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The increasing global demand for electric vehicles is evidence of the general recognition among the public regarding issues tied to climate change, carbon emissions, and air pollution. China has experienced a rapid expansion in its New Energy Vehicle (NEV) market over recent years, establishing itself as the largest such market globally. This research endeavors to comprehend how consumers' value systems contribute to their intent to purchase NEVs. The proposed model was assessed using the data collected from a Chinese sample. Employing a multi-faceted approach, this study uncovers the diverse ways in which consumers with varying value orientations evaluate NEVs and formulate intentions to support governmental initiatives. Furthermore, the study examines the interplay between consumers' value assessments, their inclination to endorse governmental efforts, and their intentions to purchase NEVs. The study's findings underscore the role of consumers' value orientation in shaping their perceptions of NEVs. Additionally, it reveals that consumers who align with an environmentally conscious government are more inclined to buy NEVs. • Based on Value-Belief-Norm and Value orientation theory, a new framework of NEVs behavior decision is constructed. • Perceived hedonic and utilitarian values are critical for increasing to buy NEVs. • Value perception and intention to support the government are found to influence the consumer's NEV purchase decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Quantifying the impact of peer pressure on environmental improvements among local governments in China. • Investigating cities ' reaction to declining air quality rankings through regression discontinuity design. • Demonstrating the efficacy of political incentives in combating pollution and the catalytic effect of rankings on policy action. • Assessing the benefits resulting from air pollution reductions using an exposure response function. This paper estimates the impact of peer governmental pressure on air quality using a regression discontinuity design inherent in China's air quality ranking system. Because air quality rankings are important for political evaluations, local officials who witnessed a decline in air quality ranking are motivated to enforce more stringent environmental standards compared to their counterparts with increased rankings. By exploiting this regulatory discontinuity with monthly air quality ranking data from 2012 to 2020 of 169 cities, we find that cities experiencing a lower air quality ranking in the current month compared to the previous month exhibit a subsequent improvement in air quality during the following month, as evidenced by decreased pollutant concentrations. Furthermore, our analysis reveals that in cities where pollutant rankings decline more sharply, officials are less likely to encounter fewer promotion opportunities. Importantly, we observe that the discontinuity in individual pollutant concentrations is not solely influenced by their respective rankings but is also impacted by the overall A ir Q uality I ndex (AQI) ranking. Linking the reduction in air pollutants concentration with the economic benefits, a back-of-the-envelope calculation indicates the decrease in premature deaths due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases amounts to approximately 200 thousand, resulting in an associated economic saving of more than 600 billion Chinese yuan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A distribution dynamics approach is employed to examine the converge of TFEE across Chinese PAA level cities. • The findings show a clear convergence in TFEE. • Convergence comes more from efficiency drops in high TFEE cities than from efficiency gains in low TFEE cities. • The environmental protection polices in key cities improved energy efficiency. • Large-sized cities show better performance in energy efficiency than small- and medium-sized cities. Improving energy efficiency is considered the most direct route to reducing carbon emissions on a massive scale. To examine the long-run trend of China's energy efficiency, this paper employs a distribution dynamics approach to analyze the convergence of total-factor energy efficiency (TFEE) across 286 Chinese cities between 2002 and 2014. The result suggests the existence of convergence, which comes more from the efficiency declines in the high TFEE cities rather than the efficiency gains in the low TFEE cities. Despite the fact that a few cities have performed well in energy efficiency, the majority of cities have converged to a low-efficiency point. Further analyses show that the inefficiency was attributed to inefficient energy use in small- and medium-sized cities. Our analysis provides strong scientific support for China's ongoing energy conservation and environmental protection policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a river basin across regions, is environmental improvement in downstream areas based on actions that negatively impact economic development and social welfare in upstream areas? This paper takes the pilot of Transverse Eco-compensation Mechanism (TECM) in Xin'an River of China as a quasi-natural experiment and uses the difference-in-differences strategy to estimate the impact of TECM on environmental inequality. We find that the government's environmental policy may lead to more environmental inequality，which is often overlooked. Our results show that the pilot of TECM depresses the upstream economy, reduces upstream resident income, especially rural residents, and widens the regional income gap between the upstream and downstream. Heterogeneous tests confirm our findings. Our mechanism test shows that the industries' shutting down and relocation are the main driving forces for the regional environmental inequality in the short term. Therefore, in implementing future TECM, the upstream government needs to pay attention to the economic slowdown and the subsequent unemployment and resident welfare loss. The central and downstream governments should help the upstream regions upgrade the industrial structure, rather than just pay compensation funds, thereby reducing the resulting environmental inequality. Our findings have important policy implications for the treatment of trans-regional river pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Using the data of micro industrial enterprises and the quasi-natural experiment of the PNTR authorisation from the U.S. after China's accession to the WTO to investigate the impact of TPU decline on enterprise environmental performance. • Enterprises' SO2 emissions of enterprises in an industry with a large reduction in TPU after China obtained the PNTR authorisation from the U.S. will be reduced more than those of enterprises in an industry with less TPU reduction. • The decline in TPU helps reduce SO2 generation and strengthens enterprises' pollutants removal ability, thereby improving enterprises' front and terminal environmental performance. • The decline in TPU is conducive to improving enterprises' environmental performance under strong environmental regulation by local governments. Using the data of micro industrial enterprises and the quasi-natural experiment of the permanent normal trade relationship (PNTR) authorisation from the United States after China's accession to the World Trade Organization, this study investigates the impact of trade policy uncertainty (TPU) on enterprise environmental performance employing the difference-in-differences model. We found that the sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions of enterprises in an industry with a large reduction in TPU after China obtained the PNTR authorisation will be reduced more than those of enterprises in an industry with less TPU reduction. The decline in TPU helps reduce SO2 generation and strengthen enterprises' pollutants removal, thereby improving enterprises' front and terminal environment performance. Under strong environmental regulation by local governments, the decline in TPU is conducive to improving enterprises' environmental performance. The impact of TPU decline mainly exists in the enterprises of high pollution industries, non-state-owned and the eastern area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The global tropospheric NO 2 columns have generally decreased in the past 18 years. • Several hotspots tropospheric NO 2 are observed over industrialized and highly populated coastal zone areas. • Atmospheric nitrogen deposition plays an important role in nitrogen pollution in Bohai Sea. • The highest tropospheric NO 2 occurs in winter, and the highest near-surface NO 2 occurs at 08:00 and 20:00 LT. • NO 2 trends observed from ground-based measurements and satellite-derived retrievals is consistent. Tropospheric and ground-level levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO 2) may have changed due to environmental policies and technological changes. Here, multiyear ground-based measurement (2014–2022) and satellite-derived retrieval (October 2004 to May 2023) datasets of NO 2 concentrations are used to study the long-term ground-level and tropospheric NO 2 patterns and trends at four time scales (interannual, quarterly, monthly, and hourly) over the three regions with the highest global NO 2 concentrations. Several tropospheric NO 2 hotspots are observed over industrialized and highly populated coastal zone areas. Over the past 18 years, these hotpots have generally decreased due to the implementation of strong and effective environmental protection policies. A significant trend reversal was observed in 2011 in East-central China. The maximum values of tropospheric NO 2 occurred in winter over East-central China, Western Europe and East-central USA, with concentrations of 13.010, 4.243 and 4.149 × 1015 molecules cm−2, respectively. The Bohai Sea exhibited disproportionately high tropospheric NO 2 levels, suggesting it as a significant contributor to regional nitrogen pollution. Ground-level NO2 shows similar temporal patterns to tropospheric concentrations, with over 82.8 % of sites in East-central China exceeding 30 μg m−3, compared to 12.8 % in Western Europe and 3.8 % in East-central USA. The analysis of diurnal variations in ground-level NO 2 concentrations shows a significantly decrease during the daytime compared to nighttime, reflecting that the peak occurs at approximately 08:00 and 20:00 LT, while the lowest concentrations at around 12:00 LT. These insights clarify the impacts of environmental policies on NO 2 levels and identify critical areas for targeted pollution control, enhancing our understanding of NO 2 dynamics in high-pollution regions globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transfer of energy-intensive projects to areas abundant in clean energy resources holds promise for optimizing the energy structure. After obtaining specific information on transferred projects of listed energy-intensive firms through search or phone contact, this paper innovatively constructs a three-dimensional panel containing 1,859,220 observations to empirically examine the attraction of clean energy to energy-intensive projects under the carbon intensity constraint policy (CICP). Our findings reveal that: (1) the CICP promotes the transfer of gray energy-intensive projects, leading to the transfer structure trending towards graying. (2) Furthermore, we observe a positive correlation between the proportion of thermal power in transfer-out areas and the outflow of gray energy-intensive projects. Conversely, areas with higher wind power and photovoltaics attract a greater inflow of gray energy-intensive projects. (3) Notably, clean energy predominantly attracts the inflow of gray projects rather than green projects. Our findings provide micro evidence and valuable insights into the transfer of energy-intensive industries, informing the design and implementation of future environmental policies for policymakers and stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the domain of global socio-economic dynamics, the pivotal role of food production (FP) cannot be overstated. It constitutes the bedrock of fundamental human necessities while being inexorably linked with critical aspects such as economic expansion, societal equilibrium, and geopolitical interplays. The multifaceted nature of FP appears through its direct impact on macroeconomic indicators and its latent influence on international relations and policy-making. This critical nexus underscores the imperative for a comprehensive understanding and strategic management of food production processes to sustain and enhance global socio-economic stability and growth. Investigating the nexus between green finance (GF) and FP is pivotal for ensuring national security and promoting sustainable economic development. This research thus paper examines GF's impact on FP in China as outlined in the 2017 green finance policies. It employs the difference-in-differences (DID) method and analyzes a balanced panel dataset comprising 282 cities in China from 2009 to 2020. The results show that GF has an inhibitory effect on FP, and this remains valid after a range of reliability checks, including parallel trend assessments and placebo tests. Further findings of transmission mechanism analysis indicate that non-agricultural factors and financial exclusion are critical for GF's inhibitory effect on FP. Heterogeneity analyses show that GF's inhibitory effect on FP is more pronounced in the main food-producing areas, the main food-marketing areas, and cities with better infrastructure. The empirical results of this paper comprehensively illustrate GF's impact on FP and how it contributes to the achievement of food security objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses a double-difference model to test the impact of green credit policy on the default risk of heavy polluters based on the data of China listed companies from 2008 to 2021. It is found that green credit policy can significantly reduce the default risk of heavy polluters, and the reduction effect is more significant in state-owned enterprises. Further mechanism tests show that green credit policy reduces default risk by guiding heavily polluting firms to reduce financial leverage. Government environmental regulation and corporate green innovation capacity affect the role of green credit policy on corporate default risk. With the strengthening of regional environmental regulations and the enhancement of corporate green innovation capabilities, the effect of green credit policies in diminishing the default risk for companies with high pollution levels is increasingly evident. This study not only enriches the literature on green credit but also demonstrates the effectiveness of directing banks and various financial entities to allocate resources reasonably, guiding heavily polluting enterprises to control risks, and steadily achieving green transformation. These findings hold significant implications for decision-making in designing environmental policy and management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Climate change and restoration policies are the primary and secondary factors to the greening of the Loess Plateau. • The difference-in-differences method suggest lowered contribution of the restoration policy to vegetation greening than previously thought. • Using spatially specific starting time of the policy implementation instead of a fixed year can help better estimate the effects of restoration programs. The vegetation greening on the Loess Plateau, China, over recent decades, has been primarily driven by a series of vegetation restoration programs (VRPs) and other natural environmental changes (including climate change, rising atmospheric CO 2 concentration, and nitrogen deposition, etc.). However, accurate determination of the contributions of natural environmental change and the VRPs to this greening has been challenging due to the lack of the exact time of policy implementation in different areas. Herein, we extracted the starting time of greening (SOG) from different sources of remote sensing data and used it as the starting time of the VRPs. Then, we employed a difference-in-differences (DID) method to ascertain the relative contributions of the VRPs on the observed vegetation greening. Results showed that the contribution of the VRPs to vegetation greening on the Loess Plateau was 23.8–35.8 %, with a greater contribution potentially originating from natural environmental factors. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the complex relationships among vegetation restoration policies and climate change, and offer a platform to quantify the climate effects on vegetation greening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how urban greening policies affect urban ecological resilience through a quasi-natural experimental analysis of various cities in China. Leveraging the country's large-scale promotion of forest city development, we assess the effectiveness of these policies using differences-in-differences modeling across multiple time periods. The results affirm the positive impact of urban greening on resilience, as designated forest cities demonstrated enhanced resilience levels compared to control cities. Notable disparities were also found among the three major Chinese urban agglomerations - the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regions - in terms of policy effects. While short-term resilience increased under central government oversight, long-term gains relied more on intercity cooperation within agglomerations. It highlights the limitations inherent within China's "experiment under hierarchy" paradigm but also benefits from regional integration. This study contributes novel insights regarding the dynamic relationship between governance structures and urban ecosystem resilience under authoritarian contexts. Innovatively, we explore how intercity cooperation among urban agglomerations affects the long-term effectiveness of urban ecological governance, thereby contributing to a deeper understanding of the complexities involved in fostering resilient urban ecosystems under such governance models. • An evaluation index for urban ecological resilience (UER) was built based on DPSIR framework. • Multi-period DID model was used to analyze the impact of forest city on UER. • Yangtze River Delta had the highest resilience. • National Forest City Certification significantly improved UER of the three megacity clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2020, China's carbon emissions were 10 billion tons, about 29% of global ones. As the largest carbon emitter in the world, China's heavy carbon emission pressure will affect not only its sustainable development, but also the global climate change situation and human survival. In order to achieve a positive interaction among renewable energy technological innovation, environmental regulation intensity and carbon pressure, and effectively alleviate China's carbon pressure, the dynamic interaction among the three aspects was investigated by taking 2008–2017 panel data of China mainland as the research sample, measuring carbon pressure level and renewable energy technological innovation, establishing panel vector autoregressive (PVAR) model, and adopting impulse response function and variance decomposition. It was found that a mutual promoting effect exists between renewable energy technological innovation and environmental regulation intensity, and also between renewable energy technological innovation and carbon pressure, while a mutual inhibiting effect between environmental regulation intensity and carbon pressure. The variance decomposition results show that carbon stress level has the highest contribution to the long-term variance of renewable energy technological innovation except for the variable itself, which is 10.2%. Renewable energy technological innovation has the highest variance contribution to environmental regulation intensity, which is 8.2%, and environmental regulation intensity has the highest variance contribution to carbon stress level, which is 28.1%. The conclusions of present study are helpful to clarify the dynamic interaction among renewable energy technological innovation, environmental regulation intensity and carbon pressure, further improve environmental regulation policy and renewable energy technological innovation R&D decision-making, and provide an effective way for China and the world to alleviate carbon pressure. