Abstract
Public environmental concern (PEC) is an important bottom-up force in building an environmentally sustainable society. Guided by attitude theory, this paper innovatively constructed a PEC evaluation index system, while introducing entropy weighted-TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) to realize the assessment of PEC. Exploratory spatial data analysis was used to portray the spatio-temporal evolution patterns of PEC in 362 Chinese cities at prefecture-level and above from 2011 to 2018. Furthermore, the Geodetector model was performed to identify the multi-dimensional determinants of PEC from the perspective of spatial heterogeneity. The results indicated that: 1) PEC in China exhibited a fluctuating upward trend, consistent with the spatial distribution law of ‘Heihe-Tengchong Line’ and ‘Bole-Taipei Line’; 2) the driving effect of each factor varied dynamically, but in general, economic development level, population size, industrial wastewater, and education level were the dominant driving factors explaining the spatial variation of PEC; 3) risk detection revealed that four factors, government environmental regulations, PM2.5, vegetation coverage, and natural resource endowment, had nonlinear effects on PEC; 4) the interactions between factors all demonstrated an enhancement in explaining the spatial differentiation of PEC. PEC was driven by the comprehensive interaction of four-dimensional factors of economy, society, pollutant emissions, and ecology. Among them, population agglomeration accompanied by a high level of regional economy and information technology can explain the increase in PEC to the greatest extent.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aasen M, 2017. The polarization of public concern about climate change in Norway. Climate Policy, 17(2): 213–230. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/14693062.2015.1094727
Amador F J, González R M, Ramos-Real F J, 2013. Supplier choice and WTP for electricity attributes in an emerging market: the role of perceived past experience, environmental concern and energy saving behavior. Energy Economics, 40: 953–966. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2013.06.007
Chen J D, Gao M, Cheng S L et al., 2020. County-level CO2 emissions and sequestration in China during 1997–2017. Scientific Data, 7(1): 391. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-020-00736-3
Chen X L, Zhao H M, Li P X et al., 2006. Remote sensing image-based analysis of the relationship between urban heat island and land use/cover changes. Remote Sensing of Environment, 104(2): 133–146. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2005.11.016
Cheng J, Liu Y Y, 2018. The effects of public attention on the environmental performance of high-polluting firms: based on big data from web search in China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 186: 335–341. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.03.146
Clements J M, McCright A M, Xiao C Y, 2014. Green Christians? An empirical examination of environmental concern within the U. S. general public. Organization & Environment, 27(1): 85–102. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1086026613495475
Conroy S J, Emerson T L N, 2014. A tale of trade-offs: the impact of macroeconomic factors on environmental concern. Journal of Environmental Management, 145: 88–93. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.05.033
De Pretto L, Acreman S, Ashfold M J et al., 2015. The link between knowledge, attitudes and practices in relation to atmospheric haze pollution in peninsular Malaysia. PLoS ONE, 10(12): e0143655. doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0143655
Deng Wei, Zhang Shaoyao, Zhou Peng et al., 2020. Spatiotemporal characteristics of rural labor migration in China: evidence from the migration stability under new-type urbanization. Chinese Geographical Science, 30(5): 749–764. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-020-1147-7
Dunlap R E, Jones R E, 2002. Environmental concern: conceptual and measurement issues. Handbook of Environmental Sociology, 3(6): 482–524.
Dunlap R E, van Liere K D, Mertig A G et al., 2000. New trends in measuring environmental attitudes: measuring endorsement of the new ecological paradigm: a revised NEP scale. Journal of Social Issues, 56(3): 425–442. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/0022-4537.00176
El Ouadghiri I, Guesmi K, Peillex J et al., 2021. Public attention to environmental issues and stock market returns. Ecological Economics, 180: 106836. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2020.106836
Forsyth T, 2007. Are environmental social movements socially exclusive? An historical study from Thailand. World Development, 35(12): 2110–2130. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2007.01.005
Ginsberg J, Mohebbi M H, Patel R S et al., 2009. Detecting influenza epidemics using search engine query data. Nature, 457(7232): 1012–1014. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07634
Greenstone M, Hanna R, 2014. Environmental regulations, air and water pollution, and infant mortality in India. American Economic Review, 104(10): 3038–3072. doi: https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.104.10.3038
Gu Y, Ho K C, Yan C et al., 2021. Public environmental concern, CEO turnover, and green investment: evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China. Energy Economics, 100: 105379. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2021.105379
Gu Y, Ho K C, Xia S M et al., 2022. Do public environmental concerns promote new energy enterprises’ development? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment. Energy Economics, 109: 105967. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2022.105967
Hao F, 2014. The effect of economic affluence and ecological degradation on Chinese environmental concern: a multilevel analysis. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 4(2): 123–131. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13412-014-0166-z
