Industry Selection Of Island Economy In Zhejiang Province On Energy Saving And Emission Reduction

In terms of natural resources, Zhejiang Province is comparatively poor compared with others in China: the province's arable land, forest reserves, water resources and key mineral resources are below the national average, but it ranks the top in terms of marine resources in the country, with islands accounting for 43% of the total area of the entire country, manifesting its location advantages and boasting the country's largest island groups- Zhoushan Islands. Thus the rational development and exploration of regional economy focusing on island economy plays a significant rile in the economic development in Zhejiang Province.Islands have their own unique ecological characteristics, but the fragile ecosystems are vulnerable, frequently subjected to natural disasters, and limited by comparatively fewer varied resources, which contributes to the limitations to the province's economic development.. Therefore, concentrating on the characteristics of islands, examining its regional economic development, making full use of the island's geographical advantages and marine resources, it will not only compensate for the disadvantages of scarce natural resources in Zhejiang Provincial, but also become a new growth point for Zhejiang's overall economy.Current economic literatures specializing in the research of island economy are few and inadequate. Apart from the limited researches, most current researches are oriented in macro-economy, industrial structure and some single aspects of a specific and concrete industry, focusing on a single issue, with very limited scope of research, far from comprehensive. This paper, initiating a unique perspective concerning industrial energy saving and emission reduction, explores the industry selection and specific development of island regions, attempting to explore some new approaches to the sustainable and harmonious development of island economy and environment conservation in a comprehensive and objective manner.In this paper, Zhoushan Islands of Zhejiang Province is singled out as the research object, and the study is divided into two stages: from the macro level, Kuznets curve has been adopted to evaluate the harmonious development between the environment and the regional economy. Next, from the medium level and by means of factor analysis, the study of selection of regional industry has been conducted, eventually leading to the rational conclusion and relevant policy recommendations.The following conclusions can be drawn from the empirical results of this study:From a macro perspective, industrial emissions, wastewater discharges and solid waste disposal in Zhoushan Islands will still show a trend of rapid increase with the growth of per capita GDP, not yet reaching the turning point of pollution, thus indicating that environmental pollution has not been effectively controlled yet. Future emission reduction in Zhoushan Islands is an arduous mission with a long way to go. Water consumption grows with per capita GDP in Zhoushan Islands, showing the trend of instability of future risky water resource depletion. Comprehensive energy consumption in Zhoushan, however, is gradually decreasing with the growth of per capita GDP, indicating that energy consumption has been effectively brought under control. Thus Zhoushan Islands have achieved effective progress in energy conservation, but water consumption should be monitored to conserve water resources.In terms of choice in industry, transportation equipment manufacturing industry and its related professional equipment manufacturing, agricultural food and by-product processing industry, chemical fiber manufacturing industry are regionally advantageous and knock-out industries, while textile and garment, footwear, headgear manufacturing, textile, pharmaceutical industries are new developmental industries with great potentials for this region. The industries with a higher comprehensive score, however, get lower scores in energy saving and emissions reduction generally. In the public basic industries, comprehensive ranking and energy saving and emissions reduction have been in the forefront of all, especially the industry of water production and supply, and recycling and processing industry of wastes being most efficient in these two aspects.Zhoushan Islands should give priority to the overall adjustment of industrial structure in terms of energy efficiency and emission reduction, phasing out certain industries which are of high energy consumption and of high industrial emission. Meanwhile scientific and technological input should be promoted. The efficiency advantages of public infrastructure industries should be brought into full play, in order to address the conflicts and clashes between the overall regional economy and environment protection and energy conservation.