Collaborative governance on SO2 pollution from thermal power energy consumption: Evidence from Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration in China

In order to explore an effective method for the effect of collaborative governance on SO2 pollution from thermal power energy consumption in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) urban agglomeration, the spatiotemporal evolution of SO2 pollution from thermal power energy consumption was empirically studied by Moran's I first; then the revised Difference-in-Difference-in-Differences model was constructed to examine the effect of collaborative governance on SO2 emission intensity from thermal power energy consumption, and the time effect of collaborative governance was also examined; finally, the Grey System Prediction Model was used to forecast the SO2 emission intensity from thermal power energy consumption in YRD urban agglomeration from 2021 to 2025. The results show that SO2 emissions from thermal power energy consumption in YRD urban agglomeration have positive spatial autocorrelations, and high-high spatial clusters have the tendency of moving to inland cities from coastal cities. Moreover, SO2 pollution from thermal power energy consumption in YRD urban agglomeration has improved year-by-year after the implementation of collaborative governance and the predicted SO2 emission intensity from thermal power energy consumption in YRD urban agglomeration generally shows a downward trend.