Environmental policies are a primary tool for governments to address environmental issues, yet their effectiveness remains debated. This study examines the direct and indirect effects of regional environmental policies on environmental efficiency. Based on the environmental policies collected from 150 official websites, the environmental policy intensity (EPI) and convergence of 30 Chinese regions are quantified by text mining methods, and the Spatial Durbin Model is employed to investigate the direct and spillover effects of environmental policies on environmental performance. The results indicate that regional environmental policy convergence (EPC) has statistically significant and positive direct and spillover effects. Conversely, stricter EPI tends to hinder sustainability in both local and neighboring regions. Furthermore, empirical analysis demonstrates that EPC generates significantly greater positive impacts than the suppressive effects caused by policy intensity, both in direct and spillover terms. These findings highlight the importance of inter-regional policy integration and offer new insights for regional environmental governance.
Observations from the Little Bunker
Last updated: October 16, 2025 02:57 AM
Atmospheric CO₂
424.4 ppm
+18.2
ppm/year
Atmospheric CH₄
1933.54 ppb
+12.29
ppb/year
Global Temperature
+1.48 °C
Peak: +1.73°C
World Population
8.1 billion
+67
million/year