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The power sector is one of the major CO2-emitting industries in China. It is also the first key emissions control industry included in China's national carbon trading market established in 2021. Therefore, based on the data of 30 provinces and cities in China from 2015 to 2022, this study analyzes the impact of the national carbon market policy on the carbon emissions of the power industry based on the generalized Difference-in-Difference (DID) model. Based on the method of text analysis, this paper constructs the carbon market policy intensity index of each region and incorporates it into the DID model. Empirical analysis finds that the national carbon market policy can significantly inhibit the carbon emissions of the power industry. However, the heterogeneity analysis of 30 provinces and cities shows that the national carbon market policy has a significant impact on the regions that already have a carbon pilot, but not on the non-pilot regions. Therefore, this paper demonstrates the effectiveness of the national carbon market policy in the power industry emissions control, and also exposes the heterogeneity between regions, providing an important empirical basis for the inclusion of other energy-intensive industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amid China's pursuit of a green and low-carbon transition, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is facing new challenges. Our research delves into the influencing factors and mechanisms for CSR reputation under green and low-carbon transition and provides practical enlightenment for enterprises to achieve sustainable development. This paper constructs a comprehensive index system of CSR from five dimensions (innovation, coordination, sustainability, openness, and sharing), and CSR reputation of China's A-share listed companies is comprehensively estimated by using an entropy method and data from 2013 to 2021. Then, from the perspective of external supervision and internal governance, we discuss the influence factors of CSR reputation, with an emphasis on the impact of public environmental concerns. Finally, the realization mechanism of CSR is further revealed. It is found that public environmental concern and the expansion of the enterprise scale boost the enhancement of CSR reputation. However, a higher proportion of female managers tends to hinder CSR reputation. Furthermore, public environmental concern plays a more prominent role in improving CSR reputation of non-state-owned and eastern enterprises. Additionally, public environmental concern significantly enhances CSR reputation through green technology innovation and executive environmental awareness. This research provides valuable insights for improving CSR reputation and optimizing regulatory compliance and governance practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With technological transformations such as big data, blockchain, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing, digital techniques are infiltrating the field of finance. Digital finance (DF) is a resource-saving and environmentally friendly innovative financial service. It shows great green attributes and can drive the flow of financial resources towards environmentally-friendly enterprises, thereby promoting green low-carbon circular development (GLCD). However, few studies have explored the coupling mechanism between DF and GLCD. To fill this gap, this paper explores the effect of DF on GLCD, and established a mediating effect model to investigate the mechanism of DF in promoting GLCD. Additionally, this paper established a random forest model and a CatBoost model based on machine learning to examine the relative importance of DF and the factors affecting GLCD. The results show that DF has significant positive effects on GLCD, and technological innovation plays a key role in the effect of DF on GLCD; meanwhile, the effect of DF on GLCD shows nonlinear features with an increasing "marginal effect"; moreover, both DF and conventional factors have significant impacts on GLCD. Our study highlights the effect of DF on GLCD and underscores the importance of developing policies for DF and GLCD. This study provides an empirical basis and path reference for DF to achieve "carbon peak, carbon neutralization" in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The launch of the national carbon emissions trading (CET) market has resulted in a closer relationship between China's CET market and its electricity market, making it easy for risks to transfer between markets. This paper utilizes data from China's CET market and electric power companies between 2017 and 2023 to construct the spillover index model of Diebold and Yilmaz, the frequency-domain spillover approach developed by Barun'ik and Křehl'ik, and a minimum spanning tree model. The comparison is made before and after the launch of the national CET market. Subsequently, this paper examines the market spillover effects, as well as the static and dynamic properties of network structures, considering both the time domain and frequency-domain perspectives. The research findings suggest the following: (1) There is a strong risk spillover effect between China's CET market and the stock prices of electric power companies; (2) There is asymmetry in the paired spillover effects between carbon trading pilot markets and the national CET market, and differences exist in the impact of risk spillovers from power companies between the two; (3) The results of the MST model indicate that the risk contagion efficiency is higher in the regional CET pilot stage compared to the national CET market launch stage, with significant changes occurring in key nodes before and after