Search

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]

Through extensive data research and analysis, this paper comprehensively summarizes the status and key insights of global carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) development. It aims to gain a comprehensive understanding of the relevant policies, technologies, and security measures adopted by major countries in their CCS development processes. Furthermore, it explores the existing status and limitations of China's offshore development efforts, while providing valuable recommendations for enhancing China's offshore CCS initiatives, as well as serving as a reference for other nations worldwide. Offshore CCS plays a crucial role for China to achieve the development target of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, due to its energy structure and industrial distribution. While China possesses significant offshore CCS potential, achieving commercialization still requires substantial efforts. To facilitate the process and draw insights from successful experiences in other countries, this paper illustrates the characteristics and generalizes the experience of offshore CCS industry practices in America, Europe and Japan, respectively. Furthermore, it is recommended that a new round of investigation into offshore CCS potential be conducted, while promoting integrated collaboration between geological surveying and marine scientific research. Additionally, further research on industrial policies and green financial strategies should be undertaken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The double-carbon goal proposal has made it imperative for China's power industry to address the urgent issue of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants and promoting their clean and efficient use. A new approach to achieving peak-shaving and improving grid stability is the combination of carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities with coal-fired power plants, which offers a strategic solution for mitigating climate change. Nonetheless, the viability of CCS retrofitting for coal-fired power plants in China hinges on its economic feasibility. The technical characteristics, economic analysis, and policy implications of clean coal-fired power plant equipped with CCS (CCP-CCS) technologies are evaluated in the paper. A comparison of the characteristics of different clean coal power generation technologies, including capacity, efficiency, coal consumption, and environmental performance, is conducted. The paper analyzes the economic feasibility of four typical clean coal power generation technologies, namely Supercritical (SC), Ultra-supercritical (USC), Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC), and Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB), both with and without CCS, using the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) model. Financial parameters, investment parameters, operation and maintenance parameters, tax parameters, and capacity parameters are all considered in the LCOE model. The results indicate: (1) If CCS is not installed, the LCOE of USC power plants is the lowest at 0.37 yuan/kWh, while the LCOE of IGCC power plants is the highest at 0.44 yuan/kWh. (2) If CCS is installed, the LCOE of CFB units is the highest at 0.74 yuan/kWh, while the LCOE of USC units is the lowest at 0.60 yuan/kWh. (3) In sensitivity analysis, coal prices have the most significant impact on LCOE, followed by expected annual operating hours, while the cost of carbon capture equipment is the least sensitive. (4) The cost of retrofitting CCS on clean coal-fired power plants (CCP) is currently high, with an LCOE increase of around 40 to 70%, which is comparable to that of renewable energy electricity. This paper presents policy recommendations, including preferential loans, tax incentives, and R&D funding, to promote the development of CCP in China based on the economic analysis results and challenges faced by CCP. Additionally, the paper proposes relevant policy implications such as preferential loan policies, a diversified financing system, R&D and innovation, and the establishment of a carbon trading market for CCS in China to provide practical guidance for the promotion of CCP-CCS technologies in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the largest energy consumer, China's control of carbon emissions from energy consumption plays a pivotal role in world climate governance. However, few studies have been conducted to explore the emission reduction pathways that promote a high level of synergy between China's economic growth and the " carbon peaking and carbon neutrality " goal from the perspective of energy consumption. Based on the measurement of energy consumption carbon emissions, this paper reveals the spatial and temporal distribution and evolution trends of carbon emissions in China at the national-provincial level. The multi-dimensional socio-economic factors such as R&D and urbanization are taken into account, and the LMDI model is used to decompose the driving effects of energy consumption carbon emissions at the national-provincial levels. Further, this paper combines the Tapio decoupling index with the LMDI model to decompose the decoupling states of China year by year and at the provincial level in four periods to explore the reasons for the change of carbon decoupling states. The results show that: (1) China's energy consumption carbon emissions grew at a high rate before 2013, and slowed down after that. There are significant differences in the scale and growth rate of carbon emissions among provinces, which can be classified into four types accordingly. (2) The R&D scale effect, urbanization effect, and population scale effect are the factors driving the growth of China's carbon emissions; while the energy structure effect, energy consumption industry structure effect, energy intensity effect, and R&D efficiency effect inhibit the growth of China's carbon emissions. (3) Weak decoupling is the most dominant decoupling state in China from 2003 to 2020, and the decoupling state varies significantly among provinces. According to the conclusions, this paper proposes targeted policy recommendations based on China's energy endowment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the secrets for China's economic growth miracle is continuous investment in infrastructure, and the role of power infrastructure is irreplaceable. However, previous studies mostly focused on generation-side indicators rather than grid-side indicators, ignoring the importance of the mega-grid established in China. As a result, this paper is committed to exploring the economic growth pulling effect of power grids with different voltage levels in the nonlinear framework. On the premise of determining the robustness of estimation parameters by instrumental variable method, the panel smooth transition regression (PSTR) model is used to capture panel heterogeneity. To be exact, the regional economic growth driven by extra-high voltage (EHV) and ultra-high voltage (UHV) power grids presents a regime transition accompanied by the growth of regional power generation and electricity consumption per capita. This means that the mega-grid is more conducive to the economic growth of energy bases and load centers. To further build and improve the state-leveled mega-grid into a nationwide basic platform for trans-regional renewable energy transmission and distribution is a key measure to enhance China's sustainable economic growth under the constraints of carbon peak and carbon neutrality targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of the farm biogas project is a perfect measure to deal with the increasingly nervous global climate problem and energy crisis and can support the accomplishment of urgently needed carbon peaking and carbon neutrality effectively. But the poor economic benefits hinder its better development. Thus, this paper aims to enhance the economics of farm biogas projects and explore a win–win model for economic and environmental benefits by studying the economic impact of participation in carbon trading on three types of farm biogas projects. First, economic analysis of farm biogas projects based on life cycle cost is carried out using case analysis. Second, the greenhouse gas emission reductions are calculated and benefits from carbon trading are considered. Then, the economic robustness was tested. Specifically, the economics of all three types of farm biogas projects is improved after carbon trading. The ecological farm biogas project has the best economic performance, with a net present value of $551,689.11, internal rate of return of 49%, and payback period of 2.39 years. In addition, the emission reductions of 5045.79 t CO2e, 7420.28 t CO2e, and 148.41 t CO2e are very significant. Based on these, suggestions for developing farm biogas projects and introducing biogas projects to carbon trading are put forward for the reference of governments and investors when making investments and reforms. According to the result, participation of farm biogas projects in carbon trading can effectively enhance economic benefits and accelerate the achievement of the greenhouse gas emission reduction target which is of great significance to the urgent goal of global green and low-carbon transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of the carbon neutrality goals set post-Paris Climate Conference (COP21), this study delves into the relationship between green technology innovations, energy