How Can China’s Carbon Emissions Trading Pilot Improve New Quality Productivity?

Min Lu (), Xuehan Zhou, Xiaosa Ren and Xing Wang
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Min Lu: School of Statistics and Data Science, Nanjing Audit University, Nanjing 211815, China
Xuehan Zhou: School of Statistics and Data Science, Nanjing Audit University, Nanjing 211815, China
Xiaosa Ren: School of Statistics and Data Science, Nanjing Audit University, Nanjing 211815, China
Xing Wang: Department of Economics, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, UK

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 7, 1-32

Abstract: Our research investigated whether the carbon emissions trading pilot policy (CET), while mitigating environmental pollution externalities and fostering green economic and social transformation, can also enhance China’s new quality productivity (NQP) as a key driver of economic growth. This study addresses a research gap by examining the CET from an integrated perspective of economic development and environmental protection. We have developed an NQP evaluation indicator system based on three productivity factors, revealing that the CET can elevate NQP levels in pilot provinces through the advancement of green finance (GF) and industrial structure upgrading (ISU). Furthermore, we analyzed the relationship between the CET and NQP from the perspective of low-carbon energy consumption (LCEC), demonstrating that the level of LCEC can reinforce the CET’s positive impact on NQP and moderate the path before and after the mediating process. Our findings offer valuable insights into leveraging market-based environmental regulation tools to support NQP development, thereby facilitating its cultivation and enhancement.

Keywords: carbon emissions trading pilot; new quality productivity; green finance; industrial structure upgrading; low-carbon energy consumption (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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