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's ambitious endeavor to curtail carbon emissions has led to heightened governmental attention on addressing the issue of excessive carbon emissions. As governmental tolerance for such emissions diminishes, governments promote and support more proactive emission reduction methods of green innovation in enterprises. This study analyzes panel data from Chinese-listed businesses to explore the correlation between regional carbon emission pressure and green innovation. Our findings indicate a positive relationship between carbon emission pressure and enterprises' engagement in green innovation initiatives. Governmentenvironmental attention, punitive regulations, and incentive subsidies are the main channels. Market policies, including carbon emission trading and green credit policies, potentially impact the interplay between carbon emission pressure and green innovation. Moreover, our heterogeneity analysis underscores that enterprises facing looser financing constraints, exhibiting more social responsibility initiatives, and operating within polluting industries tend to experience a more pronounced positive impact than their counterparts in other sectors. • Regional carbon emission pressure has significantly promoted enterprises' green innovation. • Government awareness, punitive regulations, and incentive subsidies are the main channels. • The 2015 Paris Agreement in 21st United Nations Climate Change Conference contributes to the promotion of green innovation of enterprises. • The carbon emission trading and green credit policies enhance the promotion of green innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green energy efficiency (GEE) is pivotal for sustainable economic growth, particularly in the context of China's ambitious environmental goals. This study assesses the impact of Green Financial Reform and Innovation Pilot Zones on GEE from 2005 to 2020, using the SBM-GML method and a Double Difference Model (DID). Findings indicate a significant improvement in GEE within these zones, driven by advancements in green innovation and environmental regulation. At the micro level, firms in pilot zones show enhanced Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance and experience fewer financial constraints. The effectiveness of green finance policies is more pronounced in resource-rich and financially efficient regions, suggesting that these initiatives can significantly contribute to sustainable development. Based on empirical evidence, we recommend expanding pilot zones, promoting green technological innovation, and developing tailored green finance policies to address regional ecological sensitivities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to reveal how China's green finance reform and innovation demonstration zone policy affects ecologically sustainable development under the constraints of government environmental attention. Employing multi-period DID (Difference-in-Difference) and DDD (Difference-in-Difference-in-Difference) as the base model, the study tested the mechanism of the policy's effect on ecologically sustainable development, using panel data from 277 prefecture-level cities in China from 2006 to 2020. Endogeneity tests including Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS), counterfactual tests, and other robustness checks, were employed to enhance the study's validity. The research findings are as follows: (1) The policy effectively promotes ecologically sustainable development, and this conclusion remained valid even after conducting several robustness tests. (2) The more pronounced the government's emphasis on environmental preservation, the greater its efficacy in fostering ecologically sustainable development. (3) The stimulating effect of the policy on ecologically sustainable development is more pronounced in cities with higher ecological quality and a larger population. This study not only offers new analytical perspectives for comprehensively investigating the green finance policy but also emphasizes that enhanced policy outcomes hinge on the implementation of green financial reforms and innovations tailored to local conditions. Additionally, it provides valuable policy insights for optimizing the government's role in fostering ecologically sustainable development. (e.g., optimizing the governmental role in fostering ecologically sustainable development, enhancing both the scope and intensity of green finance policy, and harnessing the synergies between green finance policy and environmental protection policy). [Display omitted] • Green finance policy can improve ecologically sustainable development. • Government environmental attention can promote the effectiveness of green finance policy. • Focuses on 277 prefecture-level cities in China between 2006 and 2020. • Uses multi-period Difference-in-Differences (DID) as the base model. • China should give high priority to green finance policy to improve sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on 196 prefecture-level cities in China from 2006 to 2021, this paper constructs a weight matrix of urban economic geography and uses the spatial differential model to verify the impact of smart city policies on urban green energy efficiency. The results show that the efficiency value of green energy fluctuates in Chinese cities. Different test results show that smart city policies can effectively improve urban green energy efficiency, but mainly from the time effect rather than the individual effect. It means the improvement in urban green energy efficiency comes more from the fast-growing of the Chinese economy and urban construction in this period than from the country's smart city pilot policy. In addition, from the spatial spillover effect result, China needs to design a better urban spatial development plan to improve the capacity of smart city energy services and vigorously develop intelligent technology represented by information and communication science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Carbon finance policy can promote photovoltaic market development. • Financing constraints, innovative vitality, and digital inclusive finance are the channels. • Heterogeneity in the impact of carbon finance policy on photovoltaic market development. Solar energy is one of the most promising clean energy photovoltaic markets that will play an important role in countries achieving economic decarbonization. A carbon financial policy is an environmental policy that utilizes financial means to reduce carbon emissions. In addition, few existing studies have used textual analysis to study the impact and mechanism of carbon financial policy on the photovoltaic market development. In order to provide theoretical and empirical support for exploring new paths, modes, and practices of carbon financial policies to promote the development of the photovoltaic market, this paper empirically analyzes the impacts and heterogeneity of carbon financial policy on photovoltaic market development based on authoritative policy perspectives with the data of 30 provinces in China from 2015 to 2021 as the research samples and explores the mechanism of its action. The study results show that carbon financial policy positively affects photovoltaic market development, and the conclusion still holds after the robustness test. Meanwhile, there is significant heterogeneity in the effects of carbon financial policies on photovoltaic market development regarding functional positioning, geographic location, economic development, resource endowment, and environmental regulation. As for the mechanism of action, carbon finance policies can promote photovoltaic market development by alleviating financing constraints, increasing innovation vitality, and promoting digital financial inclusion. The breadth of coverage and depth of use positively affect photovoltaic market development, but the degree of digitization does not have a significant effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of green industrial policy in China is deeply embedded within a unique political, economic, cultural, and social milieu. The intricacies and complexities inherent in this context present challenges for quantitative policy research. In the existing literature, the study of thematic clustering of green industry policy instruments and their effectiveness measures in large-scale policy text repositories remains a relatively unexplored area. To fill this research gap, this study provides an analysis of China's green industrial policies from 1994 to 2022. By adopting the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic model, implicit and optimal themes are identified, and key policy instruments are systematically and comprehensively parsed. Based on this, the cutting-edge Policy Modeling Consistency-Text Encoder (PMC-TE) index model was used to conduct an in-depth quantitative evaluation of various policy tools. The findings reveal 15 policy instruments from 7891 Chinese green industry policy documents. Notably, technical support, information resource demonstration project policies emerged as the most frequently deployed and efficacious. Conversely, government procurement and service outsourcing policies, while showing incremental growth year-on-year, lagged in utilization and effectiveness. These policy instruments can be broadly categorized into three primary archetypes: supply-type, demand-type, and environment-type. The supply-type instruments dominate, while environment-type instruments remain underutilized. Additionally, this study delineates the four chronological phases of China's green industrial policy evolution, illuminating China's strategic pivots-transitioning from resource allocation, to market dynamics, and ultimately to environmental governance trajectories. [Display omitted] • A novel evaluation system of green industrial policy in China was proposed. • Supply-side policy instruments dominate, followed by environmental policy. • Significant policy effectiveness in technology and resource building, demonstration projects. • Weaknesses in market incentives, consumer education, and brand building from demand-side. • The evolution of China's green industrial policy can be divided into four periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental protection and sustainable development are now profoundly ingrained in the public consciousness in the modern era of the global green revolution. First, this paper uses an evolutionary game model to theoretically analyse the impact of environmental regulation and green finance on enterprises by dissecting the game behaviour between local governments, banks and enterprises. Then, we incorporate entrepreneurial spirit into the model to determine whether entrepreneurial spirit accelerates the achievement of green sustainability objectives. Environmental regulation and green finance are found to contribute substantially to the innovation of green technologies by local enterprises, while entrepreneurial spirit accelerates this process. Finally, we empirically test the findings based on a prefecture-level panel dataset from 2007 to 2020. We find that green finance has a positive impact in Central and Western cities of China, while Eastern cities are in greater need for government environmental regulation controls. For entrepreneurial spirit, the incentive effect of entrepreneurial spirit on the level of green technology innovation is more significant in Central and Western regions of China. This paper enriches the field of research on entrepreneurial