The impact of China's new energy transformation on the carbon performance of industrial enterprises under the regulatory policy-driven mode
Xuanxuan Jin, Xin Huang, Su Zhang, Tianheng Yao, Zhengyu Chen, Shengjia Zhou
Keywords:
new energy demonstration city, carbon performance, industrial enterprises, low-carbon transition, dual carbon goals
Abstract:
The combustion and utilization of traditional fossil fuels constitute the predominant origin of atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions. In the context of China's pursuit of "dual carbon" goals, leveraging the competitive carbon reduction potential of industrial enterprises is a key focus for accelerating the nation's transition to low-carbon energy. Drawing on a panel of 2,260 A-share manufacturing firms listed in China over 2008–2021, this study adopts a difference-in-differences (DID) design to identify the causal impact of the New Energy Demonstration City Policy (NEDCP) on enterprise carbon performance. It further examines the underlying competitive mechanisms and effective boundaries of the policy. The empirical results reveal that the introduction of NEDCP generates a pronounced improvement in the carbon performance of industrial enterprises. Furthermore, the NEDCP improves enterprise carbon performance through several competitive mechanisms, including increased total factor productivity, catalysis of green-technology innovation, and reduction of financing constraints. Moreover, the impact on corporate carbon performance is found to be heterogeneous across various contexts: it is markedly amplified among non-state-owned firms, in regions with underdeveloped cross-regional dispatch infrastructure for new energy power, in non-heavily polluting industries, and in areas with lower levels of renewable energy consumption. The findings extend the current understanding of corporate carbon reduction strategies, thereby informing governmental policy design and corporate initiatives aimed at competitiveness improvement.
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 The impact of China's new energy transformation on the carbon performance of industrial enterprises under the regulatory policy-driven mode [PDF file] [Filesize: 1.26 MB]
 10.7441/joc.2025.03.05
Jin, X., Huang, X., Zhang, S., Yao, T., Chen, Z., & Zhou, S. (2025). The impact of China's new energy transformation on the carbon performance of industrial enterprises under the regulatory policy-driven mode. Journal of Competitiveness, 17(3), 120-148. https://doi.org/10.7441/joc.2025.03.05
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