Research Status, Confusion and Prospects in Environmental Quality Evaluation

The reality is that technological progress and industrial revolution have resulted in a brilliant material civilization, but a degraded environment. Environmental quality assessment is the basis and precondition of environmental studies. Here, we attempt to scientifically characterize environmental quality, and evaluation indicators and measurement methods. We summarize the deviation and inadequacies of environmental quality assessment from three aspects including perspective, scope and results. We found that the concepts of environmental quality and environmental pollution have been confused in research. It cannot accurately reflect the real situation of environmental quality, and weakens the function of environmental quality assessment. Under the research scope, the environment absorption has been unnoticed. Environment quality evaluation cannot measure the achievements of social development, which includes desirable outputs and undesirable outputs, for example pollution and noise. There is lack of assessment results of the comprehensive environmental quality in current research. We consider it important and urgent to standardize the research paradigm, build an environment absorption study system, and consider environment quality, environment pollution and environment absorption factors under a unified research framework to construct the index of environmental comprehensive assessment in China. Comprehensive index factors should be taken into account for regional economic development and comprehensive environmental pollution, composition elements of environment, scientific environmental quality monitoring and assessment method, and the availability of data.