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The low-carbon city pilot policy (LCPP) in China is an active response to climate change, with cities serving as the main agents of action. Enhancing green innovation at a city-wide level can effectively support the promotion of pilot cities' efforts towards sustainable growth. Using panel data from 204 prefectures collected from 2005 to 2019, we adopted the time-varying difference-in-differences (DID) model and the spatial Durbin model combined with time-varying DID (SDM-DID) to determine the impact of the LCPP on urban green innovation and its temporal and spatial heterogeneity. Empirical findings showed that (1) LCPP had a significant positive impact on urban green innovation, and green invention patents had a greater green innovation effect than green utility model patents. (2) Heterogeneity analysis revealed that in terms of geographical location, the pilot policy was more effective in promoting urban green innovation in the eastern and central regions in comparison to the western region. At the city level, the pilot policy had a greater impact on green innovation in first- and second-tier cities. With regard to city scale, large-scale cities showed a greater impact on green innovation than small- and medium-sized cities. (3) Mechanistic testing revealed that LCPPs stimulated urban green innovation by talent aggregation, increasing government support for innovation, and public participation; but the mechanism for alleviating financing constraints has yet to be effectively validated. (4) The LCPP showed a spatial spillover effect, whereby one city's low-carbon governance yielded institutional dividends for neighboring cities both geographically and economically, and the impact was more pronounced in those cities that were not resource-based. This study presents empirical evidence at the urban and spatial levels, supporting the comprehensive promotion of low-carbon city construction and development in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-carbon goals significantly vary in regions and periods. This study analyzes the goal setting at prefecture level in China. It shows that the low-carbon achievement in the last term significantly affects the setting of subsequent goal. Specifically, 1% increase in the achievement of low-carbon goals in the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011–2015) decreased the goals in the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016–2020) by 0.35–1.09%. In addition, the goals in low-carbon pilot cities are less ambitious than those in non-pilot ones. It is suggested to weigh more on low-carbon development when evaluating the performance of local authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public policy is crucial for the diffusion of green innovation, and debates exist about the effects of different policies. This paper explores appropriate types of policy instruments by explaining the quick rise in sales of electric vehicles (EVs) in China. Based on a three-year longitudinal dataset across 88 cities, the study shows that consumer-oriented policies are able to significantly promote EV diffusion. Consumer-oriented policies target consumers to facilitate their usage of cars and lower the lifecycle cost, and typical examples include electricity charging and traffic management. This paper contributes to the literature of clean technology policy in two ways. Firstly, it reveals and empirically tests the importance of consumer-oriented policy instruments for the deployment of green innovation. Secondly, it is one of very few scholarly works offering a detailed review of city-level policies in China's EV industry, which will be useful for scholars who are also interested in similar topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]