Achieving Affordable and Clean Energy Goal (SDG 7): Do National Development Zones Matter?

Xiaojie Liu, Nan Zhao and Bo Han

Review of Development Economics, 2025, vol. 29, issue 4, 2576-2591

Abstract: To address climate change risks and attain sustainable development, affordable and clean energy goals (SDG 7) require a continuous reduction in energy intensity. However, the current global energy intensity still falls short of SDG 7's requirements. National development zones (NDZs), which are widely used as policy tools in developing countries, have significantly boosted economic growth. However, whether they contribute to reducing energy intensity remains unexamined. In this context, this study provides a new perspective on the realization of SDG 7 based on the Chinese enterprise database and the list of national development zones, using a staggered difference‐in‐differences model to provide micro‐evidence of how NDZs affect energy intensity. We found that NDZs helped achieve SDG 7 as manifested by reducing the energy intensity (EI) of enterprises. The impact of the NDZs on the EI was heterogeneous. Specifically, the economic and technological types of NDZs had a more significant effect on reducing EI. Furthermore, agglomeration, innovation, and resource allocation are important mechanisms for reducing EI in NDZs. Our findings indicate that developing countries can enhance their energy efficiency and achieve higher‐quality economic growth by implementing NDZ policies, especially by establishing economic and technological types of NDZs and ultimately realizing the goal of sustainable development.

Date: 2025
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