Utilizing Blockchain and Smart Contracts to Enable Audit 4.0: From the Perspective of Accountability Audit of Air Pollution Control in China

ABSTRACT Industry 4.0 uses many technologies, such as smart sensors and IoT, to fundamentally improve manufacturing processes. These advanced tools can also be utilized by auditors for the purpose of achieving real-time auditing and monitoring, pushing the profession toward a new generation: “Audit 4.0.” Blockchains and smart contracts should be utilized to overcome new challenges in the transformation toward Audit 4.0. This paper explores the potential of blockchain and smart contracts to reengineer current audit procedures, thereby enabling Audit 4.0. First, this paper demonstrates a framework that summarizes where blockchain and smart contracts should be applied to help implement Audit 4.0. Then, it designs and implements a system to facilitate accountability audit for Chinese government officials regarding air pollution control. In this case, real air quality data are collected via crowdsourcing, verified and analyzed by blockchain and smart contracts to achieve a continuous audit of government officials' performance on air protection.

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Decoupling Analysis between Economic Growth and Air Pollution in Key Regions of Air Pollution Control in China

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13126600 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (12) ◽

pp. 6600

Author(s):

Jing Li ◽

Lipeng Hou ◽

Lin Wang ◽

Lina Tang

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Air Pollution ◽

Economic Development ◽

Pollution Control ◽

Environmental Policies ◽

River Delta ◽

Chinese Government ◽

Air Pollution Control ◽

The Relationship ◽

No2 Pollution

The Chinese government has implemented a number of environmental policies to promote the continuous improvement of air quality while considering economic development. Scientific assessment of the impact of environmental policies on the relationship between air pollution and economic growth can provide a scientific basis for promoting the coordinated development of these two factors. This paper uses the Tapio decoupling theory to analyze the relationship between regional economic growth and air pollution in key regions of air pollution control in China—namely, the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region and surrounding areas (BTHS), the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), and the Pearl River Delta (PRD)—based on data of GDP and the concentrations of SO2, PM10, and NO2 for 31 provinces in China from 2000 to 2019. The results show that the SO2, PM10, and NO2 pollution in the key regions show strong and weak decoupling. The findings additionally indicate that government policies have played a significant role in improving the decoupling between air pollution and economic development. The decoupling between economic growth and SO2 and PM10 pollution in the BTHS, YRD, and PRD is better than that in other regions, while the decoupling between economic growth and NO2 pollution has not improved significantly in these regions. To improve the relationship between economic growth and air pollution, we suggest that the governments of China and other developing countries should further optimize and adjust the structure of industry, energy, and transportation; apply more stringent targets and measures in areas of serious air pollution; and strengthen mobile vehicle pollution control.

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HOW CHINA ATTEMPTS TO VANQUISH AIR POLLUTION IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Meteorologiya i Gidrologiya ◽

10.52002/0130-2906-2021-8-101-111 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 101-111

Author(s):

R. FENG ◽

◽

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Pollution Control ◽

Energy Structure ◽

Chinese Government ◽

Air Pollution Control ◽

Current Policy ◽

National Scale ◽

Low Emission ◽

High Level

In February 2012 a war has been declared by the Chinese government against the nagging air pollution, which takes a mounting death toll annually. The three-pronged national-scale regulations of afforestation/silviculture, ultra-low emission, and energy structure reform have been carried out firmly by authorities, etching the determination of the nation to implement the WHO’s recommended interim target of air pollution control. Undeniably, preliminary battle against air pollution has achieved initial success. Eight years after the declaration air pollution has been controlled to an acceptable level, compellingly demonstrating the validity of current policy, even with continued reasons for skepticism and gaps in scientic knowledge. However, the accruing trend of tropospheric O3 in the surface air and high level of wintertime PM2.5 signify this en masse war is far from winning.

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Using science to conquer haze: an interview with Tong Zhu

National Science Review ◽

10.1093/nsr/nwx144 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4 (6) ◽

pp. 867-869

Author(s):

Hepeng Jia

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Atmospheric Chemistry ◽

Pollution Control ◽

Atmospheric Pollution ◽

Steering Committee ◽

Current Status ◽

Chinese Government ◽

Air Pollution Control ◽

Surface Exchange ◽

Peking University

Abstract With a doctorate degree from the University of Wuppertal in Germany (1991), Tong Zhu is a Cheung Kong Chair Professor of Environmental Sciences at Peking University (PKU). He is a leading scientist in atmospheric pollution study and has been advising the Chinese government on controlling air pollution in the event of major international activities in China, including the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He served as a co-chair of the scientific steering committee of International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC) and now is the chair of the Expert Panel of the National Natural Science Foundation of China's Major Research Program, ‘Fundamental researches on the formation and response mechanism of air pollution complex in China’. His research is focused on air pollution related chemical reactions, health effects of environmental pollution, megacity and regional air pollution control, and the air surface exchange and global biogeochemistry. To better understand the current status of the atmospheric pollution research in China and its contribution to air pollution control, the National Science Review made an exclusive interview with Prof. Zhu.

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Study and Implementation of PM2.5 Data Download Service Based on Python

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.411-414.555 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 411-414 ◽

pp. 555-558

Author(s):

Kun Cao ◽

Fei Wang ◽

Jin Gang Liu

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Data Storage ◽

Pollution Control ◽

Historical Data ◽

Pollution Prevention ◽

Implementation Process ◽

Present Situation ◽

Quality Data ◽

Air Pollution Control ◽

Air Quality Data

Aiming at the present situation of research institutions attaching great importance to air pollution control but air quality data acquisition is not convenient, solutions based on Python and Django to provide the service of the air quality data downloading such as PM2.5 is proposed along with their detailed implementation process in Web system design and development. The results indicate that, these techniques enhanced the developing efficiency, the system's service of data downloading can provide comprehensive monitoring data which can be used directly by researchers and improve their efficiency. Accumulated historical data storage is also very important to the study of air quality changing and the pollution prevention.

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Determining the effectiveness of pollution control policies implemented by the Chinese government: Distribution fitting and testing of daily PM2.5 data

Energy & Environment ◽

10.1177/0958305x211043528 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 0958305X2110435

Author(s):

Gang Peng ◽

Jie Zhang ◽

Kai Shi

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Air Quality ◽

Pollution Control ◽

Pollution Prevention ◽

Sustainable Urban Development ◽

Chinese Government ◽

Air Pollution Control ◽

Distribution Fitting ◽

Control Policies ◽

And Control

Air pollution has become an urgent issue affecting sustainable urban development. The Chinese government has implemented a series of air pollution control policies since 2012. Exploring the effectiveness of pollution control policies is important for future policy-making and improvements in air quality. Mean and variance tests were used for evaluation on the effectiveness of pollution control policies implemented in major cities and estimates of the heterogeneity among cities based on the distribution fitting and testing of daily PM2.5 data from January 2015 to January 2020. The nonparametric kernel density estimation adopted in this paper can effectively describe the data characteristics, and this is very important for air quality monitoring and control. Our findings demonstrate that air pollution prevention and control policies have significantly improved the levels and distribution of urban air quality in China.

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