Conference Agenda

Short-term regulatory measures, such as the Air Quality Alerts (AQAs), are widely used to mitigate pollution during acute air pollution episodes. Yet, little is known about how industrial plants respond to these temporary interventions. We examine plant-level responses in the heavily polluted Guanzhong region of northwestern China, exploiting the timing of alert activations and terminations between 2013 and 2020 as a natural experiment. Using hourly emission data from 234 plants equipped with continuous emission monitoring systems (CEMS) and employing regression discontinuity in time (RDiT), we find that the activation of orange- and yellow-level alerts induce significant reductions in NOx and SO2 emissions, primarily through intensified inspections and improved operation of pollution-control facilities, with minimal impact on production intensity. Blue-level alerts elicit weaker, more variable responses. We also document “alert fatigue”, where frequent and rapidly adjusted alerts reduce plants’ responsiveness. Our finding underscore the crucial role of environmental inspections during alert periods and highlight the importance of aligning alert timing and frequency with plants’ operational capacity to enhance compliance and air quality outcomes.