The impact of new energy demonstration cities construction on the green transition of industrial enterprises and mechanism

• Published in: Zi yuan ke xue Vol. 46; no. 9; pp. 1685 - 1698
• Main Authors: Yuying, FAN, Dongjing, CHEN, Haotian, ZHENG
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Chinese; English
• Published: Science Press, PR China 01-09-2024
• Subjects: new energy demonstration city|industrial enterprises|green transition|financial support|green investment
• ISSN: 1007-7588
• DOI: 10.18402/resci.2024.09.02

[Objective] Accelerating the green and low-carbon industrial transition of China is a strategic requirement for implementing the new development concept. Studying the impact of new energy demonstration cities construction on the green transition of industrial enterprises is of great significance for the realization of the dual-carbon goals and the promotion of high-quality economic development. [Methods] Taking the new energy demonstration city policy as a quasi-natural experiment, and based on the data of A-share listed industrial enterprises from 2008 to 2021, this study used the difference-in-differences method to investigate the impact of the construction of new energy demonstration cities on the green transition of industrial enterprises and mechanisms. [Results] (1) The construction of new energy demonstration cities was helpful for promoting the green transition of industrial enterprises, and the effect was more prominent in state-owned, highly competitive industries and enterprises in resource-based cities. (2) Mechanism analysis showed that on the one hand, the construction of new energy demonstration cities will change the incentive structure of local governments, increase the financial support for the green behavior of industrial enterprises, and on the other hand, it will also force industrial enterprises to increase the level of green investment by setting binding development targets, which jointly promote the green transition of industrial enterprises. (3) Further analysis showed that the green transition carried out by industrial enterprises under the construction of new energy demonstration cities can improve their own environmental performance without reducing their economic performance, and can achieve Pareto improvement of emission reduction and development. [Conclusion] The construction of new energy demonstration cities will help to promote the green transition and development of industrial enterprises. Therefore, government departments should further expand the pilot scope of the new energy demonstration cities, improve the assessment and supervision mechanism of the demonstration cities, and increase policy support for the green behavior of industrial enterprises, so as to promote the green and low-carbon transition of industries.