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ORIGINAL RESEARCH
The Impact of Low-Carbon Pilot Policy on Carbon
Emissions: Evidence from 212 Chinese Cities
1
China Architecture Design and Research Group, Beijing, China
2
School of Economics and Management, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
3
Department of Economics, Karakorum International University, Gilgit, Pakistan
4
Department of Economics, University of Religions and Denominations, Qom, Iran
5
School of Marxism, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China
Submission date: 2024-05-24
Final revision date: 2024-09-03
Acceptance date: 2024-09-29
Online publication date: 2025-02-14
Publication date: 2025-11-04
Corresponding author
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2025;34(6):7625-7639
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Reducing urban carbon emissions efficiently achieves green, low-carbon, and sustainable
development goals and mitigates climate change. This paper aims to assess the impact and mechanism
of China’s innovative low-carbon pilot policy on carbon emissions. Based on a sample of 212 cities
in China from 2003 to 2016, this paper investigates the impact of low-carbon pilot policy on urban
carbon emissions using the DID technique. The findings reveal that pilot cities cut carbon emissions
considerably by roughly 24.5% compared to non-pilot cities when the policy is implemented. This
reduction remains significant after several robustness tests. Additionally, the low-carbon pilot policy
reduces urban carbon emissions primarily through investments in technological innovation, energy
conservation, carbon sinks, and environmental governance. In contrast, the impact of industrial
restructuring on reducing urban carbon emissions is currently insignificant. Regarding differences
between regions, the east region and high-quality cities have a greater impact on reducing carbon
emissions. In addition to helping China reach its “peak carbon” and “carbon neutral” objectives, lowcarbon
pilot initiatives have served as a model for other nations and regions looking for ways to reduce
their carbon emissions.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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