consumption, and CO2 emissions in China, spanning the period of 1990 to 2021. The objective of this paper is to creatively present the idea of a low-carbon digital economy from the viewpoint of digital technology. Utilizing the Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology (STIRPAT) model, we scrutinize this relationship, employing unit-root testing to verify the integrative attributes of the variables, inclusive of structural break data. Further analysis using the bootstrap Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bound testing method corroborates the relationship between these key variables. The study reveals unidirectional co-integration over time among green technology innovations, renewable and non-renewable energy, per capita income, population, and CO2 emissions as per the Granger causality test. Interestingly, our findings suggest that while green technology innovation, per capita income, and renewable energy contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions, non-renewable energy consumption and population growth exacerbate them. These insights offer valuable guidance for policymakers in formulating comprehensive strategies to enhance environmental quality through the promotion of renewable energy and green technology innovations, with a specific emphasis on the Chinese context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, China has proposed the goal of peaking carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, which will significantly alter its existing coal-based energy mix. Since coal is China's primary source of energy and the largest contributor to carbon emissions, coal reduction is an important measure toward carbon neutrality. In order to guarantee the stable development of economy and society in the process of coal reduction, the path and cost of coal reduction need to be studied in depth. Based on coal use in China, this paper examines and measures the stages and costs of coal reduction. It also gives a definition for coal reduction costs for the first time, including economic cost, environment and ecology cost, and health cost, as well as proposes a framework for analyzing the "full cost, full process, and full scenario". We measure the cost in combination with the KAYA formula, and take into account the time value of the cost. Based on the above measurement framework, we calculate the unit coal reduction cost and estimate the coal reduction cost between CNY 454.38 and 827.1 billion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy-consuming rights trading (ECRT) policy represents a critical policy instrument for China striving to achieve its “dual carbon” objectives, captivating significant attention for its potential to reduce pollution and carbon emissions. This study utilizes panel data from 290 Chinese cities spanning 2010 to 2021, leveraging the ECRT policy as a quasi-natural experiment. Employing Difference-in-Differences (DID) and Propensity Score Matching-Difference-in-Differences (PSM-DID) methodologies, we assess the effect of the ECRT policy on urban pollution and carbon reduction levels. The findings indicate: 1) Relative to non-demonstration cities, the ECRT policy significantly enhances pollution and carbon reduction levels in demonstration cities; this conclusion remains robust after rigorous testing. 2) Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the policy’s effect on pollution and carbon reduction is more significant in the central and western regions, and particularly evident in key and resource-based cities. 3) Mechanism tests demonstrate that the policy facilitates urban pollution and carbon reduction by cultivating green technological innovation and industrial structure upgrading. Therefore, to further advance the ECRT policy, it is necessary to expand the breadth, depth, and flexibility of policy implementation, while also optimizing environmental regulations to fully leverage the system’s potential in enhancing urban pollution and carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The digital economy has the characteristics of resource conservation, which can solve China's high carbon emissions problems. The digital economy can quickly integrate with the real economy, forming an integrated economy. However, it is still unclear whether an integrated economy can effectively reduce carbon emissions and achieve China's 'dual carbon goals'. Therefore, this study takes 30 provinces in China as the research object, constructs the integration economy index system through the statistical data from 2011-2021, and explores the spatial effect of the impact of the integration economy on carbon emissions by using principal component analysis, coupled coordination model and spatial econometric model. The research results are as follows. (1) From 2011 to 2021, the comprehensive economy showed a trend of increasing yearly (from 0.667 to 0.828), and carbon emissions showed a slow decrease (from 0.026 to 0.017). (2) Due to the infiltration of China's economic development from the eastern to the western, the spatial distribution of the integrated economy shows a decreasing trend from east to west. The spatial distribution of carbon emissions may be related to China's industrial layout of heavy industry in the northern, and light industry in the southern, showing a trend of low in the south and high in the north. (3) The integrated economy can significantly reduce carbon emissions (the coefficients of influence, -0.146), and the reduction effect will be more obvious if spatial spillover effects are taken into account (-0.305). (4) The eastern coast, the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, and the middle reaches of the Yellow River economic zones all increase carbon emissions at a certain level of significance (0.065, 0.148, and 3.890). The Northeast, South Coastal and Southwest economic zones significantly reduce carbon emissions (-0.220, -0.092, and -0.308). The results of the Northern Coast and Northwest are not significant (-0.022 and 0.095). (5) China should tailor regional economic development policies, such as strengthening investment in digital infrastructure in the Northwest Economic Zone and fully leveraging the spatial spillover effects of integrated economy in the Northeast, Southern Coastal, and Southwest Economic Zones to reduce carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of sustainability and carbon neutrality, green innovation has become a focus of China's manufacturing enterprises. However, how a new chief executive officer (CEO) reacts to this situation is less discussed. This paper relies on agency conflicts, employing upper echelons theory and institutional literature to examine the effects of CEO turnover on green innovation. By using a sample of 1,915 listed manufacturing firms in China, we find that CEO turnover leads to greater green innovation quantity but not lower innovation quality. This result does not verify the greenwashing perspective and shows that CEO turnover is a promoter of green innovation. In addition, we observed that formal and informal factors (represented by environmental regulation and media coverage) have different moderating impacts on the quality and quantity of green innovation. This study provides new insight into green innovation governance mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing the causal relationships between clean energy consumption and economic growth in China, a central actor in the world's climate future, have received considerable attention among scholars. However, due to the lack of methodological rigour in the causality analysis, available literature failed to provide solid inferences on the links between the variables. Therefore, this study aims to re-examine the variables' dynamic linkages with a more well-established approach from 1965 to 2020. We use a time-varying framework that relaxes the assumption of parameter stability, a remarkable feature that distinguishes our paper from the previous studies. Utilizing the conventional Granger causality test, we fail to detect causation between the variables. However, the evidence of substantial time variation in the causal relationships implies that the standard framework's inference is unreliable. The findings of our time-varying analysis indicate different forms of causality flows in various subperiods. This can be a dependable reason for China to follow its enhanced carbon neutrality target safely. The results of our study also emphasize the significance of considering time-varying causality tests to avoid the risk of misleading inferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction industry is the backbone of most countries, but its carbon emissions are huge and growing rapidly, constraining the achievement of global carbon-peaking and carbon-neutrality goals. China's carbon emissions are the highest in the world, and the construction industry is the largest contributor. Due to significant differences between provinces in pressure, potential, and motivation to reduce emissions, the "one-size-fits-all" emission reduction policy has failed to achieve the desired results. This paper empirically investigates the spatial and temporal evolution of carbon emissions in China's construction industry and their decoupling relationship with economic growth relying on GIS tools and decoupling model in an attempt to provide a basis for the formulation of differentiated construction emission reduction policies and plans in China. The study shows that, firstly, the changes in