Exploring socioeconomic drivers of environmental pressure on the city level: The case study of Chongqing in China

Exploring the socioeconomic drivers of environmental pressures in cities is vital for national and global environmental management. The unique features of the mega-city of Chongqing make it a valuable case study to examine environmental pressures from rapid economic development at the city level. This paper reveals the socioeconomic drivers of environmental pressures in Chongqing during the period of 2000-2010 for energy consumption and air, water, and land emissions. Results indicate that Chongqing's environmental pressures increased for energy consumption and CO2 emissions while decreased for SO2, soot, waste water, and solid waste discharge. The main direct contributors, from the producer perspective, to the overall change of environmental pressures were the manufacturing, electricity and water, and construction sectors. From the consumer perspective, the most significant contributors were gross fixed capital formation and net export. In general, changes of per capita final demand and environmental pressure intensity were the most prominent drivers for increasing and reducing environmental pressure. Final demand structure and final demand composition also contributed towards stabilizing environmental pressures while production structure and residential population had a negligible effect. In this light, we suggest approaches for policymakers to systemically balance between different drivers and to reduce environmental pressures in cities.