Study on the spatial spillover effects of cement production on air pollution in China

Since 1985, China has become the largest cement producer and consumer in the world. The pollutants emitted from cement production and processing have aggravated China's pressure to conserve energy and reduce emissions. Considering the fact of cross regional transfer and capacity replacement of cement industry, this paper explores the influence of cement production on air pollution by using spatial econometric models. The results illustrate that the concentration of PM2.5 is obviously spatially dependent and presents high-east and low-west agglomeration characteristic on a national scale. Moreover, the positive correlation between cement production and air pollution is quite obvious, the spatial spillover effects of cement production on air pollution increase progressively, and the indirect spillover effects are seven times greater than the direct spillover effects. The results also show that the phenomenon of cement industries obtaining benefits at the cost of hurting air quality in surrounding areas is the most severe in eastern China. Thus, rules should be based on local conditions when making policies in cement industries and the strong correlation between the pollution of adjacent areas should be fully considered. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.