Unemployment Problems and Countermeasures Caused by the Government's Air Pollution Control Policy: Taking Hebei Province as an Example

Abstract

China has achieved tremendous economic development in the past 30 years. However, the extensive way of developing the economy has also caused a certain degree of environmental pollution, such as air pollution caused by coal burning, especially in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. To solve this problem, China has made a series of policies to tackle the severe air pollution in this region. Although those policies are effective, they have also led to some social problems. This phenomenon has caught the attention of researchers. This paper aims to study the consequences of environmental policies on the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and how to alleviate the negative impact of those environmental policies. Through analyzing the data of industrial structure in the past eight years, it is found that the pillar industry of this region is the secondary industry. China's designated environmental policies have increased the cost of taxes, basic materials, energy conservation and emission reduction equipment for small and medium-sized enterprises in the second industry, resulting in the decline of profits and even bankruptcy of small and medium-sized enterprises and causing the recession of the second industry and economy recession. It has led directly to the decline of manufacturing, higher unemployment and increased competition between The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. This paper tries to provide some countermeasures and suggestions to Hebei province's social and economic problems, such as rising unemployment and recession. Finally, it analyzes the latest national air governance policies and the changes in industrial structure brought about by sustainable energy in the future, trying to solve the problem of worker unemployment caused by air policies through the development of green industries.