the launch of the national CET market; (4) Both the dynamic spillover index and the standardized tree length results demonstrate that crisis events can worsen the risk contagion between markets. Besides offering a theoretical foundation and empirical evidence for the development of China's CET and electricity markets, the findings of this paper can provide recommendations for financial market participants as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of carbon neutralization and carbon peak, carbon reduction in key industries has become a central topic in our country. As an important part of technological progress, it is necessary to study the effect of technology import on carbon emission reduction in key industries. Based on the panel data of 30 provinces. from 2011 to 2020, this paper used the fixed-effect model to analyze the emission reduction effect in key industries on the development status of technology import. The spatial econometric model was used to analyze the spatial characteristics of carbon emissions of technology import and key industries. Then, the mediating effect model was used to bring industrial technological innovations into the research category to analyze the mediating role of technology imports on the carbon emissions of key industries. Finally, a robustness test proved the reliability of the model. The findings were as follows: (1) Technology import significantly promoted carbon emission reduction in key industries; (2) In terms of the spatial relationship, technology import and carbon dioxide emissions had significant spillover effects, and there were trends of high and high aggregation and low and low aggregation, with the impact of technology import on carbon dioxide emissions having a siphon effect; (3) Industrial technological innovation played an intermediary role in this path, but it was a negative role, which was not, in general, conducive to the reduction of carbon emissions of key industries. On this basis, the paper puts forward several policy suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal-to-oil (CTL) combined with carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) can significantly reduce the CO2 emissions generated in the production process to achieve clean coal utilization. Taking CTL enterprises as sources and deep saline aquifers and oil fields as sinks, this paper establishes a source–sink matching model, which is combined with a trinomial tree real-option model of carbon price fluctuation, and evaluates the investment decisions of CTL. The results show that 36 pipelines with an average transportation distance of 319.13 km and predominantly small diameters must be constructed for CO2 capture and storage combined with enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Under the current carbon price, 83.33% of enterprises can invest immediately when adopting EOR; when utilizing storage in a deep saline aquifer (DSF), even with a 50% subsidy and a decrease in costs due to the learning rate, enterprises still need to execute the deferred option investment. Government subsidies and technological advances can greatly increase the value of investment. The critical carbon price of CTL-CCUS projects is sensitive to government subsidies, technological advances, and CO2 transportation distances. Therefore, China should reasonably guide the development of the carbon market and give play to the role of the carbon market in emission reduction incentives. In addition, the Chinese government can provide direct financial support for the CTL-CCUS project to increase the enthusiasm of CTL enterprises for CCUS transformation and promote technological progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the proposal of China's "carbon peak, carbon neutral" strategy, the increasing awareness of low carbon production among consumers, and the government's introduction of carbon trading mechanism and low carbon consumption subsidy policies, enterprises are facing good opportunities for development. However, how the government can reasonably formulate low carbon policies and how enterprises can implement optimal low-carbon production decisions are still key issues in China's low-carbon transition development. In this context, this paper is based on the carbon trading mechanism and carbon consumption subsidies. In this context, based on the carbon trading mechanism, this paper focuses on green production and green consumption, considers the impact of low-carbon consumer preferences and government subsidies on enterprises' low-carbon production decisions, and uses the optimal theory to study the optimal pricing strategy and the optimal carbon reduction strategy. The study shows that the increase in carbon price has a positive effect on the increase in enterprise profit; the increase of carbon emission has a negative effect on the increase of enterprise profit and the high carbon price will intensify this effect. In addition, changing the intensity of government subsidies to consumers will lead to the change of enterprise carbon emission strategy. The study of this paper provides a certain reference for the government to reasonably formulate carbon trading prices and consumer low-carbon subsidies. In addition, considering consumer low-carbon preferences is also conducive to promoting green production practices of enterprises, thus promoting the realization of the carbon neutral strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fossil fuel usage has a great impact on the environment and global climate. Promoting new energy vehicles (NEVs) is essential for green and low-carbon transportation and supporting sustainable development. Lithium-ion power batteries (LIPBs) are crucial energy-storage components in NEVs, directly