Factor Analysis of SO2 Emission Trend in Typical Industrialized Countries and Its Revelation to China
典型工业化国家SO2排放影响因素分析及其对中国的启示

Based on the data of sulfur dioxide emissions and economic development, this paper summarized the trend of pollutions in the USA, Japan, the UK and China. By analyzing the change of legislation on environmental protection and the development of Flue Gas Desulfurization(FGD) in the USA in comparison with the related data obtained from Japan, the United Kingdom and the European Union, the authors have found that SO2 emissions are closely related to such factors as energy resource consumption, economic development, environment policy and progress of environment protection technology. Transformation of economic structure and energy structure are key factors responsible for the reduction of pollution, while innovation policies and technological progress are the driving force for reduction of SO2 emissions. SO2 emission intensity curves show typical inverted "U" shape in all three countries, and the turning points of GDP per capita are about $9000 to $10000 in Japan and the UK, and about $15,000 in the USA. The turning point of SO2 emission intensity for GDP per capita is about $5000-7000. Therefore, China has surpassed the peak. At last, the authors put forward some proposals concerning the attaining of the environmental protection target in China.