The Impact of Low-Carbon City Pilot Policies on Urban Green Energy Efficiency: A Quasi-Natural Experiment Based on Three Batches of Pilot Policy Implementation

Yilin Wang, Yuanhe Du () and Rongkun Liu ()
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Yilin Wang: School of Business, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250300, China
Yuanhe Du: School of Economics, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250300, China
Rongkun Liu: School of Business, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250300, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 9, 1-42

Abstract: With the acceleration of global industrialization, energy consumption and environmental problems are becoming increasingly serious issues. As an important measure to deal with climate change in China, the low-carbon city pilot policy is of great significance to the improvement of urban green energy efficiency. Based on the panel data of 285 prefecture-level cities in China from 2011 to 2022, this paper systematically evaluates the impact of low-carbon city pilot policies on urban green energy efficiency and its mechanism. The study found that the low-carbon city pilot policy significantly improved urban green energy efficiency, with an average effect of 0.023 units. The policy effect shows obvious regional heterogeneity, especially in the eastern region, large cities, and non-resource-based cities. Further analysis shows that industry chain toughness, green finance and technological innovation are important intermediary paths for policy to play a role, and there is a significant synergy among the three. In addition, the policy also shows a spatial spillover effect, which has a positive impact on the green energy efficiency of adjacent cities. Finally, based on the results, this paper discusses and puts forward targeted suggestions for policy making. This study provides an empirical basis for optimizing low-carbon policy design and promoting regional coordinated development, and has important reference value for achieving the goal of sustainable urban development.

Keywords: low-carbon city pilot policy; green energy efficiency; difference-in-differences model; spatial spillover effects (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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