Study On The Estimation Of Environmental Cost Of The Regional Industrial Development

Industrial development contributes to the economic development in the whole region, but it needs strong environmental support providing the natural resources and guarantee of environmental quality. That is to say, the flourishing industrial development hides the large environmental cost. The cost including the consumption of the natural resources and the loss of environmental pollution following with the industrial development were not embodied in the traditional System of Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting(SEEA). That will endanger the regional sustainable development because of the partly magnified economic developmental level, which let people simply pursue the industrial and economic benefit.Estimating the environmental cost of the industrial development and bringing it into SEEA not only can comprehensively reflect the relationship between the regional development and environment and truely show up the quality of economic development, but also can exactly judge the level of regional economic development. Estimating environmental cost of industrial development is beneficial to the adjustment of industrial structure and the accomplishment of internalization of environmental cost. And it has significant theoretical and practical meaning for bringing the regional sustainable development into effect.Based on the research of environmental cost home and abroad, with an object of environmental cost of regional industrial development, the purpose of eliminating environmental external diseconomies and the target of the regional sustainable development, the research established the theoretical and methodical estimable system of environmental cost and took Xi'an city as a case study. Some main conclusions were as follows:(l)The environmental cost of regional industrial development was definted as environmental expenses or environmental losses by industrial developent, and it was divided into the cost of consumed resources and loss of polluted environment. Also it was divided into the internal environmental cost and the external environmental cost. So the system of estimating environmental cost could generally reflect the environmental expense and its spatial response by industrial development.(2)On the basis of researches of large numbers of papers, systematically establish the estimating models and methods of environmental cost of regional industrial development and discuss the related calculating parameters.(3)On the basis of thinking over pollutants discharged and the loss of the environmental pollution of the industries, the coefficient formula of judging environment impact degree was elementarily established. The coefficient was used to synthetically judge degree of environmental impact of different industries. Also it provides the scientific basis for managing environment and internalizing the environmental cost of industries.(4)On the basis of thinking over integrated benefit of environment and economy, the formula of environment-economy coefficient was put forward. The coefficient was used to measure the balanced degree of the environmental impact and the economic development among different industries, and then guide the adjustment of regional industrial structure.(5)Taking Xi'an city as a case study, environmental cost respectively accountedGDP for 16.54%, 17.53%, 16.91%, 14.48%, 12.13%, 8.49%, 8.72%, 6.28% from 1996 to 2003. The result showed that total trend of environmental cost continuingly came down.(6)The result showed that the internal environmental cost exceeds 80% but its trend came down, and the external environmental cost falls to short of 20% but its trend rised from contribution rate.(7)The result showed that the contribution rate of the loss of air pollution in the environmental cost was about 59.7%, it was at the fist rank but its trend was falling down in recent years. The proportion of loss of water pollution always ranked second, but its trend was rising. The contribution rate of loss of discharged CO2 was third and the trend was slowly going up in Xi'an.(8)Through judging the environmental impact of industries, the most serious environmental pollution industries were electric power, heating power generating and supplying, paper-making and paper products. Their environmental pollution losses were 18.29% and 44.75% in proportion to their value-added of industry. Their contribution rate to the loss of environmental pollution was the highest. The two industries were the main tasks for protecting environment.(9)Through researching the environment-economy coefficient of different industries, there are eight industries which the environment-economy coefficient was bigger than 1. The environment-economy coefficient rank from first to fifth is as following: Ferrous Metals Mining and Dressing, Nonferrous Metals Mining and Dressing, Papermaking and Paper products, Electric power, heating power generating and supplying, Nonmetal Mineral Products, and the coefficient respectively were 149.3, 34.13, 19.28, 7.879 and 5.698. That is to say, these industries' general benefit was relatively bad in the environment and economy. So the industrial structure needs step by step adjustment and their technology needs innovated and renewed.(10)Through estimating environmental cost, judging environmental impact and integrated environmental and economic benefits, the countermeasures such as quickly adjusting industrial structure, promoting cleaner production, taking stimulating economic measures, setting down development planning of circular economy, strengthening environmental management, enhancing the participant consciousness of the public and so on were put forward to accomplish the interaalization of the environmental cost of industrial development in Xi'an.