Empirical Research On The Impact Of Low-carbon Pilot Polic On Low-carbon Economic Transformation

At present,the global warming trend is still continuing,and low carbon has become a common topic of economic development in all countries.Countries around the world are seeking a low-carbon economic transformation,which is an important change worldwide.As the country with the largest total carbon emissions in the world,the pressure on China to reduce carbon emissions is becoming more and more pronounced.Therefore,for China,the task of low-carbon economic transformation is urgent and arduous.In the process of low-carbon economic transformation,economic development is transformed from high-carbon emissions to low-carbon emissions,and the energy structure is adjusted from high-carbon to low-carbon in order to achieve energy conservation and emission reduction and to form a new economic development model.Low-carbon economic transformation is a requirement for China’s economy to achieve sustainable development,and an inevitable choice for China to participate in global environmental governance and address climate change.In order to ensure that the greenhouse gas emission control targets set by China are met and to advance the process of low-carbon economic transformation,the Chinese government has been implementing the low-carbon pilot policy since 2010 and has gradually expanded the scope of the pilot.The low-carbon pilot policy is a key grasp to explore the formation of a new path and new model for China’s low-carbon development.It affects whether China’s commitment to low-carbon emission reduction can be successfully achieved.In this context,it is important to investigate the impact of low-carbon pilot policy on the low-carbon economic transformation.Based on the existing studies on low-carbon pilot policy and low-carbon economic transformation,this paper investigates the impact of low-carbon pilot policy on lowcarbon economic transformation based on provincial panel data from 2005 to 2020,taking the first two batches of low-carbon pilot provinces as research objects.Firstly,this paper analyzes the current situation of China’s economic development,energy consumption,and energy carbon emissions during the observation period.Moreover,the theoretical analysis and corresponding hypotheses are presented regarding the channels of action between low-carbon pilot and low-carbon economic transformation and the spatial spillover effects of pilot policy.Then,a multi-period difference-indifferences model is used to evaluate the policy effects.It is found that the low-carbon pilot policy significantly advances the level of low-carbon transformation in the pilot provinces.And after a series of robustness tests such as replacing the explanatory variables measurement indicators,redefining 2012 as the second batch of pilot implementation time,excluding the effect of the carbon emission trading pilot policy,lag period treatment,and placebo test,the research results still hold.Next,this paper analyzes the heterogeneous characteristics of the policy implementation effects in terms of geographic location,industrial structure,and population size.It is confirmed that the policy effect is more significant in the eastern and western regions,regions with more advanced industrial structure and larger population size.In contrast,there is no significant effect on the central region,the region with lower industrial structure and small to medium population size.Secondly,this paper constructs a spatial matrix of geographic distances and uses a spatial Durbin model to test the existence of spatial spillover effects of low-carbon pilot policy.It is showed that the pilot policy has negative spatial spillover to neighboring regions.Further mechanism analysis shows that energy structure plays a mediating role in the process of low-carbon pilot policy to promote low-carbon economic transformation,but the effect of low-carbon lifestyles as a mediating variable is not significant.And low-carbon technology innovation plays a moderating role.Finally,this paper puts forward specific policy recommendations based on the research results.First,the scope of pilot projects should be scientifically expanded.Then,low-carbon development planning should be made according to local conditions,and the development of inter-regional synergistic transformation should be emphasized.Moreover,low-carbon technology innovation should be improved and low-carbon green energy should be fully developed.Besides,it is also necessary to improve residents’ awareness of green consumption and advocate the formation of a low-carbon lifestyle.This paper presents a theoretical and empirical analysis of the impact effect of lowcarbon pilot policy on low-carbon economic transformation,which enriches the research results of this policy in a certain sense.On the basis of this research,reasonable policy recommendations are put forward to promote the improvement and promotion of low-carbon pilot policy.This is conducive to accelerating the low-carbon transformation around the country,thus accelerating the transformation of China’s economic development model.In turn,it will achieve green and coordinated sustainable economic development and reach the strategic goal of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality as soon as possible.