Analysis of the Decoupling Relationship between Environmental Pollution and Economic Development in Island Areas: A Case Study of Zhoushan Islands, China
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report (Previous Reviewer 1)
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe authors have dealt with all my concerns.
Author Response
Comments 1：The authors have dealt with all my concerns.
Response 1: Thank you for your valuable comments to improve the readability and science of the revised manuscript.
Reviewer 2 Report (Previous Reviewer 3)
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsSection 3 is incorrectly named. It should be Methodology or similar. It is currently named Results.
Figure 1 is not part of the results, it shows the sequence of research steps. Figure 1 should be part of the methodology. After Figure 1, all the steps should also be explained within the methodology.
My last suggestion was not followed.
Author Response
Comment 1: Section 3 is incorrectly named. It should be Methodology or similar. It is currently named Results.
Response 1：Thank you for pointing this out. I agree with this comment. Therefore, I changed it to "Study design". Mention exactly where in the revised manuscript this change can be found——line 172.
Comment 2: Figure 1 is not part of the results, it shows the sequence of research steps. Figure 1 should be part of the methodology. After Figure 1, all the steps should also be explained within the methodology.
Response 2：Thank you for pointing this out. I agree with this comment. Therefore, I adjusted Table 1 to the Part 3 and reexplained each stages. Mention exactly where in the revised manuscript this change can be found——line 221-245.
Comment 3: My last suggestion was not followed.
Response 3：Thank you for pointing this out. I agree with this comment. Therefore, I modified it. For the last suggestion from last time, firstly, Zhoushan City has been transformed from a traditional fishing city to an industrial city with coastal petrochemical, shipbuilding and offshore equipment manufacturing as its main industries. Secondly, with the further development of the decoupling theory, we found that the decoupling index will change with the selection of different base periods, and thus cannot accurately judge the decoupling state of economic growth and resources and environment. Mention exactly where in the revised manuscript this change can be found——line 72-80 and line 123-126.
Reviewer 3 Report (Previous Reviewer 2)
Comments and Suggestions for Authors1. The abstract should be written more concisely.
2. Literature Review could be written in points according to the point of view. The Literature Review is poor written to show the viewpoint of the authors.
3. Line 147-158, this paragraph should be in the first part Introduction.
4. The section “3. Results” should be the experimental design or model construction. This section should add the theoretical analysis to support the model, rather than directly reference.
The tittle of Table 1. is not correct.
In line 200, the logarithmic function is not correct.
5. In Table 3. Decoupling state can be numbered to simplify the table.
Comments on the Quality of English LanguageModerate editing of English language required.
Author Response
Comment 1. The abstract should be written more concisely.
Response 1：Thank you for pointing this out. I agree with this comment. Therefore, I changed the abstract.
Comment 2. Literature Review could be written in points according to the point of view. The Literature Review is poor written to show the viewpoint of the authors.
Response 2：Thank you for pointing this out. I agree with this comment. Therefore, revised the literature review according to the point of view. Mention exactly where in the revised manuscript this change can be found——line 97-171.
Comment 3. Line 147-158, this paragraph should be in the first part Introduction.
Response 3：Thank you for pointing this out. I agree with this comment. Therefore, I've repositioned this paragraph in the first part Introduction.
Comment 4. The section “3. Results” should be the experimental design or model construction. This section should add the theoretical analysis to support the model, rather than directly reference.
Response：Thank you for pointing this out. I agree with this comment. Therefore, I have modified the title of “3. Results” and add the analysis of “Study procedure”.
The tittle of Table 1. is not correct.
Response：Thank you for pointing this out. I agree with this comment. Therefore, I have modified the title of Table 1.
In line 200, the logarithmic function is not correct.
Response：Thank you for pointing this out. I agree with this comment. Therefore, I have modified the logarithmic function.
Comment 5. In Table 3. Decoupling state can be numbered to simplify the table.
Response: Thank you for pointing this out. I agree with this comment. Therefore, I have simplified the table.
Round 2
Reviewer 2 Report (Previous Reviewer 3)
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThanks for replying to my comments.
Author Response
Comments 1：Thanks for replying to my comments.
Response 1: Thank you for your valuable comments to improve the readability and science of the revised manuscript.
Reviewer 3 Report (Previous Reviewer 2)
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe detailed response to my last report is satisfactory. But there is a mistake on the model.
In line 204, the logarithmic function is still not correct.
lny=𝛽0+𝛽1𝑙𝑛𝑥+𝛽2ln𝑥2+𝛽3ln𝑥3+𝜀
This function can be simplified as:
lny=𝛽0+𝛽1𝑙𝑛𝑥+𝛽2ln𝑥2+𝛽3ln𝑥3+𝜀=𝛽0+𝛽1𝑙𝑛𝑥+2𝛽2ln𝑥+3𝛽3ln𝑥+𝜀=𝛽0+(𝛽1+2𝛽2+3𝛽3)ln𝑥+𝜀
Therefore it is not the right one.
