Spatio-Temporal Dynamic Analysis of Sustainable Development in China Based on the Footprint Family

Jing Zhao, Caihong Ma, Xiangui Zhao and Xiaoyu Wang
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Jing Zhao: Division of Student Affairs, Xi’an Shiyou University, Xi’an 710065, China
Caihong Ma: School of Resource and Environment, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China
Xiangui Zhao: School of Geography and Tourism, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710062, China
Xiaoyu Wang: School of Geography and Tourism, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710062, China

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 2, 1-18

Abstract: The existing index systems on sustainable evaluation are mostly based on a multi index comprehensive evaluation method. The main disadvantage of this approach is that the selection and assignment of evaluation indexes are greatly influenced by subjective factors, which can result in poor comparability of results. By contrast, the Footprint Family (including ecological footprint, carbon footprint, and water footprint) is not affected by subjective factors. The Footprint Family also covers the basic tenets of sustainable development. This paper proposes use of a sustainable development evaluation index system based on the principle of the Footprint Family, and including the ecological pressure index ( EPI ), the ecological occupancy index ( EOI ), the ecological economic coordination index ( EECI ), the GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emission index ( CEI ), the water resources stress index ( WSI ), and the sustainable development index ( SDI ). Furthermore, a standard for grading the evaluated results based on global benchmarks is formulated. The results of an empirical study in China were the following. The development situation deteriorated from 1990 to 2015. The results showed that the SDI decreased from a medium level (grade 5) to a lower-medium level (grade 4). The results of this empirical study also showed that the method of evaluation can avoid the influence of subjective factors and can be used in the evaluation of sustainable development for various temporal and spatial conditions.

Keywords: sustainable development; Footprint Family; ecological footprint; carbon footprint; water footprint; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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