carbon emissions and carbon intensity in the provincial construction industry are becoming increasingly complex, with a variety of types emerging, such as declining, "inverted U-shaped", growing, "U-shaped", and smooth fluctuating patterns. Secondly, the coefficient of variation is higher than 0.65 for a long time, indicating high spatial heterogeneity. However, spatial agglomeration and correlation are low, with only a few cluster-like agglomerations formed in the Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta, Bohai Bay, Northeast China, and Loess and Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau regions. Thirdly, most provinces have not reached peak carbon emissions from the construction industry, with 25% having reached peak and being in the plateau stage, respectively. Fourthly, the decoupling relationship between carbon emissions from the construction industry and economic growth, as well as their changes, is increasingly diversified, and most provinces are in a strong and weak decoupling state. Moreover, a growing number of provinces that have achieved decoupling are moving backward to re-coupling, due to the impact of economic transformation and the outbreaks of COVID-19, with the degraded regions increasingly concentrated in the northeast and northwest. Fifthly, we classify China's 30 provinces into Leader, Intermediate, and Laggard policy zones and further propose differentiated response strategies. In conclusion, studying the trends and patterns of carbon-emission changes in the construction industry in different regions, revealing their spatial differentiation and correlation, and developing a classification management strategy for low carbonized development of the construction industry help significantly improve the reliability, efficiency, and self-adaptability of policy design and implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ports play an important role in transportation networks, but the ecological efficiency of many ports cannot reach an effective level. To improve the ecological efficiency of ports, we need to analyze the current ecological efficiency of ports and propose policy recommendations based on the results. In this paper, we first employed the super-efficiency SBM model to calculate the ecological efficiency of the four major ports in the Yangtze River Delta port group from 2011 to 2021. The results showed that the average comprehensive ecological efficiency of the four major ports was 0.647, which did not reach the effective level. The overall ecological efficiency curve was U-shaped. Then we used the Tobit model to analyze the key factors affecting the port's ecological efficiency. We found that the economic development of port cities could promote the improvement of port ecological efficiency. The application level of emerging technologies also had a positive impact, but the impact was weak. However, expanding the scale of the port would reduce its ecological efficiency. At last, we provided some policy recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of China Quarterly is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The essential to achieving the 2060 carbon neutrality target in China lies in the performance of the construction industry. Decoupling economic development from CO2 emissions is the main strategy for reducing emissions in the construction industry. This paper is based on panel data for China and its 30 provinces during 2009–2019. A Tapio decoupling model is constructed to analyze the decoupling state of economic development and CO2 emissions in the construction industry. The logarithmic mean Divisia index model is constructed to continue the decomposition of the drivers of the decoupling state and CO2 emissions. The results show that (1) the economic development level of most provinces is positively correlated with their CO2 emissions; (2) Beijing and Jiangsu reach the ideal strong decoupling state, and Heilongjiang has the worst decoupling state. The same type of decoupling state shows a certain aggregation phenomenon in space; (3) economic output plays a critical role in promoting CO2 emissions and decoupling of the construction industry in China and the provinces. The main driver of decoupling is indirect carbon intensity; (4) energy intensity has a greater impact on CO2 emissions reduction in regions with more developed economic levels. Understanding the drivers of the decoupling state in China's construction industry provides a valuable basis for energy efficiency and emission reduction efforts in China and other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental protection and innovation performance are key issues that affect the sustainable development and value growth of cities. Using data of 272 prefecture-level cities during 2002–2016 and 2,169 listed companies, and the air ventilation coefficient and government environmental regulations, as the instrumental variables for PM2.5 concentrations, this paper applies two-stage OLS (2SLS) to investigate how air pollution affects China's technological innovation and its realization mechanism. The results indicate that the rise in air pollution significantly inhibits the technological innovation level of regions as a whole as well as individual enterprises. When considering the spatial effect of the spread of PM2.5 concentrations, due to positive spillover effects on innovation activities, the spread of air pollution has negative impacts on technological innovation activities in surrounding cities. Human capital and labour costs are important channels through which air pollution influences China's technological innovation. The implementation of pilot carbon trading policies can effectively reduce air pollution and then contribute to the achievement of the goals of the green growth strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The building sector accounts for over 40% of global energy consumption. The utilization of renewable energy systems such as the solar-assisted heat pump (SAHP) in buildings has been shown to improve building energy efficiency and achieve carbon neutrality. This paper presents a review of the research and development of solar-assisted heat pumps for buildings in China. It firstly introduces the different stages of solar-assisted heat pump research. Secondly, the research on different types of heat pumps, the core components of heat pumps, the computer software used, and the economic feasibility evaluation of solar-assisted heat pumps are presented. Thirdly, the application of SAHPs in practical projects is examined and relevant regulations, standards, and policies for solar-assisted heat pump development in China are highlighted. Finally, recommendations for the future development of solar-assisted heat pumps in China are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of carbon neutrality target, renewable energy sources have been transforming from "supplementary energy" to "main energy", which have promoted the green and low-carbon transition of global energy supply system. In-depth analyzing the spatial patterns and driving mechanisms of renewable energy expansion are of significance for optimizing the spatial layout of clean power, and avoiding the phenomenon of wind and solar power curtailment. In this paper, we proposed an ensemble learning model to examine the nonlinear effects of physical geography, resource endowment, and socio-economic factors on solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity at the prefecture-level city scale in China. Using the city-level multi-sources geospatial big data, we extensively collected a total of 175 related explanatory variables and cumulative installed capacity of solar PV power for 295 prefecture-level cities of China. The recursive feature elimination algorithm (SVM-REF) is firstly used to extract the optimal feature subset of urban PV capacity from multi-dimensional features variables. Furthermore, three advanced machine learning models (random forest, decision tree, extreme gradient boosting) are developed to identify the key influencing factors and nonlinear driving effect of urban solar PV power expansion in China. The results show that China's PV installation capacity is highly concentrated in Northern and Northwest parts of China, with the occupancy over 70% in 2019. Moreover, the XGBoost model has the best prediction accuracy (R2 = 0.97) among three methods. We also found that total amount of urban water resources, average solar radiation, and population density are the most important controlling factors for urban solar PV capacity expansion in China, with contribution of 35.6%, 17.7%, and 13.3%, respectively. We suggested that urban solar PV layout mode in China is recommended to gradually shift from resource orientation to the "resource-environment-demand" comprehensive orientation. The paper provides a replicable, scalable machine learning models for simulating solar PV power capacity at the prefecture-level city scale, and serves as a motivation for decision-making reference of the macro siting optimization and sustainable development of China's green power industry. • This study examines the impact of high-dimensional features variables on urban solar energy development. • Over 70% of solar PV installation capacity is concentrated in Northern and Northwest parts of China. • Water resources, solar radiation, population density have significant impact on solar PV distribution. • Solar PV distribution in China should shift from resource orientation to the comprehensive orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the power unbundling reform in 2002, China's power industry has been a typical sector moving towards marketization. The supply-side structural reform that began in 2015 has intensified the competition among China's power generation enterprises. In this context, this paper combines a data envelopment analysis (DEA) game cross-efficiency model with the Malmquist index approach to investigate the dynamic environmental efficiency of China's power generation enterprises in a competitive market. Furthermore, the system generalized method of moments (SYS-GMM) is employed to analyze the influences of factors on the dynamic environmental efficiency. The results show that: (1) Compared with the basic DEA Charnes–Cooper–Rhodes (CCR)-Malmquist index model, the DEA game cross-Malmquist index approach can enhance the discrimination among the decision making units (DMUs). (2) The change in the overall dynamic environmental efficiency of China's power generation enterprises mainly comes from the catch-up effect, while technological progress has not played a role as significant as expected. (3) The installed capacity growth rate, implementation of carbon emission trading pilots, economic growth rate, and enterprise ownership all affect the dynamic environmental performance of China's power generation enterprises during the study period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reduce carbon emissions, the Chinese government is considering introducing a differentiated industrial carbon tax on enterprises outside the carbon trading market in the future. An efficient carbon tax must consider not only how carbon taxes impact the current economy but also how the size of the tax should be adjusted across time due to external changes. To calculate the optimal industrial carbon tax for China which is subject to certain constraints, this paper investigates the economic and environmental effects of four possible industrial carbon tax rate models under carbon intensity constraints from 2021 to 2030 by a dynamic input–output optimization model. The results show that the dynamic tax rate model leads to larger fluctuations in GDP growth than the other tax models, with a low initial tax rate in the beginning and a high tax rate exceeding ¥180/t in 2030. Second, a large quantity of capital stock is distributed across the energy-intensive industries, which leads the existing capital investment structure to be path-dependent. This offsets the performance of carbon taxes. Third, indirect energy-intensive industries such as construction and transport are insensitive to the industrial carbon tax. Finally, comparing the impacts of the four tax rate models, the optimal industrial carbon tax for China is found to be a fixed differentiated tax rate, in which energy-intensive sectors are taxed ¥75/t and low-carbon sectors are taxed ¥50/t. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming is a critical crisis threatening human survival and development. International organizations and countries worldwide are introducing policies and practices to achieve carbon neutrality. In China, numerous carbon neutrality policies have been established; however, a systematic understanding of the underlying policy logic is lacking. Using the institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework, this paper analyzes selected carbon neutrality policies in China. We conducted a bibliometric visualization analysis of the texts of 20 policies and matched their logic to the elements of the IAD framework. We established 90 keywords with occurrences of no less than 10 times in China's carbon neutrality policies. The network visualization analysis identified six clusters. We discuss implementation challenges of China's carbon neutrality policies, address the policy implementation, and finally outline impacts on China's carbon neutrality governance. This study responds to the global concern over China's carbon neutrality commitments by clarifying the institutional logic of China's policies and actions. This study could provide a reference for countries worldwide that are designing and introducing carbon neutrality policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural carbon emission reduction is an important issue in environmental protection and development in China and the world. The farmland spatial transition is an important path for agricultural modernization in developing countries such as China. How can farmland spatial transition promote agricultural carbon emission reduction? This paper aims to explore the mechanisms and spatial-temporal effects of farmland spatial transition on agricultural carbon emission density. To study the mechanisms and effects, we establish the random effect model, the threshold model, and the GTWR model with 2018 counties in China from 2000 to 2020. The research shows the farmland spatial transition mainly promotes agricultural carbon emission reduction through the interaction mechanism of large-scale production and specialized production, intermediary, and threshold mechanisms of agricultural technology. The result also shows that specialized farmland management is the main driving force of agricultural carbon emission reduction for farmland spatial transition. Moreover, the impact of farmland spatial transition on agricultural carbon emission reduction has significant spatial and temporal differences. The most significant regions are located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River plain, while the least are the north and southwest. Besides, the impact of the farmland spatial transition on agricultural carbon emissions reduction has a "V" shape over time, indicating China's agricultural carbon emission reduction is facing enormous economic and social development challenges. Our research reveals the various mechanisms and spatial-temporal effects of the transition of farmland spatial morphology on agricultural carbon emission with an evaluation framework, which is crucial to low-carbon agriculture with proper farmland use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has abundant agricultural and forestry waste resources that are crucial sources of energy for substituting fossil fuels and achieving the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. These resources play an essential role in reducing carbon dioxide emissions and promoting sustainable development. This paper presents an estimation of the number of biomass resources that can be used for energy in 2020 by using parameters such as the grass-to-grain ratio coefficient and excretion coefficient. Moreover, the potential for conversion of biomass resources into biomass energy is evaluated by using parameters such as lower heating value and gas production coefficient. Finally, based on the whole life cycle theory, the potential of biomass energy utilization to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and its impact on carbon peaking is calculated. It was found that the total amount of fossil fuels that can be replaced by biomass energy is 256 million tons of standard coal. Utilizing biomass energy can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 520 million tons, with a peak impact of 4–6% on carbon peaking. The research results presented in this article can provide valuable data to support the promotion of green transformation in various regions. The findings can serve as a useful reference for formulating localized biomass utilization plans and designing effective emission reduction policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States (U.S.) and China are key to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement and reaching carbon neutrality by around mid-century. Despite differences, carbon neutrality will be met more rapidly if the two countries coordinate and facilitate synergies in carbon-neutral technologies and policy development and implementation. Building on long-term pathway models in the U.S. and China, current emissions trends and sources, and a policy analysis, this paper puts forward a novel framework for U.S.-China coordination on carbon neutrality. The analysis reveals similar technology and policy pathways, policy gaps, and shared milestones for decarbonization in 2030, 2040, and 2050-2060. The main technological pathways focus on reductions in energy demand and non-energy-related CO2 emissions, decarbonization of electricity and fuels, and increases in electrification rates and CO2 sequestration. Given existing domestic policies and opportunities for further action, areas for coordination on carbon neutrality include common policy milestones; dialogue and technical exchange; research, development, and demonstration (RD&D); and international climate leadership. Despite escalated tensions between the U.S. and China, and challenges for climate cooperation, coordination between both countries on carbon neutrality is both possible and necessary. Carbon neutrality will be met more swiftly if the U.S. and China coordinate and facilitate synergies in carbon-neutral technologies and policy. Despite the rise in geo-political tensions between the U.S. and China, coordination on carbon neutrality is both possible and necessary. An analytical framework for U.S.