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In the process of pursuing a Chinese path to modernization that advocates the promotion of harmony between humanity and nature, dealing with the synergy of multi-target environmental regulation policies is an important task towards the modernization of China's governance system and capacity. In this context, can synergistic environmental policies more effectively promote industrial transformation and upgrading when facing the two strategic tasks of building a beautiful China and achieving the goals of reaching peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality? Existing research has no answer to this question. This study used the policy of establishing ' acid rain and SO2 pollution control zones' and the low-carbon city pilot policy as a quasi-natural experiment of environmental policy synergy and combined the influences of the effective government and the efficient market within a unified analytical framework. Using the panel data of 282 prefecture level cities and above in China from 2003 to 2020, this study used the difference-in-differences model to examine the impact of the constraints of the dual environmental objectives, i.e., pollution control and carbon reduction, on the transformation and upgrading of regional industries. The results showed that: (J) Comparing with a single environmental regulation, the synergistic effects of the pollution control and carbon reduction policies were better at promoting regional industrial transformation and upgrading, and the conclusion consistently held through a series of robustness tests. © The mechanism analysis showed that under the dual environmental objectives, the effective government could stimulate regional industrial transformation and upgrading via the regulatory effect of fiscal expenditure. Simultaneously, the efficient market could motivate micro-enterprises to generate relocation and innovative compensatory effects to realize the transformation and upgrading of regional industries. Further research revealed distinct heterogeneity in the transformation and upgrading of regional industries under the dual environmental objectives. The zones with the two pilot policies had a more pronounced impact on the industrial transformation and upgrading of eastern regions, non-traditional industrial bases, regions with heightened environmental consciousness, and areas with superior environmental infrastructure. This study suggests that: ( Local governments should coordinate the overall situation and avoid the blind development of energy-intensive and highly polluting projects. © They should maximize the financial sector's role as a mainstay, attracting and directing more social capital towards green and low-carbon industries. © They should divide and implement national targets for reducing pollution and carbon emissions based on local conditions, and explore experiences and models that can be popularized and replicated. ® They should increase innovation incentives to encourage the synergy of low-carbon technology and low-pollution emission control technology. ® They should also deploy tailored policies that cater to specific regional conditions, foster the profound integration of regional resources, and maximize the potential advantages of each region's synergistic development in pollution control and carbon reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart cities are a product of the integration of the new urbanization process and information technology development in China, while inclusive green growth is an important strategic concept for economic development transformation. Whether the smart city pilot policy can promote inclusive green growth in China still needs to be tested. Based on panel data from 210 prefecture level and above cities from 2009 to 2020, this study used the multi-period difference-in-differences method to learn the impact of the smart city pilot policy on inclusive green growth in China, followed by a series of robustness tests. In addition, the sub-system path, location heterogeneity, and spatial spillover effects of policy effects were also examined. The results showed that: (J) The construction of smart cities would have a significant positive impact on inclusive green growth, and the policy effects would gradually increase over time. The construction of smart cities had a significant promoting effect on both economic growth and green growth, but the impact on inclusive growth was not significant. © There was significant regional heterogeneity in the impact of smart city construction on inclusive green growth. There was a significant positive impact in the eastern and western regions, a significant negative impact in the northeast region, and an insignificant impact in the central region. © The policy effects of smart city construction had significant spatial spillover characteristics. Smart city construction could significantly promote economic growth and green growth in adjacent non-pilot areas but could only significantly promote economic growth in adjacent pilot areas. Therefore, in the critical period of China's economic transformation and upgrading, in order to enhance the promotion of the pilot policy on inclusive green growth, on the one hand, the construction of smart cities should focus on promoting inclusive growth and formulating reasonable pilot goals according to local conditions based on the resource endowment of each region. On the other hand, it is necessary to promote the exchange of piloting experience and innovation resources among regions and arrange the investment level of innovation resources reasonably to avoid the occurrence of ' depression effect' and ' siphon effect.' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]