influencing their performance and safety. Therefore, exploring LIPB reliability technologies has become a vital research area. This paper aims to comprehensively summarize the progress in LIPB reliability research. First, we analyze existing reliability studies on LIPB components and common estimation methods. Second, we review the state-estimation methods used for accurate battery monitoring. Third, we summarize the commonly used optimization methods in fault diagnosis and lifetime prediction. Fourth, we conduct a bibliometric analysis. Finally, we identify potential challenges for future LIPB research. Through our literature review, we find that: (1) model-based and data-driven approaches are currently more commonly used in state-estimation methods; (2) neural networks and deep learning are the most prevalent methods in fault diagnosis and lifetime prediction; (3) bibliometric analysis indicates a high interest in LIPB reliability technology in China compared to other countries; (4) this research needs further development in overall system reliability, research on real-world usage scenarios, and advanced simulation and modeling techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of carbon neutrality does have economic costs; however, few studies have measured the cost and the economic neutral opportunities. This paper uses a dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to simulate China's carbon neutrality path from 2020 to 2060 and analyzes its economic impact. This paper innovatively adjusts the CGE modeling technology and simulates the boundary of the Porter hypothesis on the premise of economic neutrality. The results show that the carbon neutrality target may reduce the annual GDP growth rate by about 0.8% in 2020–2060. To make the carbon pricing method under the carbon neutrality framework meet the strong version of the Porter hypothesis (or economic neutrality), China must increase its annual total factor productivity by 0.56–0.57% in 2020–2060; this is hard to achieve. In addition, the study finds that China's 2030 carbon target has little impact on the economy, but the achievement of the 2060 carbon neutrality target will have a significant effect. Therefore, the paper believes that the key to carbon neutrality lies in the coexistence of technological innovation and carbon pricing to ensure that we can cope with global warming with the lowest cost and resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper combines the green industrial strategy and green financial policies for the construction industry implemented in China in the context of carbon neutrality. A total of 67 listed companies in the construction industry from 2017 to 2020 were taken as the research sample, the green financing efficiency was measured, and its influencing factors were identified based on the three-stage DEA and systematic GMM method. The findings show that the green financing efficiency of listed companies in the construction industry is not high overall, although it is increasing. There are obvious differences in subsectors, among which, the efficiency of architectural design and service industries is relatively high. Overall, the financial environment, and the interaction between the government and the financial market, significantly and positively influence the green financing efficiency. In addition, the macroeconomic environment and the government–enterprise relationship has a complex impact on the green financing efficiency. The ownership concentration and having corporate executives with a financial background have a significant positive impact on the green financing efficiency, and the enterprise size, the debt maturity structure, and the R&D and innovation capability have a significant negative impact. The findings of this paper have implications for the improvement of the policy system that supports green development in the construction industry, and provide guidance for the strategic adjustment of the construction industry itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate anomalies are affecting the world. How to reduce carbon emissions has become an important issue for governments and academics. Although previous researchers have discussed the factors of carbon emission reduction from environmental regulation, economic development, and industrial structure, limited studies have explored the carbon emission reduction effect of a city's spatial structure. Based on 108 Chinese cities from the Yangtze River Economic Belt between 2003 and 2017, this paper examines the impact of the city cluster policy on city carbon emissions using the difference-in-differences (DID) method. We find that: (1) The city cluster policy has significantly reduced the cities' carbon emissions by 7.4%. Furthermore, after a series of robust and endogenous tests, such as parallel trend and PSM-DID, the core conclusion still remains. (2) We further identify possible economic channels through this effect, and find that city cluster policy would increase city productivity, city technological innovation, and industrial structure optimization. The conclusions of this paper have important practical significance for China to achieve carbon neutrality and facilitate future deep decarbonization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is one of the world's largest energy consumers and carbon emitters, and the situation of carbon emission reduction is serious. This paper forecasts the future trend of China's carbon emissions by constructing a system dynamics model of China's carbon emissions. The results show that China cannot fulfill its commitment to peak its carbon emissions in 2030 as scheduled. Secondly, the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index model (LMDI) was used to analyze the influencing factors of China's carbon emissions. The contribution rates of the five factors to China's carbon emissions are as follows: economic development (226.30%), technological innovation (−105.92%), industrial structure (−26.55%), population scale (11.44%) and energy structure (−5.28%). Finally, this paper formulates five carbon emission reduction paths according to the size and direction of various factors that affect China's carbon emissions. The paths of carbon emission reduction were simulated by using the system dynamics model of China's carbon emissions. It is found that technological innovation is the key pathway for China to realize its commitment to carbon emission reduction. Slowing economic growth will delay the arrival time of peak carbon emissions and increase the intensity of carbon emissions. Optimizing the industrial structure, reducing the population scale and adjusting the energy structure can reduce the peak and carbon emissions in China, but the effect is small. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's economic development is characterized by openness, and trade and investment are important engines for promoting economic development. China's economy is now in a transitional period, during which excessive carbon emission reduction would inevitably hinder economic development. In this context, improving carbon emission efficiency is an effective way to achieve sustainable development. This paper deals with the relationships among foreign direct investment, technological innovation and carbon emission efficiency. Our research findings include the following. First, carbon efficiency shows regional differences. East China has the highest mean value of carbon emission efficiency, followed by central China and west China over the sample period. Second, FDI exerts both direct and indirect impacts on carbon emission efficiency through technological innovation, which confirms the intermediate effect of technological innovation. Finally, sub-sample analysis indicates that the impact of FDI and technological innovation on carbon emission efficiency show regional heterogeneity. According to these findings, we offer policy recommendations as follows. The government should stimulate independent innovation, promote technological progress in renewable energy and green energy, and attract environmentally friendly foreign investment to improve carbon emission efficiency and boost green development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to increased global carbon dioxide emissions, the greenhouse effect is being aggravated, which has attracted wide attention. China is committed to promoting the low-carbon development of all industries. This paper analyzed the influencing factors of carbon emissions in the Chinese logistics industry, so as to identify the key factors that influence carbon emissions. Based on the carbon emission data of China's logistics industry in 2000–2019, this paper applied the carbon emission coefficients issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. For the first time, the Generalized Divisia Index Method was used to analyze the degree of influence of the factors on carbon emissions. This method considered more variables and their relationships. The results showed that (1) the carbon emissions of the logistics industry were increased by 3.22 times from 2000 to 2018, and showed negative growth for the first time in 2019; (2) the added value of the logistics industry is the most important factor in increasing carbon emissions (with a contribution ratio of 65.45%), energy consumption and practical population size are the main factors in carbon emissions. The promotion of this industry is subjected to decreased per capita carbon emissions, which have a large impact on total carbon emissions; (3) the intensity of carbon output is the most important factor in the reduction of carbon emissions (with a contribution ratio of −29.1%), where the energy carbon intensity and per capita added value are the main influencing factors with regard to the reduction of carbon emissions, while energy intensity has a negative inhibitory effect on carbon emissions, and (4) the influencing factors have negative effects on the cumulative inhibition of carbon emissions in the logistics industry, to an extent that is far less than the integral promotion of carbon emissions. Finally, according to the research conclusions of this paper, it is feasible to make recommendations for the carbon reduction of the logistics industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To cope with huge carbon emission pressure, China has implemented a carbon emissions trading pilot policy that aims to provide reasonable suggestions for the smooth operation of the national carbon market. This paper selects the provincial panel data in China from 2005 to 2019 and uses the propensity score matching-difference in difference (PSM-DID) method to evaluate the carbon emission policy's reduction effect. Based on carbon emissions (CE) and carbon emission intensity (CI), provinces and cities are divided into four regions, and each region is verified by spatial difference analysis. Furthermore, the mediating effects of carbon emission reduction through the dual aspects of technological progress and industry structure are also discussed. Results verified that, (1) under the carbon emission trading policy, regional carbon emissions and carbon emission intensity are both significantly reduced. (2) Technological progress helps to reduce carbon emissions, while industrial structure shows no obvious contribution. (3) The four regions all show ideal emission reduction effects, of which the High CE-High CI region shows the best, but is