-China coordination on carbon neutrality, includes technology and policy pathways, and common milestones of key sectors' decarbonization for 2030, 2040, and 2050-2050. The two countries could coordinate on common policy milestones, dialogue and technical exchange, research and development, and international climate leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon neutrality is an important policy in the current global response to climate change and has been widely recognized by various industries. In the process of promoting carbon neutrality, new energy plays a pivotal role. In this study, the definition and connotation of new energy and its role and specific operation in the energy transition of carbon neutrality are firstly explained. Promoting new energy development requires significant green and low-carbon investments. Taking China as an example, this paper analyzes the opportunities brought by the carbon neutral process to the field of green finance and analyzes the main features and development trends of green finance in China at present. Then this paper proposes policy recommendations to strengthen the development of green finance in China in terms of improving the green financial policy system, enhancing the supply capacity of green financial services, and optimizing the supporting environment for green financial development. Finally, this paper analyzes the measures and experiences of the United States in promoting low-carbon development and proposes countermeasures for China's low-carbon development on the basis of the five major relationships that need attention in China's carbon-neutral process. That is, strengthen the top-level design and improve the regulatory policy system; optimize the energy structure and increase the proportion of clean energy; optimize the industrial structure and reduce energy consumption in key industries; build a complete low-carbon technology system and promote low-carbon technology research and development and demonstration applications, and encourage local conditions to explore low-carbon development paths. The development of green finance can contribute to the advancement of new energy technologies, thus contributing to the achievement of carbon neutrality goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The carbon neutrality agenda requires that carbon lock-in enters an endgame. A well-developed energy system, which is secure, equitable, and sustainable is paramount to getting rid of carbon lock-in and realizing decarbonization. We carry out systematic research to empirically study the possible carbon lock-in reduction effect of energy trilemma based on the instrumental variable-generalized method of moment (IV-GMM) model. We also detect heterogeneous effects in terms of geographical locations and endowments of capital, as well as the impact mechanisms. Moreover, this paper highlights the mediating and threshold role of environmental regulation. We thus get the following conclusions. (1) The paper's primary findings underscore that the continuous increase of energy trilemma exacerbates carbon lock-in and hampers the process of decarbonization; (2) Energy trilemma has a higher stimulating effect on carbon lock-in in provinces that lie in the central region and that have a comparatively low level of physical, social, and human capital; (3) Energy trilemma can also indirectly aggravate carbon lock-in by inhibiting technology innovation and exacerbating carbon emissions intensity; (4) The interaction of environmental regulation and energy trilemma can alleviate the energy trilemma - carbon lock-in nexus, and environmental regulation also shows a significant threshold effect. • We investigate the impact of the energy trilemma on carbon lock-in. • Energy trilemma eradication is an effective way to realize the carbon lock-in endgame. • The nexus between energy trilemma and carbon lock-in is more prominent in provinces with high capital endowments. • Environmental regulation shows significant mediating and threshold effects. • The exacerbate carbon lock-in effect of energy trilemma depends on technology and intensity effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen is crucial in achieving global energy transition and carbon neutrality goals. Existing market estimates typically presume linear or exponential growth but fail to consider how market demand responds to the declining cost of underlying technologies. To address this, this study utilizes a learning curve model to project the cost of electrolyzers and its subsequent impact on hydrogen market, aligning with a premise that the market demand is proportional to the cost of hydrogen. In a case study of China's hydrogen market, projecting from 2020 to 2060, we observed substantial differences in market evolution compared to exponential growth scenarios. Contrary to exponential growth scenarios, China's hydrogen market experiences faster growth during the 2020–2040 period rather than later. Such differences underscore the necessity for proactive strategic planning in emerging technology markets, particularly for those experiencing rapid cost decline, such as hydrogen. The framework can also be extended to other markets by using local data, providing valuable insights to investors, policymakers, and developers engaged in the hydrogen market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some developed economies have run emission trading scheme (ETS) to mitigate carbon emissions. However, we know little about the effectiveness and heterogeneity of ETS in a context of developing economy. This paper evaluates the effectiveness and heterogeneity of China's pilot ETS, the first ETS run in a developing economy. Difference-in-difference (DID) and difference-in-difference-in-difference (DDD) methods are employed to analyze provincial industrial-level data. The heterogeneity of ETS effects is also explored from regional and industrial perspectives. The empirical results show that the pilot ETS can effectively reduce pilot industries' carbon emissions. The reduction effect of the pilot ETS has a substantial heterogeneity for different pilot provinces and industries. Carbon emissions are reduced by the pilot ETS through technological innovation and the adjustment of industrial structure. The empirical results suggest that policymakers may consider establishing a national ETS and differentiating carbon quota allowance in covered regions and industries in the current pilot ETS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The international community has generally recognized the key role of developing countries' cities in reducing carbon emissions, an elemental way to mitigate climate change. However, few have empirically analyzed the impact of market-based instruments such as emission trading system on urban carbon emissions in developing economies. This paper examines the effect of China's pilot carbon trading markets, the first emission trading system in developing economies, on cities' carbon intensity. We also explore the mechanism by which the emission trading system achieves its influence. The PSM-DID method is used to analyze the panel data including China's 273 prefecture-level cities from 2010 to 2016. The results illustrate that the emission trading system significantly decreased pilot cities' carbon intensity and this effect endured; as time progressed, the reduction effect was increasing. Through mediating effect analysis, we find that the emission trading system reduced the carbon intensity via increasing the proportion of tertiary industry output value in GDP and decreasing the energy intensity. Overall, the empirical results suggest that the Chinese government should drive the establishment and improvement of a national carbon market, proactively adjust industry structure, and consider the possible influence caused by the potential energy rebound effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transport sector is a major consumer of fossil fuels and, consequently, one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutant emissions. In recent years, global transport's emissions have experienced a remarkable increase and will become a crucial cause of global warming in the next few decades. The public has become well aware of the issues regarding carbon emissions in this sector, and reducing greenhouse gases has also become a regulatory agenda of governments around the globe. Emissions trading schemes are considered one of the most cost-efficient ways of controlling greenhouse gas emissions and have been implemented by many countries around the world. While several countries have already incorporated the transport sector into their emissions trading schemes, China is in the process of incorporating a part of the transport sector into its emission trading scheme pilots. Introducing a market mechanism to reduce carbon emissions in the transport sector is still at a nascent stage and much is still to be explored. This paper explores the current development and challenges of applying carbon trading mechanisms in the transport sector around the world. Then, the paper analyzes the policies and current developments of incorporating the transport sector in China's carbon trading pilots. Several suggestions are then provided in regard to options on transport sector entities coverage, initial allowance allocation models, integration of carbon trading policies with existing policies, collection of transportation statistics and rolling out a nationwide carbon trading system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's economy and environment urgently require a green recovery as COVID-19's consequences expand over time, and the platform economy is a practical means of pursuing this goal. By employing the Generalized Divisia Index Method (GDIM), this paper aims to analyze