spirit and regional green sustainable development by providing empirical evidence for the evaluation of environmental regulatory and green financing policy impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The escalating demand for resources in urban and rural construction development raises the crucial question of achieving green development within limited resource constraints. This study delves into the interplay between environmental policy and green development in urban and rural construction. Utilizing the spatial Durbin model for analysis, findings reveal that investment-oriented environmental regulation significantly impacts green development and positive spillover effects in neighboring regions when considering spatial weight matrices. In contrast, cost-based environmental regulations positively affect green development when spatial interactions are disregarded. However, they exhibit negative effects at the spatial level, potentially leading to a "pollution relocation" phenomenon. Although the influence of R& D subsidy-based environmental regulations on green development is not significant, their impact becomes notable upon considering spatial interactions, potentially generating positive effects across regions through mechanisms such as technology diffusion and knowledge transfer. Furthermore, from an endogeneity perspective, the impact of environmental regulatory tools on green development exhibits a time lag effect. Moreover, investment-type regulation in the eastern regions significantly fosters green development, whereas cost-based regulation shows a suppressive effect; investment-type regulation in central regions has a positive spillover on neighboring areas; and R&D subsidies in western regions negatively impact local green development. Moreover, the quality of governmental institutions, market integration, and technological innovation are key factors influencing green development in China's urban and rural construction. This study reveals the direct and indirect effects of various environmental policy tools on green development in urban and rural areas. It emphasizes the importance of considering spatial interactions in implementing environmental policies, providing a theoretical foundation and practical guidance for optimizing environmental policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy policies in all countries are constantly adjusted and change, which leads to policy uncertainty. Thus, as green transition has become an important topic of universal concern across the world, it is necessary to explore the relationship between the two. With a focus on energy policy uncertainty (ENPU), our study investigates the impact of ENPU on green TFP, based on the panel data of China's prefecture-level cities. While the literature generally suggests that policy uncertainty hurts the economy, empirical evidence in this study shows that energy policy uncertainty can be a driving force to city's green transition. The main results are: (a) ENPU has a positive effect on energy efficiency. For every 1 standard deviation increase in the degree of ENPU, green TFP will increase by 0.002 %; (b) The positive effects of ENPU on green TFP exerts heterogeneities with city's resource endowment and environmental pressures, and the effect is significant in growing resource-based cities and light-pressure cities; (c) An increase of ENPU improves green TFP by stimulating corporate innovation and industry upgrading. • The effect of energy policy uncertainty on green transition is explored. • The higher level of energy policy uncertainty, the higher green TFP. • Energy policy uncertainty positively impact green TFP via innovation and industry upgrading. • The energy policy uncertainty mainly affects the growing-resource-based cities. • The energy policy uncertainty mainly affects the light-pressure cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities' green growth hinges on both sustained economic growth and ongoing ecological improvement. This study uniquely examines the roles of economic growth targets and environmental regulations in fostering this growth. Using China as a case study, we found that economic growth targets have a limited impact on cities' green growth due to varying outcomes from resource allocation strategies aimed at meeting these targets. A closer look at China's economic growth targets management model reveals that the pressures from meeting the ill-fitted economic growth targets often leads to green growth setbacks, with local governments prioritizing economic over green growth by relaxing environmental regulations. Therefore, we propose that cities can achieve a balance by setting realistic economic targets, with the central government enhancing oversight of local environmental regulations and adopting an innovation-driven development strategy for economic growth targets. This approach can make economic targets and environmental regulations work together to achieve green growth. Our empirical findings offer new insights into cities' governance for sustainable development. • Pressures from meeting the ill-fitted economic growth targets causes cities' green growth failure. • Economic growth target-achieving pressures lead cities to weaken environmental regulations. • Innovation-driven development strategy synergizes these two policies to promote green growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we assess the sustainability of the electricity sector and explore the correlation between government environmental policies and the sector's sustainability. We find that at the national level, the sustainability of the electricity sector has exhibited a notable upward trend in recent years. However, this trend has not been evenly distributed across different regions of the country. Second, government environmental policies have a significant positive impact on promoting the sustainability of the electricity sector. Third, the impact of government environmental policies on the sustainability of the electricity sector is more pronounced in the western region of China. • We explore the impact of government environmental policy on the sustainability of China's electricity sector. • Government environmental policies can significantly promote the sustainability of China's electricity sector. • Technological progress is an effective channel between government environmental policies and the sustainability of the electricity sector. • The sustainability of the electricity sector is most significantly impacted by the environmental policies of the government in western China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper chooses 98 mining cities in China from 2007 to 2021 as research samples. It investigates the policy practice of green development in mining cities according to the point of view of policy combination. We establish a super-efficiency model considering undesirable output to measure the green development level of mining cities and further construct a dynamic panel model based on the Gaussian mixture model (GMM) to test the transmission mechanism and heterogeneous effect of different types of environmental regulation to promote the green development of mining cities. The findings demonstrate that environmental regulations about command control, market incentives, and public participation can all help mining cities develop more sustainably. Additionally, there is a nonlinear relationship of an inverted "U" shape between the degree of green development in mining cities and environmental regulations related to command control. Combining policies can encourage the green development of mining cities, but there are crowding-out and substitution effects when environmental regulations are combined with market forces. Environmental regulation promotes urban green development by improving the energy consumption structure of mining cities. In this process, the level of digital development positively regulates the impact of environmental regulation on urban green development. Therefore, the government should choose environmental regulation tools and combinations according to local needs to achieve a multi-pronged effect of energy structure improvement and urban green development and use digital technology to support the green development of mining cities. • Command-controlled, market-motivated, and public-participating environmental regulations can significantly promote urban green development by promoting the improvement of energy structure. • There is an inverted' U' -shaped nonlinear relationship between the intensity of command and control environmental regulation and the green level of mining cities. • The level of digitization can positively regulate the relationship between environmental regulation and urban green development. • The combination of environmental regulations have a significant positive impact on urban green development. • The combination of environmental regulations has heterogeneity in urban green development due to factors such as regional resource endowment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To encourage enterprises to take green innovation, the Chinese government has been promoting the development of green finance. However, it has brought about the risk of "greenwashing". This article analyzes "greenwashing" from the perspective of government intervention, focusing on the stakeholder theory and institutional theory that influence the decision-making of participants in green finance, constructing a three-party evolutionary game model for enterprises, green financial institutions, and local governments. By comparing the stable strategy changes before and after the introduction of blockchain technology, the mechanism of blockchain in addressing the "greenwashing" risk in green finance is discussed. The study shows that: first, government regulation plays a crucial role in stimulating enterprises to engage in green innovation and encouraging green financial institutions to provide financial services; Second, before the application of blockchain technology, low-intensity regulation cannot curb the "greenwashing" of enterprises and fails to stimulate them to engage in green innovation. However, after applying blockchain technology, even under low-intensity regulation, enterprises will actively engage in green innovation under the reputation mechanism constructed in the architecture of a consortium chain. This work provides a theoretical framework and guidance for subsequent scholars to conduct quantitative research on the resolution of "greenwashing" in green finance from a government perspective using blockchain. [Display omitted] • Blockchain's role in solving "greenwashing" via institutional and stakeholder