Contributing to carbon peak: Estimating the causal impact of eco‐industrial parks on low‐carbon development in China

Abstract

Low‐carbon development is associated with eco‐industrial parks (EIPs), but whether a causal relationship exists is unknown. A growing body of evidence from environmental engineering studies suggests that EIPs reduce carbon emissions, but few economic studies have assessed the causality, channels, and heterogeneity of this relationship. This study uses the staggered difference‐in‐difference method to construct a quasi‐natural experiment to assess the impact of national‐level EIPs on low‐carbon development. The empirical results reveal that EIPs help achieve low‐carbon development in China. Specifically, EIPs reduce the carbon intensity of the pilot cities by 7.2%. The channel analysis reveals that EIPs advance technological innovation, stimulate the Porter effect, and upgrade the industrial structure. Regional heterogeneity analysis further reveals that EIPs are more conducive to low‐carbon development in pilot cities in southern China, cities along the coast, and cities on the east of the Hu line. Further analysis shows that EIPs depress the peak of the environmental Kuznets curve and help achieve the turning point early. Moreover, this study offers fresh cases and patterns for the construction of EIPs in China. This study contributes to an in‐depth understanding of the role of EIPs in the low‐carbon transition in the largest developing country and provides inspiration for further policy optimization.

Dynamic strategy for low-carbon supply chain considering retailers competition and technological innovation

“…In the contemporary setting of the strategic objective of achieving the “carbon peak and carbon neutrality” and the advent of the green development period, enterprises need to attain green transformation through technical innovation [1] . In their study, Hajhashem et al [9] noted that the time of realization of technological innovations is often uncertain, and the effective implementation of such innovations might result in substantial advancements in performance.…”

“…“Accelerating R&D (Research and Development), promotion, application of advanced energy-saving and carbon emission reduction technologies, encourage green consumption, promote green and low-carbon ways of production and life.” is an important strategic deployment for China in the New Era [1] . It provides crucial guidance and fundamental principles for the transformation and upgrading of China's manufacturing enterprises.…”

Nonlinear Effects of Eco-Industrial Parks on Sulfur Dioxide and Carbon Dioxide Emissions—Estimation Based on Nonlinear DID

“…This is consistent with Nie's research, who revealed that EIPs help achieve low-carbon development in China. Additionally, the effects of EIPs have regional heterogeneity [64]. Its effect is in the range of −0.752 to −2.318.…”

Does Industrial Symbiosis Improve Carbon Emission Efficiency? Evidence from Chinese National Demonstration Eco-Industrial Parks

“…Wu and Gao (2022) and Wu et al (2023) probed into how NDEP policy affects green innovation and technological advancement through the difference-in-differences (DID) model [17,18]. Nie et al (2022) analyzed the relationship between NDEP and carbon emission, claiming that green innovation is significant in facilitating low-carbon development of cities [19]. The above studies have only examined the direct impact of NDEP from an economic or environmental perspective, and much of the attention has been focused on a single indicator.…”