the impact of platform economy on carbon emissions in China during the period 2013–2020. Overall, the platform economy has increased carbon emissions, but there was a decrease in carbon emissions in the platform economy between 2014 and 2016. The scale factors of platform economy are the primary contributors to the increase in China's overall emissions and most provincial carbon emissions, while the carbon intensity of platform economy factors contributes most to the decrease in carbon emissions. In particular, the carbon intensity of platform economy factors promoted the most cumulative carbon emissions in Jiangsu, Heilongjiang, Yunnan, Qinghai, and Ningxia between 2013 and 2020, and the energy intensity of platform economy factors reduced most of the cumulative carbon emissions of Heilongjiang, Yunnan, Qinghai, and Xinjiang during the same period. From the perspective of the heterogeneity of platform economic development, the main contributors of carbon mitigation from high-platform economic provinces are intensity effects. However, the platform economic structure of low-platform economic provinces significantly reduces carbon emissions. In addition, we also found significant differences in the factors influencing emissions in different groups under the influence of the pandemic. Finally, we provide some valuable references for China's platform economic development to achieve "carbon neutrality" targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether or not China can succeed at the forefront of international development in the coming decades will largely hinge on its ability to adapt to low-carbon economic development and its efforts to promote the Unified National Emission Trading System (UNETS). To understand the evolution of China's carbon market, this paper firstly divides the development of China's regional carbon markets into three phases: pilot construction (phase 1, before 31 May 2015), preparation for the UNETS (phase 2, 1 June 2015–19 December 2017), and formal construction of the UNETS (phase 3, 20 December 2017–present). Then this research reviews the trading performance and employs four robust variance ratio (VR) tests to capture structural changes and examine the efficiency of China's eight regional carbon markets in different periods. Results show that compared to phase 1, smaller price volatility, larger daily trading volume, and higher market liquidity are more frequent at the later stages of majority markets. Despite these improvements, results from the VR tests indicate that the statistic in majority of China's regional carbon markets is insignificant in any given period and, therefore, they are not weak-form efficient. The additional detrended cross-correlation analysis demonstrates that market liquidity affects market efficiency in the Hubei market only, which implies that Hubei, where the market liquidity reaches almost 100% in phase 3, is highly likely to be weak-form efficient shortly. Finally, several recommendations are provided to improve the efficiency and maturity of China's carbon markets, including strengthening legislation, improving the market design, and constructing information platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emission trading scheme is known as a cost-effective measure for mitigating CO2 emissions, and recently, China has started the world's largest carbon trading system. As the most influential industry in determining China's overall CO2 emission level, the thermal power industry will be greatly affected by nationwide carbon market in the near future. This paper explores the impact of the upcoming national emission trading scheme on China's thermal power industry at firm level. First, based on empirical data of 478 thermal power plants, an empirical analytical framework of micro-firm level is constructed. Then, two kinds of policy scenarios, including no carbon emission trading and national emission trading scheme, in two different market structures have been analyzed. The results show that emission trading scheme have positive impacts on reduction of CO2 emissions among China's power plants and can reduce the total abatement costs by 0.37%–41.5%. Furthermore, most of the thermal power plants are emissions permits buyers including all the low-emission gas-fired power plants. Additionally, compared with the perfect competition market, more than 70% of thermal power plants increase their total abatement costs in imperfect competition market. These findings provide reference for promoting the development of nationwide carbon emission trading system in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This paper aims to discuss the low carbon supply chain practices in China’s textile industry. To curb greenhouse gas emissions, the Chinese government has launched restrict regulatory system and imposed the energy consumption constraint in the textile industry to guarantee the achievability of low carbon economy. The authors aim to examine how the energy consumption constraint affects the optimal decisions of the supply chain members and address the supply chain coordination issue.Design/methodology/approach The authors conduct two case studies from Chinese textile companies and examine the impact of energy consumption constraints on their production and operations management. Based on the real industrial practices, the authors then develop a simple analytical model for a low carbon supply chain in which it consists of one single retailer and one single manufacturer, and the manufacturer determines the choice of clean technology for energy efficiency improvement and emission reduction.Findings From the case studies, the authors find that the textile companies develop clean technologies to reduce carbon emission in production process under the energy consumption enforcement. In this analytical model, the authors derive the optimal decisions of the supply chain members and reveal that supply chain coordination can be achieved if the manufacturer properly sets the reservation wholesale price (WS) despite the production capacity can fulfill partial market demand under a WS (or cost sharing) contract. The authors also find that the cost-sharing contract may induce the manufacturer to increase the investment of clean technology and reduce the optimal WS.Originality/value This paper discusses low carbon supply chain practices in China’s textile industry and contributes toward green supply chain development. Managerial implications are identified, which are beneficial to the entire textile industry in the developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyze the trading mechanism of China pilot carbon emission trading market and figure out whether the current market price is rational and valid. By applying directional distance function and stochastic frontier analysis method, we estimated the CO2 marginal abatement cost of 92 coal-fueled generators belonging to 27 power plants located in Shanghai which is one of the pilot carbon emission trading market cities in China. The result indicates that the market price will greatly affect the trading activities within carbon emission trading market. We conclude that the current market price is not rational for coal-fueled power industry which is high-carbon and high CO2 MAC industry. When the exchange of nationwide carbon trading market formally start, policymakers should impose carbon tax or carbon emission quota to adjust the market price and stimulate the CO2 emission reduction willingness of coal-fueled power plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and quantifying the carbon footprint (CF) of rice-cropping systems in the context of food security is an important step toward the sustainability of rice production. Exploring the key factors affecting emission reduction in rice production is important to properly evaluate the impact of China's rice-cropping systems on global climate change. This review provides an overview of the direct and indirect CF in rice-cropping systems; analyzes the influencing factors in terms of rice-based cropping systems, varieties and agronomic practices; and proposes mitigation strategies. Different studies have shown that direct and indirect GHG emissions in rice-based cropping systems accounted for 38.3 to 95.5% and 4.5 to 61.7% of total emissions, respectively. And the CFs of ratoon rice, rice-wheat, rice-maize, rice-rapeseed, and rice-fish systems ranged from 316,9 kg CO2-eq kg-1 to 258,47 kg CO2-eq kg-1, which are lower than that in a double-rice planting system. High-yielding rice, drought-resistant rice, and other hybrids can mitigate GHG emissions from paddy fields by 3.7 ~ 21.5%. Furthermore, organic matter, water, tillage, straw incorporation, conservation tillage, reduced nitrogen fertilizer use, and added biochar and methane inhibitors could reduce emissions. Therefore, through reasonable agronomic measures, variety selection and optimal layout of rice-based rotation systems, the carbon neutral rate of rice production can be improved to help the national carbon sequestration and emission reduction target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though China has mapped out different policies targeting the mitigation of its environmental degradation, the country still occupies the 1st position in the ranking of carbon emissions due to excessive utilization of non-renewable energy sources in its domestic economic activities. From a theoretical and empirical point of view, factors like economic growth, financial development, export diversification, technological