Can low-carbon city construction reduce carbon intensity？Empirical evidence from low-carbon city pilot policy in China

Low-carbon city pilot policy (LCCP) is an innovative initiative for promoting low-carbon transformation and green development in China, which is of great practical significance for realizing China's vision of “double carbon” on schedule. In this study, LCCP implementation is treated as a “quasi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of environmental management 2023-04, Vol.332, p.117363-117363, Article 117363
Main Authors: Zeng, Shibo, Jin, Gui, Tan, Kaiyuan, Liu, Xuan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Carbon
Carbon emission reduction
Carbon intensity
China
Cities
Conservation of Natural Resources
Economic Development
Environmental Policy
Low-carbon city pilot policy
Policy
Spatial difference-in-difference
Spatial spillover effect
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Summary:Low-carbon city pilot policy (LCCP) is an innovative initiative for promoting low-carbon transformation and green development in China, which is of great practical significance for realizing China's vision of “double carbon” on schedule. In this study, LCCP implementation is treated as a “quasi-natural experiment,” and the spatial difference-in-differences approach is used to quantitatively examine the carbon reduction effects and impact mechanisms of LCCP using panel data of 283 cities in China from 2006 to 2017. The results show that since 2011, LCCP has significantly reduced the carbon intensity of the pilot cities by 0.13%, resulting from the effects of urban environmental governance, industrial structure optimization, and urban innovation level improvement. Meanwhile, there is a significant spatial spillover effect which results in a 0.9% reduction in carbon intensity of neighboring cities. The spatial spillover range of the reduction effect is about 500 km, which decays with distance. Moreover, the carbon reduction effect of the policy is spatially and temporally heterogeneous, and the reduction effect is more significant for resource-based cities, and different for resource-based cities in different development stages. The above findings provide useful policy insights for constructing low-carbon cities under China's “dual carbon goals” and help to realize the win–win path of green development and carbon reduction transition. [Display omitted] •We explored the effect and its mechanism of low-carbon city pilot (LCCP) policy on urban carbon intensity.•We use a continuous spatial difference-in-differences model and China's urban panel data.•The implementation of LCCP can significantly reduce the urban carbon intensity of the pilot cities.•The LCCP will also curb the urban carbon intensity of neighboring non-pilot cities with an attenuation boundary of 500 km.
ISSN:0301-4797
1095-8630
DOI:10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117363