theory. • Quantitative research on blockchain and green finance using evolutionary game theory. • Discussed government role in China's mandatory green finance policy context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With China's proposed green development strategy, environmental protection investment needs are growing exponentially, and government funding alone is inadequate to meet the massive demand. To encourage social investment in green industries and achieve green development goals, the authorities implemented the major green finance policy entitled the Guidance on Building a Green Financial System (GBGFS) in late 2016. Whether this policy effectively promotes the development of environmentally friendly (EF) firms is an essential under investigated question. This study employs a difference-in-differences approach to explore whether and how the GBGFS affects EF firms' total factor productivity (TFP) with a sample from 2012 to 2021. Our benchmark regression and robustness tests demonstrate that the GBGFS effectively promotes EF firms' TFP. We also obtain three notable research findings with a number of additional analyses. (a) Although there is a certain lag, the policy effect was obviously enhanced with the passage of time. (b) Our threshold effect analyses reveal that the enhancing effect of the GBGFS on EF firms' TFP only becomes significant when research and development (R&D) investment, profitability (ROA), and government subsidies (GSF) exceed certain values. Further analysis demonstrates that firms with higher ROA and more GSF can effectively increase R&D. (c) Finally, GBGFS implementation has a greater impact on firm TFP in China's more developed region than its less developed regions. The findings suggest that regulatory authorities should persist in enforcing the GBGFS policy and encourage corporate R&D investment. In addition, the central government should design targeted policies based on the characteristics of different regions to improve the policy effect. • The Chinese authorities implemented the GBGFS on August 31, 2016. • The GBGFS effectively promotes EF firms' TFP (this result is robust). • The policy effect gradually expanded as the GBGFS was enforced over time. • The policy effect becomes significant when R&D, ROA and GSF exceed certain values. • The GBGFS has a greater impact in more developed region than less developed regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Haze pollution caused by particulate matter such as PM2.5 and PM10 significantly affects public health. Confronted with haze pollution, people have increasingly taken to expressing opinions online to demand restrictions on pollution discharge by enterprises to protect their health rights. However, are such public demands met by the government and incorporated into policy agenda relating to environmental regulation policies? To investigate this question, this study employed text content analysis to examine the role of public opinion as an intermediary in the relationship between haze pollution and the formulation of environmental regulation policies, using a dataset of 460 environmental regulation policy documents and over 800,000 public opinions on environmental issues spanning from January 2011 to December 2021. We found that public opinion exerted a significant intermediary effect by linking haze pollution and environmental regulation policy tools. Further analysis revealed heterogeneity in the influence of public opinion on environmental regulation policy tools. Public opinion exhibited the most substantial intermediary effect on command-control policy tools (with a 6.68% intermediary effect), followed by economic incentive policy tools (4.65%) and social autonomy policy tools (4.58%). Additionally, there was a notable time lag in the impact of public opinion on environmental regulation policy tools. It took approximately 7–10 months for the government to respond to the disseminated public opinions. This study may shed light on how the government can encourage public engagement, respond to, and guide public opinion. [Display omitted] • Public opinion plays an intermediary role between haze and regulatory policy. • 7–10 months' time lag of environmental policy to public opinion was estimated. • The heterogeneity in the impact of public opinion on three policy tools was analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of China's environmental regulations, with a focus on the green credit policy, on green innovation in pursuit of the "carbon peak and carbon neutrality" goal. Given the implementation of the 2012 Green Credit Guidelines, this paper employs the Difference-in-Difference Method (DID) and conducts a quasi-natural experiment to empirically examine the interactions among the central government, local governments, and high-pollution and high-emission enterprises by exploring the impact of green credit policies on green innovation of these enterprises. Relying on 4503 samples of 237 high-pollution and high-emission enterprises listed in the main board in China from 2003 to 2021, this study reveals that the green credit policy can improve green innovation of these enterprises. Specifically, this study explores the detailed mechanism through which the green credit policy enables these enterprises to increase their market concentration and then the monopoly profits, which in turn promotes their green innovative productivity. In addition, this paper also reveals how local governments' political and financial incentives may serve as positive and negative moderating factors, respectively, within the impact mechanism. This study has valuable implications for how to effectively formulate and implement environmental regulations by balancing the interests of the central government, local governments and enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the global inclination of economies toward green solutions, the current study aims to explore the association between green energy transition, adjusted net saving, energy intensity, and carbon dioxide emission in China. To achieve this, a novel approach utilizing Wavelet analysis is employed to examine the dynamic association among these variables from 1979 to 2020. The analysis utilized continuous wavelet, wavelet coherence, and partial and multiple wavelet coherence techniques, offering a comprehensive understanding beyond the limitations of prior research by investigating the relationships over various time frames. The findings from the wavelet coherence analysis yielded intriguing insights, indicating that an increase in energy transition is likely to result in higher energy intensity and increased CO2 emissions. Surprisingly, the study observed a negative impact of adjusted savings on energy transition in the medium run, whereas in the long term, an increase in adjusted net savings was associated with higher carbon emissions in the Chinese economy. This highlights the intricate interplay between energy transition, adjusted savings, and environmental impacts, with different time scales playing a significant role in shaping these connections. Policymakers should carefully consider these dynamics to formulate effective strategies for sustainable development and carbon emission reduction in China. Furthermore, employing partial and multiple coherence analysis, the outcomes has demonstrated a strong interconnected correlations between energy intensity, green energy transition, CO2 emissions, and adjusted net savings across short-run, medium-run, and long-run time frequencies. Overall, the study concludes the positive link between energy and carbon emissions in China, while the effectiveness of the green energy transition remains vulnerable. The findings offer valuable insights for informed decision-making and policy implications, facilitating the adoption of appropriate measures to promote a greener and more sustainable future in China. • Study explores green energy transition, net saving, energy intensity, and CO 2 in China. • Advanced time-frequency based Wavelet analysis is used to analyze asymmetric relationships. • Energy transition is found to have positive link with CO 2 and energy intensity. • Net adjusted saving have positive effect on CO2 but negative on energy transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of using green finance policies to prevent climate-related systemic risk (CRSR) while promoting low-carbon production is of great concern. Despite its significance for a stable transition to low-carbon energy, this topic remains underexplored in the literature. Our study examines the impact of monetary policies promoting low-carbon development on CRSR based on China's low-carbon transition scenario. To achieve this, we develop a financial network model with a forward-looking climate stress-testing framework. This model captures banks' heterogeneous behaviors regarding carbon asset allocation and the systemic feedback effects of climate policy shocks in a multilayer network. Our findings reveal that targeted reductions in the required reserve ratio (RRR) and carbon reduction re-lending policies have significant and distinct effects on CRSR. We also observe that larger banks tend to have higher systemic importance and are more responsive to adjustments in low-carbon monetary policies. By contrast, relatively smaller banks demonstrate greater vulnerability to climate policy shocks. Additionally, these policies influence CRSR through mechanisms involving credit restructuring and interbank network interconnectedness. This study provides valuable insights for enhancing low-carbon financial policies and facilitating a stable low-carbon transition. • The impact of monetary policies promoting low-carbon development on climate-related systemic risk (CRSR) is analyzed. • A financial network with a climate stress-testing framework in China's low-carbon transition scenario is constructed. • Targeted reductions in the required reserve ratio (RRR) and carbon reduction re-lending policies significantly affect CRSR. • Their impact shows apparent differences in quantity- and price-based adjustments. • Influencing mechanisms based on credit restructuring and interbank network interconnectedness are verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To secure effective and sustainable climate change policies, it is of the utmost importance to create synergies between socioeconomic and environmental development goals. Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) programs are being promoted as a suitable mechanism furthering, among others, carbon offsetting and poverty reduction in ecologically fragile areas of developing countries. Rural households are compensated for the loss of property and business income through income transfers and potential job opportunities connected to environmental programs. While the potential pro-poor effects of such policies are well recognized, the impact of PES on extremely poor households has not been systematically reviewed. Drawing on a pooled cross-sectional dataset of 5225 households in the Province of Sichuan, this paper analyzes the income and distributional effects among poor households in rural China participating in a forest carbon sink (FCS) program. To be able to make causal inferences, we employ an Instrumental Variable (IV) approach to control for potential endogeneity and self-selection. Our results indicate a strong need to adjust the PES program: While moderately poor rural households benefit from program participation, extremely poor rural households, in fact, suffer net losses. The main reason is that income reduction resulting from limited access to forest resources is compensated mainly via wage income from participating in forest tending work. Extremely poor households with low labor ability cannot make use of these job opportunities, and thus they'll not only fail to benefit but even incur losses from a PES program. While PES programs can be a viable tool for poverty reduction in underdeveloped regions due to their overall pro-poorness, they need to be accompanied by additional benefits for extremely poor rural households to avoid net losses among marginalized population groups especially. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the implementation process of economic and environmental policy, a key concerned problem is the inability of some local officials to faithfully implement environmental policies made by the central government in China, as well as many other developing countries. In this paper, a multitask principal-agent model is established to make a comprehensive comparison on the role that the current incentive mechanism (CIM) and the long-term performance-oriented incentive mechanism (LTPOIM) play in policy implementation. In addition, both the incentive effect and the choice of incentive intensity in the LTPOIM are investigated. The results provide the insight that local officials may trade off the efforts of environment protection for economic growth in the CIM. However, local officials are incentivized to allocate higher efforts toward the implementation of environmental policies (IENP) to strengthen environment protection, or invest higher efforts toward IENP and the implementation of economic policies (IECP) to pursue the win-win situation for economy and environment in the LTPOIM. Besides, the chance of distributing higher efforts toward IENP and IECP in the case of complement tasks is higher than that in the case of substitute tasks. The optimal incentive intensities of long-term performance in the case of complement tasks are higher than those in the case of substitute tasks. • The long-term performance-oriented incentive motivates local officials to balance environmental and economic policies. • The central government makes use of the multitask agency problem to gain a win-win situation for economy and environment. • The adjustment of local officials' efforts portfolio and central government's incentive strategies are investigated. • The chance of distributing higher efforts toward two tasks is higher in the case of complement tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even before China's commitment to carbon neutrality and peak in September 2020, many programs had been implemented to save energy. One such program was the "Action Plan for Energy Conservation and Low-Carbon for Ten Thousand Enterprises" (hereafter Top-10,000 Enterprises Energy-Saving Program, or Top-10,000 Program, or Program) launched in 2011, which targets high energy users. The official assessment of this program, which began during China's 12th Five Year Plan period (2011–2015), claimed that it had achieved its goals. However, there has been no precise measurement of how much it has contributed to China's total energy conservation achievements and how enterprises responded to it. Employing the regression discontinuity design approach and Chinese taxation survey data, this study represents a pioneering attempt to assess the energy savings resulting from this program. Our study estimates that this program accounted for an average of 5.8% of nationwide energy savings. The primary methods employed by enterprises to save energy were enhancing energy efficiency and dynamically adjusting production scale. The results of our study suggest that regulatory environmental policies should not be hindered by short-term scale effects. Instead, further innovations are required to minimize the cost of energy savings. • The energy saving effect of China's Top-10,000 program is quantified • Utilization of a vast firm-level dataset employing regression discontinuity design • A pioneering assessment of the energy savings achieved through the Top-10,000 Program • Firms reduce production scale in the short-term responding to energy-saving policies • Firms expand production scale in the long-run reacting to energy-saving policies [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Central transfer payment for the key ecosystem zones has become the most funded payments for ecosystem services program in China. The ecological fiscal transfer (EFT) aims to improve the eco-environmental quality of the targeted counties by providing supplementary fiscal funds, though not strictly specifying the usage. This study employs a time-varying difference-in-difference strategy to investigate the impact of EFT on environmental outcome by using a comprehensive county-level dataset covering 1949 counties from 2004 to 2015. Estimates show that the policy had a positive impact on local air quality, whereas the dynamic effect is diminishing. The policy effect is achieved through more stringent environmental regulation and stricter industrial access. Reduction of industrial dust emission is more noticeable than that of sulfur dioxide. There is an economic scale effect that the scale of a county can increase effectiveness of EFT on air quality improvement, whereas an opposite development stage effect will undermine its effectiveness. Heterogeneities were detected concerning transfer intensity, intervention period, geographical region, and ecosystem type. These findings facilitate a deep understanding how EFT could play a significant role in protecting local environment in large developing countries. Several policy implications are drawn to enhance the effectiveness of the largest EFT program. • Ecological fiscal transfer is an emerging instrument in combating eco-environmental degradation. • China's ecological fiscal transfer (EFT) is taken as a quasi-experiment to evaluate its effectiveness. • A time-varying DID technique is employed by using unique county-level datasets. • China's EFT is effective in improving local air quality with a diminishing dynamic effect. • Various heterogeneities of effect were detected and impact mechanisms were identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing demand for electricity worldwide has caused a corresponding rise in the consumption of coal, leading to an increase in sulfur dioxide (SO 2) pollution levels. Despite the severity of the issue, there is a lack of conclusive evidence establishing a causal link between SO 2 pollution and health, particularly in developing countries. We leverage a large national environmental regulation policy, implemented in China to reduce SO 2 emissions, to estimate the impacts of SO 2 pollution on mortality. We find that 1- μ g / m 3 reduction in SO 2 concentrations leads to 18 fewer cardiovascular deaths per 100,000 people aged 60 years and above (0.9% decrease) and 2 fewer deaths per 100,000 children under the age of 5 (1.5% decrease) annually. A back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that the total health benefits of the environmental policy outweigh its economic costs. The results are consistent across various robustness checks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite China's stringent environmental regulations, there has been a persistent policy implementation gap at local level, specifically due to local protectionism and inadequate enforcement measures. To address this issue, the Central Environmental Protection Inspection (CEPI) initiative was launched in 2016, replacing the Regional Environmental Protection Inspection (REPI) system. This study examines why the REPI failed to tackle the implementation gap and how the CEPI works. This is achieved by constructing a tripartite evolutionary game (EG) model consisting of the central government, local governments, and polluting enterprises. Using system dynamics (SD), the study simulates and analyzes the behavior and strategies of the three game players in two scenarios, namely weak and strong negative incentives. Then, this study analyzes the evolutionary process of environmental protection inspection (EPI) by means of a case study. The results show that: (1) the strategy adopted by polluting enterprises depends on the actual signal conveyed by the local governments. In addition, whether the strong regulatory signal of the central government can be effectively transmitted to polluting enterprises mainly depends on the attitude of the local governments. (2) The CEPI conveys a reliable commitment and provides effective external stimuli that adjust the incentive structure of local governments. Meanwhile, the REPI lacked significant punishment measures, which made it difficult for the central government's environmental regulatory signals to reach polluting enterprises in an effective manner. This study contributes to a better understanding of the evolutionary process and causes of the EPI system, as well as how the Chinese government tackles the local environmental policy implementation gap. • The strategy adopted by polluting enterprises depends on the actual signal conveyed by the local governments. • The CEPI conveys a reliable commitment and provides effective external stimuli for local governments. • The key to effective environmental regulation is to break through the obstacle of local protectionism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environment-related innovations are widely appreciated as a vital factor in achieving sustainable development goals, and stability in the financial sector can help boost the output of environmental innovations by removing financial constraints. Hence, the primary aim of the analysis is to investigate the impact of financial stability on environmental innovation in China by using the QARDL model over the period 1995Q1-2020Q4. The study's