Regulations influence on environmental performance: an empirical study on Chinese mining companies

Abstract

The mining industry plays a central role in China's economy. It accounts for most of the energy used domestically, and it's expected to become the largest coal market by 2035. At the same time, it produces the highest amount of pollution, especially carbon dioxide, leading to soil, water, and air degradation. As such the government has implemented several environmental policies and regulations to control and decrease the environmental impacts of mining companies, focusing not only on pollution control but also land remediation and rehabilitation. This study focuses on the environmental policies and regulations implemented by the Chinese government, and how they influenced changes in the mining sector. A sample of twenty companies was analyzed to identify the changes in terms of environmental performance, and then to study how it varied based on geographical location.