innovation, and renewable energy can be considered to play a vital role in environmental quality. Therefore, this study exposes the environmental performance of China amidst export diversification, financial development, innovation, and clean energy use. Due to the non-availability of data, the annual data of China are converted to quarterly data from 1995Q1 to 2018Q4, and autoregressive distributed lag-(ARDL) and Granger causality approaches are adopted in this study for quantitative and insightful analysis. The findings from both approaches expose the environmental implications of the selected variables (renewable energy, financial development, technological innovation, and export diversification) to China's sustainable development. ARDL approach has confirmed the inverted U-shaped link between financial development and emissions of carbon for China, a negative link between renewables, technologies, and carbon emissions, and a direct association exists between the diversification of export, economic growth, and emissions of carbon. This pattern points toward mitigating environmental dilapidation with renewable energy, technology, and financial development. The Granger causality output lends support to the ARDL findings; hence, a policy initiative that will promote the renewable energy sector and technological innovation through financial programs is advised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon emissions pose a significant challenge to sustainable development, particularly for China, which is the world's largest emerging economy and is under pressure to achieve carbon neutrality and reduce emissions amid escalating human activities. The variation in economic development levels and carbon sequestration capacities among its provinces poses a significant hurdle. However, previous research has not adequately examined this dual discrepancy from the perspective of spatial heterogeneity, resulting in a lack of differentiated management of forest carbon sinks across diverse regions. Therefore, to mitigate this discrepancy, this study presents an assessment methodology that analyzes over 100 types of natural and plantation forests using forest age and biomass expansion factors. This study presents a model that can significantly support the efforts of both China and the whole world to achieve carbon neutrality through the improved management of forest carbon sinks. This approach facilitates the assessment of carbon offsets required to meet reduction targets, the development of a provincial framework for carbon intensity and sequestration, and the exploration of their potential for trading markets. Analysis is conducted using MATLAB. Key achievements of this study include the following: (1) The collection of a comprehensive carbon stock dataset for 50 natural and 57 plantation forest types in 31 provinces from 2009 to 2018, highlighting the significant role of new forests in carbon sequestration. (2) The development of a provincial carbon status scoring system that categorizes provinces as carbon-negative, carbon-balancing, or carbon-positive based on local forest sink data and carbon credit demand. (3) The formulation of the carbon intensity–carbon sink assessment (CISA) model, which suggests that provinces with middle- to upper-middle-level economies may have a prolonged need for carbon sink credits during their peak carbon phase. Furthermore, the results show that carbon trading may benefit Guangxi and Yunnan, but may also bring opportunities and risks to Hunan and Hubei. To address regional imbalances, this study advocates tailored policies: carbon-negative and carbon-balancing provinces should enhance carbon sink management, while carbon-positive provinces must focus on energy structure transformation to achieve sustainable development goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green technology innovation is an effective way through which to achieve carbon neutrality and sustainable development. Based on provincial panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2005 to 2018, this work examines the tripartite relationship among green technology innovation, resource misallocation, and carbon emission performance by constructing panel regression models and a dynamic threshold panel model. The research results show that green technology innovation significantly improves carbon emission performance. Further analysis shows that both capital and labour misallocation have a negative impact on carbon emission performance and hinder the contribution of green technology innovation to the improvement of carbon emission performance. The regression results show that there is a threshold effect of green technology innovation on carbon emission performance: as the degree of resource misallocation increases, the positive impact of green technology innovation on carbon emission performance gradually decreases. This study provides an important reference for policy-makers in implementing policies to improve carbon emission performance. Policy-makers should continue to promote the level of green technology innovation and improve the efficiency of labour and capital allocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper explores the effect of green finance on SDGs. • GFPZ significantly promotes SDGs. • Green finance indirectly affects SDGs through technological innovation. • The impact of green finance on SDGs exhibits heterogeneity. In pursuit of actively advancing energy transformation, ensuring the attainment of carbon peak and carbon neutrality objectives, and fostering sustainable development, China has dedicated substantial efforts. This article treats the Green Finance Reform and Innovation Pilot Zones (GFPZ) as a quasi-natural experiment, thereby constructing an analytical framework for evaluating the impact of green finance on achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We empirically investigate this impact by analyzing data from 316 cities in China spanning the period from 2011 to 2020, employing a difference-in-differences (DID) model. The study suggests a gradual improvement in the level of sustainable development in China. Moreover, green finance contributes to SDGs, and the conclusion is robust. Further investigation reveals that green finance improves sustainable development by fostering technological innovation. Heterogeneity results indicate that the influence is notably more pronounced in western regions and locales characterized by stringent environmental regulations. This article offers fresh perspectives on achieving SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address global climate change, achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality has become a global consensus. However, the means to simultaneously achieve carbon reduction and promote green economic development, particularly in developing countries, require further investigation. This study evaluates the impact of e-commerce on CO 2 emissions. Through an examination of the effects of the National E-Commerce Demonstration City (NEDC) policy from 2006 to 2017, this paper reveals that e-commerce growth facilitated by the NEDC policy resulted in a 7.89% reduction in total CO 2 emissions and a per capita reduction of 1.1146 tons in the pilot cities. Mechanism analysis demonstrates that the upgrading of industrial structure, development of digital finance, and the growth of innovation and entrepreneurship serve as primary pathways for this impact. The robustness of the findings is supported by parallel trend tests, placebo tests, and additional sensitivity analyses. Furthermore, the research reveals that the NEDC policy exhibits a more significant reduction in CO 2 emissions in cities with higher levels of economic development and non-resource-based cities. Welfare analyses show that the NEDC policy has significant socio-economic effects. These findings provide new evidence on the environmental effects of the digital economy and offer insights into achieving carbon neutrality. • The National E-commerce Demonstration Cities (NEDC) policy reduced CO 2 emissions. • Optimizing industrial structure, enhancing digital finance, and promoting innovation and entrepreneurship are mechanisms. • The effect is more pronounced in cities with high economic levels and high resource dependence. • The NEDC policy substantially enhanced social welfare by reducing CO 2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates how piloting programmes in China can promote local policy innovations. By using one of the piloting emission trading schemes (ETS) in Guangdong province as a case study, it is argued that the main features of the piloting experiments, particularly in the climate change domain, are largely different from previous local marketization experiments that dominate the reform period of China. Whereas previous experiments are often characterized as bottom-up or indigenous initiatives with strong patronage relations to the pro-reform politicians at central level, the current piloting programmes are often crafted in a top-down fashion that is often misaligned with local market or corporate interests. Hence, local policy innovations are designed, developed and brokered by the local state officers, in order to bridge this central–local interest gap. As a result, successful implementation of these policy innovations largely depends on local political traditions, bureaucratic culture and perceptions of distinctive development needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese government announced the clear goal of attaining carbon neutrality by 2060, in order to gradually achieve net-zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, whose impact on global warming needs to be reduced while also a sustainable industry needs to be promoted. Recognizing the critical role of Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) in supporting green innovation and achieving the carbon neutrality agenda, this study aims to fill a research gap by emphasizing this overlooked nexus. The former examines the influence of GHRM, green innovation, and carbon neutrality on environmental performance by carefully analyzing the current literature on China's achievement of carbon neutrality and its implications for environmentally friendly performances. The current study assesses the planning frameworks of the country, explores the concept of achieving carbon neutrality, and evaluates the practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has committed to achieve net carbon neutrality by 2060 to combat global climate change, which will require unprecedented deployment of negative emissions technologies, renewable energies (RE), and complementary infrastructure. At terawatt-scale deployment, land use limitations interact with operational and economic features of power systems. To address this, we developed a spatially resolved resource assessment and power systems planning optimization that models a full year of power system operations, sub-provincial RE siting criteria, and transmission connections. Our modeling results show that wind and solar must be expanded to 2,000 to 3,900 GW each, with one plausible pathway leading to 300 GW/yr combined annual additions in 2046 to 2060, a three-fold increase from today. Over 80% of solar and 55% of wind is constructed within 100 km of major load centers when accounting for current policies regarding land use. Large-scale low-carbon systems must balance key trade-offs in land use, RE resource quality, grid integration, and costs. Under more restrictive RE siting policies, at least 740 GW of distributed solar would become economically feasible in regions with high demand, where utility-scale deployment is limited by competition with agricultural land. Effective planning and policy formulation are necessary to achieve China's climate goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using panel data for Chinese prefecture-level and above cities from 2003 to 2017, we employed the difference-in-differences (DID) method to explore whether innovative city constructions reduced carbon emissions. The results show that innovative city constructions significantly curb carbon emissions in Chinese cities, which is supported by a series of robustness tests. Specifically, we found that innovative city constructions could reduce carbon emissions by 5.21%, which is equivalent to a total of about 5.46 million tons. In addition, we provided evidence that innovative city constructions curb carbon emissions by promoting technological innovation, industrial upgrading and industrial green development, ecological improvement, and government intervention. Furthermore, heterogeneous results indicate that the carbon reduction effect of innovative city constructions is mainly found in eastern cities and cities with better industrial development and human capital base. Our findings further enrich the study on the environmental benefits of national innovation incentives and public policies and provide important insights in carbon neutrality and achieving sustainable development, especially for developing and emerging market countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Driven by global targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, energy systems are expected to undergo fundamental changes. In light of carbon neutrality policies, China is expected to significantly increase the proportion of hydrogen and electricity in its energy system in the future. Nevertheless, the future trajectory remains shrouded in uncertainty. To explore the potential ramifications of varying growth scenarios pertaining to hydrogen and electricity on the energy landscape, this study employs a meticulously designed bottom-up model. Through comprehensive scenario calculations, the research aims to unravel the implications of such expansions and provide a nuanced analysis of their effects on the energy system. Results show that with an increase in electrification rates, cumulative carbon dioxide emissions over a certain planning horizon could be reduced, at the price of increased unit reduction costs. By increasing the share of end-use electricity and hydrogen from 71% to 80% in 2060, the unit carbon reduction cost will rise by 17%. Increasing shares of hydrogen could shorten the carbon emission peak time by approximately five years, but it also brings an increase in peak shaving demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism is an essential pillar to promote economic development. Under the context of "dual carbon" goal, which means the Chinese government delivery that China will reach peak CO2 emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, the measurement of tourism carbon emissions facilitate preparation for carbon reduction work, and premise the development of sustainable tourism. In this study, based on existing studies, meta-analysis was used to extract relevant data of all studies on carbon emissions of domestic scenic spots before 2022, and visualized methods and SPSS correlation analysis were used to analyze the relationship between per capita carbon emissions of tourists of scenic spots and other variables of scenic spots. The results show that: (1) With the year 2010 as the node, the number of study areas and the per capita carbon emissions of tourists in the scenic spot show an increasing trend over time. Before 2010, the average per capita carbon emissions in the scenic spot was 23.47 kg person–1, and after 2010, it increased to 55.29 kg person–1; (2) Within different types of scenic spots, the per capita carbon emissions of tourists were ranked as follows: natural category > mixed category > humanistic category. The per capita carbon emission of natural scenic spots is the largest, which is 66.13 kg person–1; (3) By analyzing the factors affecting per capita carbon emissions, it is found that there is a significant positive correlation between per capita carbon emissions of tourists and the area of the scenic spots, whereby the larger the area of the scenic spots, the larger the per capita carbon emissions; (4) An increase in the number of days of tourist routes leads to a rise in per capita carbon emissions, and in this part of the research, the influence of the source of tourists, the type of hotels and the mode of transportation on per capita carbon emissions was studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the promotion of the "carbon neutrality" and "carbon peak" initiatives, green credit plays an important role in helping enterprises to change their high-pollution, high-energy-consumption production methods and establishing a sound green, low-carbon, and circular economic system. This study used spatial correlation analysis and a fixed effects SDM model to examine the spatiotemporal and causal relationship between green credit levels and enterprise green technology innovation in 271 prefecture level cities in China from 2013 to 2021. It found that (1) green credit and green technology innovation levels are both highest in the eastern region, followed by the central region, and exhibit spatial correlation characteristics. The main types of agglomeration are high–high and low–low agglomeration. (2) Green credit has a significant enhancing effect on green technology innovation in enterprises, and this conclusion still holds after robustness and endogeneity tests. (3) There is significant regional heterogeneity in the impact of green credit on green technology innovation, mainly concentrated in the central and western regions. (4) Green credit can significantly increase enterprise R&D investment and enhance the level of green technology innovation through this channel. Finally, some policy implications are provided to the decision-making departments that can be used for reference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ambitious targets of peaking CO2 emissions before 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality before 2060 (Goal 3060) have emerged as the driving force in the development of China's low-carbon energy policy. Adopting a systematic review approach, this article provides a timely analysis of key Chinese renewable energy and energy efficiency policies under Goal 3060 across five sectors: electricity, industry, transportation, buildings, and local governments. In addition, the review identifies challenges to be addressed and offers policy recommendations. There are five main conclusions: (1) expedite the development of market-based and network-based governance systems; (2) pursue the harmonization of policies by avoiding contradiction and fragmentation; (3) develop new policies, especially in the building and transportation sectors; (4) embrace surveillance technologies to improve implementation and compliance; and (5) ensure just transition by implementing policy to reduce the negative socioeconomic impacts on fossil fuels-based communities and workers. This review serves as a useful guide for scholars interested in China's clean and low-carbon energy transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]