Hong Dayong, Fan Yechao, Xiao Chenyang, 2014. Re-examining the measurement quality of the Chinese New Environmental Paradigm (CNEP) scale: an analysis based on the CGSS 2010 data. Sociology Study, 29(4): 49–72. (in Chinese)
Hou M Y, Deng Y J, Yao S B, 2022. Coordinated relationship between urbanization and grain production in China: degree measurement, spatial differentiation and its factors detection. Journal of Cleaner Production, 331: 129957. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.129957
Huang D C, Wang J F, Huang J X et al., 2016. Towards identifying and reducing the bias of disease information extracted from search engine data. PLoS Computational Biology, 12(6): e1004876. doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004876
Huang J W, 2008. Combining entropy weight and TOPSIS method for information system selection. In: 2008 IEEE Conference on Cybernetics and Intelligent Systems. Chengdu, China: IEEE, 1281–1284. doi: https://doi.org/10.1109/ICCIS.2008.4670971
Jiang W, Gao W, Gao X et al., 2021. Spatio-temporal heterogeneity of air pollution and its key influencing factors in the Yellow River Economic Belt of China from 2014 to 2019. Journal of Environmental Management, 296: 113172. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113172
Kahn M E, Kotchen M J, 2011. Business cycle effects on concern about climate change: the chilling effect of recession. Climate Change Economics, 2(3): 257–273. doi: https://doi.org/10.1142/S2010007811000292
Li Bo, Shi Zhaoyuan, Tian Chuang, 2018. Spatio-temporal difference and influencing factors of environmental adaptability measurement of human-sea economic system in Liaoning coastal area. Chinese Geographical Science, 28(2): 313–324. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-018-0948-4
Li C D, Ma X W, Fu T B et al., 2021. Does public concern over haze pollution matter? Evidence from Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, China. Science of the Total Environment, 755: 142397. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142397
Liu H H, Xiao Y, Wang B et al., 2022. Effects of tourism development on economic growth: an empirical study of China based on both static and dynamic spatial Durbin models. Tourism Economics, 28(7): 1888–1913. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/13548166211021175
Liu L, de Jong M, Huang Y, 2016. Assessing the administrative practice of environmental protection performance evaluation in China: the case of Shenzhen. Journal of Cleaner Production, 134: 51–60. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.09.125
Liu Ruiming, Li Lin, Kang Yankun et al., 2018. Selection activities of scenic spots, the supply of government public services and regional tourism economic development. China Industrial Economics, (2): 118–136. (in Chinese)
Liu X H, Ji X, Zhang D Q et al., 2019. How public environmental concern affects the sustainable development of Chinese cities: an empirical study using extended DEA models. Journal of Environmental Management, 251: 109619. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109619
Liu X S, Vedlitz A, Shi L, 2014. Examining the determinants of public environmental concern: evidence from national public surveys. Environmental Science & Policy, 39: 77–94. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2014.02.006
Liu X S, Mu R, 2016. Public environmental concern in China: determinants and variations. Global Environmental Change, 37: 116–127. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2016.01.008
Long F J, Liu J N, Zheng L F, 2022. The effects of public environmental concern on urban-rural environmental inequality: evidence from Chinese industrial enterprises. Sustainable Cities and Society, 80: 103787. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2022.103787
Lou X B, Li L M W, Xia W W et al., 2022. A meta-analysis of temporal shifts in environmental concern between 1994 and 2017: an examination of the new environmental paradigm. Anthropocene, 38: 100335. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ancene.2022.100335
Lu Y L, Wang Y, Zuo J et al., 2018. Characteristics of public concern on haze in China and its relationship with air quality in urban areas. Science of the Total Environment, 637–638: 1597–1606. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.382
Ma J Z, Seenivasan S, Yan B Y, 2020. Media influences on consumption trends: effects of the film Food, Inc. on organic food sales in the U. S. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 37(2): 320–335. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2019.08.004
Magnier L, Schoormans J, 2015. Consumer reactions to sustainable packaging: the interplay of visual appearance, verbal claim and environmental concern. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 44: 53–62. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2015.09.005
Marquart-Pyatt S T, 2012. Contextual influences on environmental concerns cross-nationally: a multilevel investigation. Social Science Research, 41(5): 1085–1099. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2012.04.003
Melis G, Elliot M, Shryane N, 2014. Environmental concern over time: evidence from the longitudinal analysis of a British cohort study from 1991 to 2008. Social Science Quarterly, 95(4): 905–919. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12107
Moran P A P, 1950. Notes on continuous stochastic phenomena. Biometrika, 37(1–2): 17–23. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/biomet/37.1-2.17
NBSC (National Bureau of Statistics of China), 2012–2019. China Statistical Yearbook for Regional Economy (2011–2018). Beijing: China Statistics Press. (in Chinese)
NBSC (National Bureau of Statistics of China), 2012–2019. China City Statistical Yearbook (2011–2018). Beijing: China Statistics Press. (in Chinese)
Olivos F, Palomo-Vélez G, Olivos-Jara P et al., 2021. Educational attainment and environmental concern in China: an instrumental variable approach. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 24(2): 156–168. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/ajsp.12431
