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The Influence of Industry Innovation and Environmental Regulation for the Sustainable Development of Regional Economy—2nd Edition

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 9 July 2027 | Viewed by 255

Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Economics and Trade, Hunan University, Changsha 410079, China
Interests: sustainable economic growth; regional economy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Economics and Management, Changsha University of Science and Technology, Changsha, China
Interests: environmental economics; energy economics; development economics; chinese economy; digital finance
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The integration of industry innovations and environmental regulations is reshaping the landscape of sustainable development within regional economies. As the fourth industrial revolution unfolds, the transformative technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, data analytics, and smart automation are being developed. These advancements are not only enhancing operational efficiencies but also propelling the integration of sustainability into the core of business strategies. The influence of industry innovations on regional economies is twofold. Firstly, it enables companies to adopt more sustainable practices by optimizing the use of resources, reducing waste, and minimizing environmental footprints through real-time data monitoring and analysis. Secondly, it supports compliance with stringent environmental regulations by providing the tools necessary for continuous monitoring and reporting. However, the successful implementation of industry in driving sustainable development is contingent upon the synergy between innovation and regulation. Policymakers must create an environment that is conducive to the adoption of new technologies while setting clear guidelines that ensure environmental protection and social responsibility. This Special Issue aims to delve into the multifaceted impact of industry innovation and environmental regulations on sustainable regional economic development. The scope of this Special Issue includes high-quality original research articles that are related (but not limited) to the following topics:

  1. Industry innovation and sustainable development.
  2. Environmental regulation and sustainable development.
  3. The interplay between technological innovation and environmental regulation in promoting regional sustainable development.
  4. The strategies required for regional economies to harness technological innovation for environmental conservation and social well-being.
  5. The challenges and opportunities related to the convergence of industry innovation and environmental regulation.
  6. Artificial intelligence in regional sustainable development.
  7. Machine learning and regional sustainable development.
  8. Data analytics in regional sustainable development.

Dr. Jiayu Fang
Dr. Chao Gao
Prof. Dr. Zhenhua Zhang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • industry innovation
  • environmental regulation
  • sustainable development
  • regional economy
  • artificial intelligence
  • data analytics

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

29 pages, 1073 KB  
Article
Can Climate Investment and Financing Pilots Promote Urban Green Transformation? Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment in China
by Chao Gao and Jiayu Fang
Sustainability 2026, 18(16), 8518; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18168518 (registering DOI) - 19 Aug 2026
Viewed by 167
Abstract
Promoting urban green and low-carbon transformation is essential for achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, yet cities continue to face financing constraints, insufficient project identification, and weak incentives for green innovation. This study treats China’s climate investment and financing pilot program as a [...] Read more.
Promoting urban green and low-carbon transformation is essential for achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, yet cities continue to face financing constraints, insufficient project identification, and weak incentives for green innovation. This study treats China’s climate investment and financing pilot program as a quasi-natural experiment. It uses panel data for 242 prefecture-level and above cities from 2016 to 2023 to estimate its effect on urban green transformation with a difference-in-differences (DID) specification. The results show that the pilot significantly promotes urban green transformation, and the policy effect is stronger in coastal cities, large and medium-sized cities, major urban agglomerations, and non-resource-based cities. Mechanism analysis shows that the pilot promotes urban green transformation by increasing local governments’ focus on carbon reduction, advancing green finance development, and stimulating green technological innovation. These findings support improving pilot evaluation and implementation, strengthening climate-project development and green financial instruments, and tailoring policy support to local conditions. Full article
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