ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Ocean Solutions
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1608803
This article is part of the Research TopicOcean Negative Carbon Emissions Technologies and Ecological RisksView all articles
The impact of the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road on sulfur dioxide emissions in Chinese ports: based on the difference-in-difference model
Provisionally accepted
- 1Shanghai Maritime University, pudong, China
- 2Weifang University, Weifang, Shandong Province, China
- 3University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Campania, Italy
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The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (MSR) is a key component of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), launched in 2013 to enhance global connectivity and foster economic cooperation. By promoting infrastructure development, trade facilitation, and cultural exchange, the MSR seeks to strengthen maritime connectivity, boost regional economic integration, and create new growth opportunities for participating countries. The MSR policy has a positive promoting effect on the economic construction and port development of China’s coastal ports. This study established a difference-in-difference model (DID) to explore the impact of MSR policies on SO2 emissions from coastal and inland ports in China. We searched for panel data from 34 coastal and inland ports in China from 2008 to 2023, and based on this panel data, established a DID model for regression analysis. The regression analysis results indicate that the implementation of MSR policy has a significant positive impact on SO2 emissions from coastal and inland ports in China. Some control variables, such as the total amount of imported goods and domestic emission control area (DECA) policies, also have a significant negative impact on SO2 emissions, while the number of berths, population, and total amount of exported goods have a significant positive impact on SO2 emissions. Based on the regression results of the model, we have proposed some suggestions for port operators and relevant governments to better adapt to MSR policies, promote economic development and environmental protection of ports.
Keywords: Difference-in-difference, the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road, Sulfur dioxide emissions, Port, policy
Received: 09 Apr 2025; Accepted: 26 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Xiao, Li and Biancardo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Qingjun Li, Weifang University, Weifang, 261061, Shandong Province, China
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