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The trading of carbon emissions is a crucial regulatory method to address environmental pollution issues. This study takes China's carbon emission trading pilot policy established in 2013 as a quasi-natural experiment and uses the DID model to empirically test the urban panel data from 2006 to 2019. The results show that the carbon emission trading pilot policy can effectively reduce urban environmental pollution, and this effect is more noticeable in mid-western cities, northern cities, cities with fewer resources, and large-scale cities. In addition, to address the urban environmental pollution problem through this policy, the government is encouraged to raise its environmental protection awareness and put more effort into the innovation of technology. In general, this study uses carbon emission trading policies from China to confirm that market-based incentive environmental regulation tools can effectively reduce environmental pollution in urban areas. These findings can provide more theoretical support and empirical evidence for the government to use mechanisms of the market to effectively solve pollution problems, improve ecological environment quality, and accelerate the realization of green economy. • The DID model is used to track pilot policy impact on urban environmental pollution. • Carbon emission trading pilot policy can reduce urban environmental pollution. • The government's environmental awareness is the channel of action. • The government's technological innovation efforts are the channel of action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is a non-traditional security crisis affecting the global economy and diplomatic progress. In order to curtail carbon emissions and alleviate the perils of climate change at their roots, urban green innovation (UGI) has emerged as a pivotal technological solution. Using the expansion of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration in China as a case study, this paper develops a quasi-experimental model to analyze the effects of regional integration policies on UGI. The main findings are: (1) Regional integration policies significantly enhance UGI and their impact is more pronounced with the expansion of urban agglomerations; (2) Regional integration policies contribute to the advancement of exploitative green innovation while tending to diminish exploratory green innovation; (3) The green innovation effects (GIEs) created by the expansion of regional integration policies are largely influenced by governmental mechanisms on environmental governance as well as residents' green preferences. Based on these findings, recommendations are put forward to promote UGI from the perspective of policy implementation. • The quasi-experimental models of urban agglomeration expansion on green innovation are constructed. • The positive effects of urban agglomeration expansion on green innovation are proven. • Urban agglomeration expansion can enhance exploitative green innovation and also reduce exploratory green innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Encouraging enterprises to engage in green innovation is a potent strategy for reducing carbon emissions from production. As one of the largest carbon emitters, China has launched a series of policies to achieve carbon peaking and neutrality collectively referred to as China's dual carbon policy. However, existing research on the impact of China's dual carbon policy on green innovation by heavy-polluting enterprises is insufficient. To fill this gap, this study constructed a theoretical model to draw hypotheses about the impact of the dual carbon policy on enterprises' green innovation and verified this impact using a difference-in-differences model to conduct a quasi-natural experiment based on data from 2010 to 2022 from Chinese A-share-listed enterprises. The results indicate that the dual carbon policy had a significantly positive influence on green innovation in heavy-polluting enterprises. Moreover, environmental tax mediated this effect, while enterprises' total costs and subsidies positively moderated it. Additionally, the impact exhibited variations based on several key factors, including green patent type, carbon emissions, enterprise ownership structure, and Environmental, Social, and Governance ratings. This study supplements related research on the effects of environmental policy on green innovation and provides both theoretical and empirical support for adapting subsequent environmental policies. • This study explores the impact of China's dual carbon policies on green innovation by firms. • We create a theoretical model and validate it using data from listed Chinese firms. • The dual carbon policies significantly increase green innovation by firms. • This relationship is mediated by environmental tax and moderated by firm costs and subsidies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]