greatly restricted by techniques. The industrial structure of the High CE-Low CI region needs to be further optimized for carbon reduction. In the Low CE-High CI region, the carbon emissions brought by economic development fail to effectively improve per capita GDP. The Low CE-Low CI region contributes greatly to carbon emission reduction with technical advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The carbon reduction effect of technological innovation in the transportation industry is conducive to China's anticipated realization of carbon neutrality. Therefore, we evaluated carbon emission reduction effect of technological innovation in the transportation industry in China. Based on the panel data of 30 sample provinces in China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Tibet) from 2012 to 2018, using the Moran'I index and Getis-Ord Gi index, this paper analyzes the evolutionary trend and spatial autocorrelation of carbon emission in the transportation industry, and analyzes the impact of technological innovation on carbon emission levels of the transportation industry and its spatiotemporal differences by using the geographical and temporal weighted regression (GTWR) model by using ArcGIS 10.4 software. The conclusions are as follows: The carbon emission level of China's transportation industry generally has been rising steadily, showing a spatial distribution pattern of high emissions in the east and low emissions in the west. The cold spots are concentrated in the western region, and the hot spots are situated in the central and eastern regions. Technological innovation has a carbon reduction effect on the transportation industry in the eastern and north-eastern regions, while the effect in other regions is not obvious. However, there is an obvious "inverted U-shaped" relationship between technological innovation and the transportation industry's carbon emissions. The technological innovation in the transportation industry will have a significant carbon reduction effect after breaking through the technical pain points. This carbon reduction effect has a higher effect on the western region than on the eastern region. In addition, the economic development level, the fiscal expenditure proportion of the transportation industry, the higher education level, and the proportion of fixed asset investment in the transportation industry have played a positive role in reducing carbon in the transportation industry, but the spatial heterogeneity of this carbon reduction effect is relatively strong. Therefore, during the "14th Five-Year Plan" development period in China, it is necessary to continuously promote the low-carbon development of the transportation industry with technological innovation, while highlighting the differentiated carbon reduction governance, and consolidating the role of talents and fiscal support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are increasing traffic pollution issues in the process of urbanization in many countries; urban rail transit is low-carbon and widely regarded as an effective way to solve such problems. The passenger flow proportion of different transportation types is changing along with the adjustment of the urban traffic structure and a growing demand from passengers. The reduction of carbon emissions brought about by rail transit lacks specific quantitative research. Based on a travel survey of urban residents, this paper constructed a method of estimating carbon emissions from two different scenarios where rail transit is and is not available. This study uses the traditional four-stage model to forecast passenger volume demand at the city level and then obtains the basic target parameters for constructing the carbon emission reduction model, including the trip origin-destination (OD), mode, and corresponding distance range of different modes on the urban road network. This model was applied to Baoji, China, where urban rail transit will be available from 2023. It calculates the changes in carbon emission that rail transit can bring about and its impact on carbon emission reductions in Baoji in 2023. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, electricity market reform was first implemented in 2015. At the same time, the national carbon market was built, along with the electricity industry, which was considered a breakthrough. Some key considerations for the future development of China's electricity system include the implementation of demand-side measures in order to adjust the peak-to-valley difference and the economic dispatch of increasing intermittent renewable energy and traditional energy in the process of power marketization with the implementation of a carbon policy. This paper examines the impact of policies on electricity generation by modelling the evolution process of power marketization and the economic dispatch of generation technologies over a sixteen-year period beginning in 2020. We model four potential influencing factors of government policy: (1) the demand response mode; (2) power marketization process; (3) capacity adjustment of thermal power units; and (4) carbon taxes, which vary in terms of their timing and amount. This model assesses the impact of these influencing factors on the competition between electricity generators using a range of output variables, including generation portfolios, electricity prices, capacity factors, CO2 emissions, etc. The results show that the new round of electricity market reforms has had a positive impact on renewable energy generation. The influence of carbon policy is evident in the promotion, transformation and elimination of thermal units, and an indirect increase in renewable energy generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]