Maybe the authors want to show as:
lny=𝛽0+𝛽1𝑙𝑛𝑥+𝛽2(ln𝑥)2+𝛽3(ln𝑥)3+𝜀
Comments on the Quality of English LanguageModerate editing of English language required.
Author Response
Comment 1: The detailed response to my last report is satisfactory. But there is a mistake on the model.
Response 1：Thank you for pointing this out. I agree with this comment. Therefore, I modified it. Mention exactly where in the revised manuscript this change can be found——line 206-207. I made a moderate editing of English language.
This manuscript is a resubmission of an earlier submission. The following is a list of the peer review reports and author responses from that submission.
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsReview for the article entitled: Analysis of the decoupling relationship between environmental pollution and economic development in island areas: A Case Study of Zhoushan Islands, China. Although the paper is nice to read and gives interesting insight there are few things needed to be corrected before publishing.
(1) Lines 41 to 49, on the introduction of the research results of scholars at home and abroad, only briefly describes the shortcomings and limitations, but does not list the achievements, and it is recommended that the section be appropriately supplemented.
(2) Lines 50 to 54, simply state that the study used an econometric model for its analysis and suggest adding a specific description of the model used.
(3) In the second part of this paper on the literature review of decoupling theory, only some applications of the theory are specified, but its limitations are less analyzed, and it is suggested that this part be adjusted.
(4) In Section 3.1. Methods, it is necessary to describe the application of the decoupling model and the EKC model, which will help the reader to understand the scope of use of these two models.
(5) The conclusion section of the article describes the experimental results of this study in detail, but the description of the experimental procedure is rather brief. In addition, the conclusion ends with a description of future research directions in the field without specifying the limitations of this study. It is recommended that the conclusion section be adjusted to provide a more detailed description of the section.
(6) The literature review may be improved by citing more relevant papers. Just list several as follows.
Decoupling of wastewater eco-environmental damage and China's economic development
The application of artificial intelligence technology in shipping: A bibliometric review
Comments on the Quality of English LanguageGood
Author Response
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Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for Authors1- Literature Review section. In the second paragraph in this section (Line107-133), where mainly lists the studies of scholars around the world on the decoupling situation in different regions. Although the definition of decoupling theory is explained later, it is recommended to briefly describe the definition in this part to enhance the comprehensibility of the paper.
2- 3.1.1. Decoupling Model. (Line158-159) The definition of absolute decoupling here is vague and may lead to ambiguity. Absolute decoupling should be when the growth rate of environmental pressure growth is zero or negative and the economic growth is positive. It is suggested that the author should explain it more clearly.
3- Some data in Table 3 are inconsistent with those mentioned in the paper. Line205-206, The strong decoupling state of industrial waste gas accounts for 35% in the table rather than 30% as stated in the text; Line225-226, The strong decoupling state of industrial solid waste accounts for 25% in the table rather than 20% as stated in the text.
4- 5.1 Implications section. When proposing countermeasures, relevant suggestions can be put forward from the policy level. It can be seen from the above data that the decoupling state of industrial waste water is more significant than that of the other two items. The paper also analyzes the great influence of policy documents, so relevant suggestions can be put forward accordingly at the government policy level in the countermeasures in the following paper.
5- Contradictions appear in the text of the results and analysis section. Line205-206 mentioned ” The discharge rate of industrial waste water was lower than the economic growth rate”, but in line257-258 mentioned ” there is also a warning that the discharge rate of industrial waste water has been growing faster than the economic growth rate”.
6- The data in the article is collected until 2021. Can the data in the article be updated to the latest data in the past two years to ensure the timeliness of the article.
7- This paper's data selection and presentation of empirical results are lacking. Table 3 shows that the data for industrial waste gas, solid waste, and water fluctuates substantially and has no regularity, therefore the derived conclusions are not convincing. In addition, the Zhoushan region is not known for its industries.
Comments on the Quality of English LanguageModerate editing of English language required.
Author Response
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Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe aim of the research is hidden in the second paragraph of the Introduction. It would be more attractive if the objective were presented at the end of the last paragraph of the Introduction, after the contextualization. In the current format, the objective is presented, followed by the contextualization.
Section 3 is named Results, but I believe that this section should be the methodology. Regarding the methodology, it would be important to show all the stages of the research, from conception to results. Your research is very relevant and needs to be replicated in other countries and regions. But without the sequence of steps used, it becomes more difficult to replicate. The suggestion is to create a figure and then explain each step.
In section 4.1, the explanation of Table 3 comes before presenting Table 3. The correct thing to do would be to present Table 3 and then explain the results shown in Table 3.
The research is very relevant and will be very useful for replication in new regions and also for policy makers to base their strategies on. The article could highlight the creation of pollution control and development indicators. You could use some articles as a basis, for example (10.3390/admsci13020056). The article shows how indicators can help control processes and also how they can be used to formulate new strategies.
Author Response
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