Empirical Evaluation of the Environmental Emergency Management Capability of Local Governments in China

Leilei Tang, Bonai Fan, Chengjiang Li and Gang Zhao
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Leilei Tang: School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Bonai Fan: School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Chengjiang Li: School of Management, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
Gang Zhao: School of Engineering, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7005, Australia

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 11, 1-16

Abstract: Environmental emergency management is an important practical subject for local governments. Understanding the different dimensions of environmental emergency management capability is crucial for enabling a well-informed governance performance. Based on the crisis management 4R theory (comprising four stages: reduction, readiness, response and recovery), PPRR emergency management theory (emergency management is categorized into four stages: prevention, preparation, response and recovery), crisis life cycle theory and ISO 22320, this paper divided local government environmental emergency management capability into four dimensions of a dynamic pre–during–post process: preparedness, early warning, response and recovery. This paper applied a confirmatory factor analysis model to confirm the classification standards of the four capabilities, which are strongly correlated within environmental emergency management. We found that China’s local government environmental emergency management capability is generally at an upper-middle level, according to the empirical data. We also analyzed the regional differences in local government environmental emergency management capability across China and concluded that the environmental emergency management capability of local governments in the eastern region is higher than those in other regions. The capability levels in the central, western and northeastern regions are more similar to each other and show a decreasing distribution in the east–central–west–northeast region.

Keywords: preparation; early warning; response; recovery; analysis of variance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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