Paloniemi R, Apostolopoulou E, Cent J et al., 2015. Public participation and environmental justice in biodiversity governance in Finland, Greece, Poland and the UK. Environmental Policy and Governance, 25(5): 330–342. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/eet.1672
Parks P, 2017. Silent spring, loud legacy: how elite media helped establish an environmentalist icon. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 94(4): 1215–1238. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1077699017696882
Preis T, Moat H S, Stanley H E, 2013. Quantifying trading behavior in financial markets using Google Trends. Scientific Reports, 3(1): 1684. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/srep01684
Pu S S, Shao Z J, Fang M R et al., 2019. Spatial distribution of the public’s risk perception for air pollution: a nationwide study in China. Science of the Total Environment, 655: 454–462. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.232
Shi Yadong, 2018. Analysis on the formulation of public environmental concern index and its influencing factors: taking Beijing as an example. Journal of Beijing Institute of Technology (Social Sciences Edition), 20(5): 46–53. (in Chinese)
Song Y Z, Wang J F, Ge Y et al., 2020. An optimal parameters-based geographical detector model enhances geographic characteristics of explanatory variables for spatial heterogeneity analysis: cases with different types of spatial data. GIScience & Remote Sensing, 57(5): 593–610. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/15481603.2020.1760434
Tong Y, Zhou H F, Jiang L et al., 2021. Investigating the factors underlying participation by the Chinese public in environmental management: an approach based on spatial heterogeneity. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28(35): 48362–48378. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13797-7
Twenge J M, Campbell W K, Freeman E C, 2012. Generational differences in young adults’ life goals, concern for others, and civic orientation, 1966–2009. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(5): 1045–1062. doi: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027408
Wang J F, Li X H, Christakos G et al., 2010. Geographical detectors-based health risk assessment and its application in the neural tube defects study of the Heshun Region, China. International Journal of Geographical Information Science, 24(1): 107–127. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/13658810802443457
Wang Jinfeng, Xu Chengdong, 2017. Geodetector: principle and prospective. Acta Geographica Sinica, 72(1): 116–134. (in Chinese)
Wang S J, Zhou H Y, Hua G H et al., 2021. What is the relationship among environmental pollution, environmental behavior, and public health in China? A study based on CGSS. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28(16): 20299–20312. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11951-1
Wang S Y, Jiang J J, Zhou Y et al., 2020. Climate-change information, health-risk perception and residents’ environmental complaint behavior: an empirical study in China. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 42(3): 719–732. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-018-0235-4
Weigel R H, Weigel J, 1978. Environmental concern: the development of a measure. Environment and Behavior, 10(1): 3–15. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916578101001
Wen T, Wang J G, Ma Z W et al., 2017. Driving forces behind the Chinese public’s demand for improved environmental safety. Science of the Total Environment, 603–604: 237–243. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.06.086
Wolf M J, Emerson J W, Esty D C et al., 2022. 2022 Environmental Performance Index. New Haven, CT: Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy.
Wu Libo, Yang Meimin, Sun Kege, 2022. Impact of public environmental attention on environmental governance of enterprises and local governments. China Population, Resources and Environment, 32(2): 1–14. (in Chinese)
Wu W Q, Wang W W, Zhang L et al., 2021. Does the public haze pollution concern expressed on online platforms promoted pollution control? Evidence from Chinese online platforms. Journal of Cleaner Production, 318: 128477. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.128477
Yang X L, Dong X C, Jiang Q Z et al., 2019. Factors influencing public concern about environmental protection: an analysis from China. Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society, 2019: 5983160. doi: https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/5983160
Zhang C G, Tan Z, 2016. The relationships between population factors and China’s carbon emissions: does population aging matter? Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 65: 1018–1025. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2016.06.083
Zhang G X, Deng N N, Mou H Z et al., 2019. The impact of the policy and behavior of public participation on environmental governance performance: empirical analysis based on provincial panel data in China. Energy Policy, 129: 1347–1354. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2019.03.030
Zhang J P, Cheng M W, Wei X Y et al., 2019. Internet use and the satisfaction with governmental environmental protection: evidence from China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 212: 1025–1035. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.12.100
Zheng S Q, Kahn M E, Sun W Z et al., 2014. Incentives for China’s urban mayors to mitigate pollution externalities: the role of the central government and public environmentalism. Regional Science and Urban Economics, 47: 61–71. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2013.09.003
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Foundation item: Under the auspices of National Social Science Foundation of China (No. 21BJY194), Natural Science Foundation of Hainan Province (No. 722RC631)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tong, Y., Pang, L., Sun, M. et al. Detection of Multi-dimensional Driving Forces of Public Environmental Concern in China: Based on Spatial Heterogeneity Perspectives. Chin. Geogr. Sci. 33, 1109–1126 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-023-1378-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-023-1378-5