main findings confirm the positive role of financial stability on environmental innovation in both the short and long run. Wald test also confirms the asymmetric impact of financial stability on environmental innovation in the short and long run. Moreover, the long-run impacts of GDP, R&D activities, and environmental policy stringency on environmental innovation are positive. In the short run, the estimates of research and development and environmental policy stringency are positively significant at higher quantiles only. Based on the findings, our research will help policymakers to develop valuable policies for financial stability to enhance environmental innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As urbanization has developed, a variety of urban clusters have gradually emerged with important effects on regional economic growth and carbon emissions. This paper constructs a multi-period difference-in-difference (DID) model for testing how urban cluster synergistic development policy (UCSDP) affects urban carbon productivity in 148 cities of China with 13 urban clusters as the experimental group from 2003 to 2019. According to the results, the UCSDP improves carbon productivity, mainly via reducing energy intensity. In addition, UCSDP improves carbon productivity by adjusting energy structure, increasing green innovation, altering city greening levels, and accelerating the process of urbanization. Moreover, it can produce synergistic effects in terms of energy structure, green innovation, greening level, and urbanization level. Furthermore, the UCSDP has heterogeneous effects on the carbon productivity in various cities. Specifically, the carbon productivity of high-status, high-rank, and resource-based cities responds more significantly to UCSDP. Therefore, policymakers should strengthen the integration of urban clusters, offer targeted development suggestions for different cities, modify the energy and greening structure, accelerate the process of urbanization, and focus on the formulation of reasonable environmental regulation policies. • Exploring the impact of UCSDP on carbon productivity with multi-period DID model. • The improvement of carbon productivity by UCSDP mainly comes from the decrease of energy intensity. • UCSDP increases carbon productivity by affecting energy structure, green innovation, greening level and urbanization level. • UCSDP produces synergistic effects in terms of energy structure, green innovation, greening level and urbanization level. • The impact of UCSDP on carbon productivity varies by city status, city rank and city type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Individual Low-carbon Behavior Rewarding System (ILBRS) is a new Chinese environmental policy that aims to guide public participation in sustainable development through applying a range of incentive mechanisms. It is regarded as an important and effective way of reducing carbon emissions in response to climate change. However, knowledge of the influencing factors of support for the ILBRS is still scattered and lacks systematic analysis. This study is one of the first literatures to explore public support for ILBRS through a large sample of longitudinal data relying on psychological theory. Based on the Responsible Environmental Behavior model, we established a mechanism that consists of three levels of factors affecting public support for the ILBRS. These factors involve individual characteristics, individual perception, and willingness of performing other low-carbon behaviors. The results of a longitudinal panel survey at one-year interval with 2,324 valid responses indicated that connectedness to nature, perception that climate change is happening, willingness to sort waste and to use green energy could significantly and positively predict public support for the ILBRS. Based on the findings of this study, we provide practical suggestions for policy makers to further improve the implementation of the ILBRS by raising public awareness of climate change and integrating it with other relevant environmental policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has experimented with a wide range of policies to encourage firms to improve their environmental performance, often with mixed results. This paper investigates the effectiveness of combining two different policies at the same time: (1) a more centralised environmental inspection process and (2) new rules on the public disclosure of policy compliance for firms wanting to undertake an initial public offering (IPO). A theoretical framework predicts that a more centralised inspection and public disclosure should improve both a firm's environmental performance and profitability. The results of instrumental variable estimations for 536 listed Chinese firms for the period 2009 to 2019 confirm the theoretical predictions although the positive effect on profitability only lasts for two years after compliance with the IPO requirements. An investigation into possible mechanisms shows that the joint policy promotes investment in green projects while also increasing demand for the firm's products. The findings highlight greater regulatory complexity may be needed if a country wishes to change the behaviour of firms in a manner that is consistent with overcoming environmental challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As China's longest-implemented market-based environmental regulation policy, emission charges have contributed outstandingly to improving the ecological environment and reducing firms' pollution emissions. We assess the impact of emission charges on the innovation quality of Chinese firms based on the perspective of firms' breakthrough technological innovation. By observing Chinese A-share listed firms with heavy pollution from 2011 to 2020, we find that corporate breakthrough technological innovation positively moderates the emission charges to enhance the quality of corporate innovation. Our mechanism tests suggest that emission charges and breakthrough technological innovation positively affect innovation quality by improving the means of green innovation of enterprises. In addition, heterogeneity analysis shows that emission charges and firms' breakthrough technological innovation are only effective in improving the innovation quality of state-owned firms, and the effect on the innovation quality of non-state-owned firms is not significant. Our findings suggest that the imposition of emission charges and incentives for firms to embark on breakthrough technological innovation can effectively improve the quality of innovation. • The article is probably the first literature to explore the effects of breakthrough technological innovation and emission charges on the innovation quality of heavily polluting enterprises in China, enriching the research on the impact of enterprise innovation models on environmental regulation. • Based on the IPC information of enterprise patent applications, the paper distinguishes enterprise innovation patterns and explores the moderating effect of breakthrough technological innovation on emission charges to enhance the quality of enterprise innovation. • This paper provides micro evidence on the impact of environmental regulation on innovation quality based on the perspective of firms' breakthrough technological innovation, which has important implications for adopting environmental regulation to achieve a "win-win" situation between pollution control and improving innovation quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Estimate the joint impact of environmental and digital policies (for designing smart cities) upon the generation of eco-innovations. • Apply negative binomial and quasi-natural experimental methods (i.e., Difference-in-Differences and Propensity Score Matching). • When digital policies (Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things) are implemented in cities that have adopted strict environmental policies, the production of green patents increases. In this paper, we employ negative binomial and quasi-natural experimental methods (i.e., Difference-in-Differences and Propensity Score Matching), whereby we examine the joint impact of environmental and digital policies (for designing smart cities) upon the generation of eco-innovations in China. Using longitudinal data for the period 2006–2018, we examine the changes in green patents granted: (i) due to the implementation of various levels of stringency of environmental policies across all cities; and (ii) after the introduction of smart city policies in 2012 in China. The prior literature stresses the importance of environmental policies, yet less attention has been paid to digital policies required to drive eco-innovation and their spatial dimension in the context of a developing economy. Our results show that, when digital policies (artificial intelligence and internet of things) are implemented in cities that have adopted strict environmental policies, the production of green patents increases. We contribute to debates in the literature of policy mix for sustainability transitions in the context of a developing economy by illustrating the importance of both types of policy for eco-innovation, as they correct two market failures and, more importantly, address the systemic coordination problems that occur during the production of green patents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the evolution of China's technology standardization policy system in the period from 1978 to 2021. The standardization policy system comprising the supply, demand, and environment policy tool types has evolved during standardization development process, which includes three sequential stages: 1) the following-up stage, 2) the catch-up stage, and 3) the upgrading stage. In responding to changes in institutional, economic and technological contexts, the policy orientation has transformed from supporting the government-controlled adoption and standardization of foreign technologies in the following-up stage of standardization development process to developing indigenous standards owning independent intellectual property rights (IPRs) through the government-led standardization system in the catch-up stage, and to international standardization adopting both government-led and market mechanisms in the upgrading stage. In this process, the Chinese Government continued to offer policy support to but tended to relax its control over standardization. Of the three policy tool types, the supply type have remained the dominant ones; the weight of the environment-type of tools tended to decrease, and that of the demand-type of tools tended to increase. Further, the government rationalized the