Cities that breathe: Quantifying carbon emission reductions through forest city designation

Jianxian Wu

Forest Policy and Economics, 2025, vol. 178, issue C

Abstract: Amid escalating global climate concerns, urban carbon reduction strategies have gained increasing significance for sustainable development. This study investigates the carbon abatement impact of China's forest city designation over the past two decades, utilizing a difference-in-differences model within a quasi-natural experimental framework. The baseline estimates indicate that, after the policy implementation, the treatment group experienced a reduction of 2.482 million metric tons in carbon emissions. Applying social cost of carbon and mortality cost of carbon, this reduction translates into economic benefits ranging from $76.94 million to $90.84 million, while potentially preventing 266 to 560 premature deaths associated with climate change. The effectiveness mechanisms include increased forest area, enhanced stock volume, expanded urban greening, improved carbon sequestration capacity, and heightened public environmental awareness as evidenced by rising environmental complaints. Furthermore, green finance initiatives and environmental legislation significantly amplify the decarbonization effects of forest city designation. Mayor characteristics also demonstrate moderating effects, with gender diversity, higher educational attainment, humanities and social sciences backgrounds, and hometown service appointments contributing to more effective climate change responses. This research provides empirical evidence that urban forestry policies can deliver quantifiable climate benefits, offering valuable insights for policymakers seeking nature-based solutions to address urban carbon challenges in an increasingly warming world.

Keywords: Forest; Forestry; Policy; Urban forest; Forest city; Climate change economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q28 Q50 Q54 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389934125001200
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:forpol:v:178:y:2025:i:c:s1389934125001200

DOI: 10.1016/j.forpol.2025.103541

Access Statistics for this article

Forest Policy and Economics is currently edited by M. Krott

More articles in Forest Policy and Economics from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().