% of the area. The results provide a scientific basis for the utilization and development of a meteorological tourism resources and touring arrangements for tourists in the cross-border region between China and Russia.

Affected by climate change and policy factors, Kazakhstan is the country with the most severe ecological degradation and grassland conflicts in Central Asia. Therefore, studying the state of grassland carrying resources in Kazakhstan is particularly important for understanding the responses of grassland ecosystems to climate change and human activities. Based on Kazakhstan's remote sensing data and animal husbandry statistics, this study analyzes the patterns of changes in grassland ecosystems in Kazakhstan based on the supply and consumption of these ecosystems. The results show that: 1) From 2003 to 2017, the number of livestock raised in Kazakhstan showed a trend of sustained and steady growth. Due to freezing damage, the scale of livestock farming decreased in 2011, but a spatial difference in the livestock farming structure was not obvious. 2) The fluctuation of grassland supply in Kazakhstan has increased, while the consumption due to animal husbandry has also continued to increase, resulting in an increasing pressure on the grassland carrying capacity. 3) Between 2003 and 2017, the overall grassland carrying status of Kazakhstan have been abundant, but the grassland carrying pressure index has shown a steadily increasing trend, the grassland carrying pressure is growing, and it is mainly determined by grassland productivity. The greater pressure in lower Kyzylorda state, the southern Kazakhstan state of the cultivated land and the northern Kazakhstan state has gradually expanded to include the agro-pastoral zone and the semi-desert zone.

Mongolia is an important part of the Belt and Road Initiative “China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor” and a region that has been severely affected by global climate change. Changes in grassland production have had a profound impact on the sustainable development of the region. Our study explored an optimal model for estimating grassland production in Mongolia and discovered its temporal and spatial distributions. Three estimation models were established using a statistical analysis method based on EVI, MSAVI, NDVI, and PsnNet from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) remote sensing data and measured data. A model evaluation and accuracy comparison showed that an exponential model based on MSAVI was the best simulation (model accuracy 78%). This was selected to estimate the grassland production in central and eastern Mongolia from 2006 to 2015. The results show that the grassland production in the study area had a significantly fluctuating trend for the decade study; a slight overall increasing trend was observed. For the first five years, the grassland production decreased slowly, whereas in the latter five years, significant fluctuations were observed. The grassland production (per unit yield) gradually increased from the southwest to northeast. In most provinces of the study area, the production was above 1000 kg ha ^-1, with the largest production in Hentiy, at 3944.35 kg ha ^-1. The grassland production (total yield) varied greatly among the provinces, with Kent showing the highest production, 2341.76×10 ⁴ t. Results also indicate that the trend in grassland production along the China-Mongolia railway was generally consistent with that of the six provinces studied.

This paper aims to explore the determinants of CO₂ emissions in Laos by accounting for the significant role played by foreign direct investment (FDI) in influencing CO₂ emissions during the period 1990-2017. We apply a Johansen co-integration testing approach to investigate the presence of co-integration, and the empirical findings underscore the presence of a long-run co-integration relationship between CO₂ emissions, FDI, per capita GDP, and industrial structure. We also employ an error-correcting model to examine the short-term dynamic effect of FDI on CO₂ emissions. The empirical results show that FDI has a significant short-term dynamic effect on changes in CO₂ emissions, indicating that the relationship between FDI and CO₂ emissions is an inverted U-shaped curve. This is a validation of the EKC. Changes of FDI, per capita GDP, and industrial structure increase CO₂ emissions. Based on the analysis results, this paper puts forward policy suggestions emphasizing the need for both Laotian policymakers and Chinese investors to improve eco-environmental quality.