mix of each type of policy tools as the standardization contexts changed. From the Chinese experience, theoretical prescriptions for how standardization policy systems evolve in latecomers are developed. Practical implications for latecomer countries to transform standardization policy system and design their standardization policies are discussed. • China's standardization policy system has evolved by three stages. • Institutional, economic and technological contexts confine policy system. • Policy orientation changes towards market mechanism and government guidance. • Mix of policy tools is rationalized as the standardization contexts changed. • Supply-type tools have been the dominant ones during standardization development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental justice is a more sustainable constraint on polluting behavior than administrative instruments. Previous literature has explored the impact of various administrative instruments applied to environmental regulation on green innovation but has neglected the possible role of environmental justice. This paper examines the effect of environmental justice on green innovation using the multi-period difference-in-difference (DID) approach by taking the establishment of the Chinese environmental court as a policy shock, thus filling the gap in previous studies. We conclude that: first, the establishment of environmental courts significantly contributes to the level of green innovation. This finding holds after a series of robustness tests. Second, environmental justice pushes polluters to engage in green innovation through the mechanism of pollution control. Third, the effect of environmental courts on green innovation is not significant in resource-based cities, which depend more on high-polluting industries for development. Fourth, a better legal environment can help improve the effectiveness of environmental justice in promoting green innovation. This paper not only supplements the existing literature on the factors influencing green innovation and explains the operational mechanisms and effects of environmental justice, but also provides theoretical support for promoting green innovation in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) pollution is a great challenge for air environment management. However, macro quantitative research on VOC control technologies (VOCTs) evolution and global knowledge transfer is still lacking. Therefore, we analyzed the 6,636 global patents for VOCTs from 1961 to 2020 in the Derwent Innovation Index database to give a quantitative study, by using patent analysis methods such as text mining and technology life cycle analysis. The results showed that global patents surged from 2014 to 2018, and China held the most patents, followed by the US. Chinese 2013–2017 intensive atmospheric environment governance policy was the main possible reason for the sharp increase of VOC patents. However, very few Chinese patents were transferred. On the contrary, the US was the most important source country for transferred patents, and its main overseas markets were Europe, followed by China. Up to now, absorption and adsorption were the most mature technologies, accounting for 51% of the end-of-pipe patent. Biodegradation and membrane separation patents were active in transfer, indicating their high demand in the global market, so they may be promising technologies in the future. These findings enrich the literature on the evolution and transnational diffusion of VOCTs, and help policy-makers, scholars, and company managers better understand future research directions and the demands of the international market. [Display omitted] • Global 6,636 patents in 1961–2020 on VOCTs were evaluated quantitively. • The U.S. had the strongest VOCTPs market ties with Europe, followed by the U.S. with China. • Over half (51%) of the VOCTPs for end-of-pipe focused on adsorption and absorption. • The technologies of biodegradation and membrane separation were promising directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) pollution is a great challenge for air environment management. However, macro quantitative research on VOC control technologies (VOCTs) evolution and global knowledge transfer is still lacking. Therefore, we analyzed the 6,636 global patents for VOCTs from 1961 to 2020 in the Derwent Innovation Index database to give a quantitative study, by using patent analysis methods such as text mining and technology life cycle analysis. The results showed that global patents surged from 2014 to 2018, and China held the most patents, followed by the US. Chinese 2013–2017 intensive atmospheric environment governance policy was the main possible reason for the sharp increase of VOC patents. However, very few Chinese patents were transferred. On the contrary, the US was the most important source country for transferred patents, and its main overseas markets were Europe, followed by China. Up to now, absorption and adsorption were the most mature technologies, accounting for 51% of the end-of-pipe patent. Biodegradation and membrane separation patents were active in transfer, indicating their high demand in the global market, so they may be promising technologies in the future. These findings enrich the literature on the evolution and transnational diffusion of VOCTs, and help policy-makers, scholars, and company managers better understand future research directions and the demands of the international market. [Display omitted] • Global 6,636 patents in 1961–2020 on VOCTs were evaluated quantitively. • The U.S. had the strongest VOCTPs market ties with Europe, followed by the U.S. with China. • Over half (51%) of the VOCTPs for end-of-pipe focused on adsorption and absorption. • The technologies of biodegradation and membrane separation were promising directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environment constraints have become more restrictive over time, because the transformation of energy consumption structure (ECS) is the key path to achieve the commitment of net-zero emission. However, the adjustment of ECS involves the influence of many factors, including economic factors, energy factors and social factors. Not to mention how ECS -driving factors under tougher environmental regulation may behave throughout long time period remains explored. According to the background, the periodic driving factors of industrial ECS in China based on the periodic effect of environmental regulation on ECS are discussed. In this paper, industries of China are divided into four sectors from 1998 to 2017, and a multi-layer LMDI decomposition model is constructed to decompose ECS of the four sectors in stages. Since the industrial and commercial sector provides the largest contribution rate, the LMDI model based on PDA production theory method is applied to decompose industrial and commercial ECS , aiming to deeply explore the main driving factors of ECS in subindustries, and formulate scientific energy and environmental policies. The results show that from the perspective of the whole industry, the per capita pollution control investment has the most significant negative contribution, and the economic activity effect provides a great positive contribution to the ECS. In terms of subindustries, the main negative drivers are potential energy intensity and GDP technology change. The comprehensive decomposition framework. [Display omitted] • The drivers of ECS in four sectors are identified. • An integrated decomposition measurement combined LMDI with PDA is constructed. • EP is major inhibiting factor of ECS optimizing in four sectors. • PE and GT are major inhibiting factors of ECS optimizing in subsectors. • Some policy recommendations to optimize energy consumption structure are purposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study measures the liquidity and volatility of the operation of the carbon trading and energy markets using liquidity ratio indicators and log return indicators. It adopts China's carbon trading and energy markets as the research objects, and evaluates the mean spillover effects and volatility spillover effects between the two using the vector autoregression (VAR) model and the BEKK-MGARCH model. The findings indicate that: (1) The liquidity of China's carbon trading market is better than that of the energy market. The average liquidity ratio of the Hubei and Shenzhen carbon trading markets is much lower than that of the coal market, 43016.131. It may be attributed to the fact that China's carbon trading market is currently small and easy to regulate. (2) The volatility of both the Chinese carbon trading market and energy market is small, and the absolute values of the mean log return rate are close to 0. It could be because China's carbon trading market is mainly distributed through free quota allocation, while the energy market has been mature and stable for many years. (3) There is a spillover effect between the carbon trading and energy markets in some parts of China, but the direction and degree of spillover effect vary, which may be due to differences in the economic development level, energy consumption structure, and environmental policies of each pilot carbon trading region. (4) The spillover effect between the two markets is stronger, perhaps due to China's current model of using coal as the main fuel. [Display omitted] • Use the VAR and BEKK-MGARCH models to evaluate the spillover effect. • The liquidity of China's carbon trading market is better than the energy market. • The volatility of both the Chinese carbon trading and energy markets is small. • Spillover effects exist between China's carbon trading and energy markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid waste can cause serious environmental and ecological damage. However, the capital market attitude towards solid waste treatment policies remains unclear. Using an event study method, this paper examined the stock price reactions in Chinese listed firms in pilot construction and demolition waste (C&DW) treatment cities after the policy implementation and found that the pilot city firm stock prices were significantly and negatively affected, with this response being more negative when the firm had not previously been under environmental policy supervision. The cross-sectional analyses indicated that pilot city C&DW stock and treatment capacities, the proportion of state-owned shares, and the firms' political connections all negatively affected market reactions. The study of the capital market signaling effects towards solid waste policies can provide timely assistance to firms that need to adjust their strategic deployment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]