A Study On The Effects Of China’s Carbon Trading Market On The Low-carbon Development Of Enterprises

As global climate warming intensifies,greenhouse gas emissions have become a focal point for governments and international organizations.In 2007,China became the world’s largest carbon emitter.In 2020,China explicitly proposed the goals of achieving "carbon peak" by 2030 and "carbon neutrality" by 2060.To this end,China has adopted a series of policy measures,among which the carbon trading market,based on defining emission rights and free market transactions,has become an important means of emission reduction.In 2013,China started implementing carbon trading pilots,gradually exploring and building the carbon trading market through practice.By 2021,with the establishment of the national carbon emission trading market,China has become the world’s second-largest carbon trading market after the EU.Enterprises,as key actors in market economic activities and participants in the carbon trading market,bear an important mission in promoting low-carbon economic development.How can the government ensure the coordinated development of carbon reduction and enterprise economic benefits? How does carbon trading market policy affect enterprises’ low-carbon development? And what development paths should enterprises choose in the context of the carbon trading market? In-depth research on these issues is of significant theoretical and practical importance for policy formulation and enterprise low-carbon transformation.This study follows the basic logic of "problem discovery—problem analysis—problem solving," focusing on the impact of the carbon trading market on enterprises’ low-carbon development.Combining theoretical analysis and empirical research methods,using firm-level panel data of 2,208 listed companies in China’s A-shares from 2009 to 2021,and employing various econometric methods such as fixed effects models and difference-in-differences,it deeply analyzes the impact of the carbon trading market on enterprises’ low-carbon development and their path choices.The main research contents of this paper are as follows:Firstly,from a multidimensional perspective,it constructs the theoretical connotations of enterprises’ low-carbon development and the carbon trading market,building a theoretical analysis framework for the impact of the carbon trading market on enterprises’ low-carbon development.Enterprises’ low-carbon development centers on economic benefits,is based on factor inputs,and aims at carbon reduction,ultimately achieving the coordinated development of economic and carbon reduction benefits.Therefore,evaluating enterprises’ low-carbon development requires comprehensive consideration from three levels: factor input,low-carbon total factor productivity,and carbon emissions,with the enhancement of low-carbon total factor productivity as the core line.Further,based on clarifying the concepts,it analyzes the impact of the carbon trading market on enterprises’ factor inputs by constructing a Cobb-Douglas production function.The carbon trading market changes the output elasticity of factors,altering enterprise development strategies.Additionally,from the changes in Solow residuals,it is found that the carbon trading market incentivizes enterprises to improve technology,thereby affecting technological innovation.The carbon trading market defines clear property rights and prices for carbon emissions.The government reduces total societal carbon emissions by setting carbon quota limits,guiding enterprises to gradually reduce carbon emissions.Carbon prices and carbon trading market size are two crucial characteristics of the carbon trading market.This paper not only considers the policy impact of carbon trading pilots on enterprises’ lowcarbon development from an overall perspective but also explores the impact and mechanisms of the carbon trading market on enterprises’ low-carbon development from the dimensions of carbon quota prices and carbon trading market size.Secondly,this paper extends the existing literature’s methods for measuring total factor productivity.Using an improved LP method,it incorporates energy input indicators directly related to carbon emissions into intermediate inputs,scientifically measuring enterprises’ total factor productivity.The results show that the low-carbon total factor productivity of Chinese enterprises has generally increased during the sample period,but there were declines in 2008,2011,and 2019.In 2011,China released the carbon emission trading policy,and environmental regulations impacted enterprises,causing a decline in low-carbon total factor productivity in 2011.Moreover,there are significant differences in low-carbon total factor productivity across industries,with higher levels in wholesale and retail industries and lower averages in mining,road transportation,and energy production and power generation industries.Additionally,based on industry-level energy consumption,this paper calculates firm-level carbon emissions using carbon footprint measurement logic,showing that different industries’ enterprises exhibit differences in carbon emissions due to variations in energy consumption structures.Thirdly,it analyzes the impact of carbon trading pilot policies on enterprises’ low-carbon development and examines the policy effects of carbon trading pilots.Using the difference-in-differences model,it tests the impact of carbon trading pilot policies on multiple dimensions of enterprises’ low-carbon development.The results indicate that,on one hand,the carbon trading market suppresses enterprises’ carbon emissions while promoting capital and labor inputs.On the other hand,the carbon trading market suppresses enterprises’ low-carbon total factor productivity in the short term,with these effects showing significant heterogeneity across industries.The main reasons are that enterprises’ responses to carbon trading market policies are influenced not only by cost-benefit considerations but also by constraints such as existing technology levels,management capabilities,capital availability,and market conditions.There is a time inconsistency between enterprises’ technological innovation inputs and outputs,so the short-term impact of the carbon trading market on enterprises crowds out R&D inputs,reducing low-carbon total factor productivity.Fourthly,it explores the impact of carbon prices and carbon trading market size on enterprises’ low-carbon development.Based on verifying the significant impact of carbon trading pilot policies,this paper further uses fixed effects models to explore the roles of carbon prices and carbon trading market size in the policy effects of carbon trading pilots.The results show that carbon prices are one of the important market tools through which the carbon trading market affects enterprises’ low-carbon development.Carbon prices have a carbon reduction effect,promote capital inputs,and exhibit a positive "U"-shaped relationship with enterprises’ low-carbon total factor productivity,with the inflection point at 77.4 yuan/ton.When carbon prices are low,the increase in carbon prices has a crowding-out effect on enterprises’ technological inputs,suppressing low-carbon total factor productivity;when carbon prices exceed the threshold,low-carbon total factor productivity increases.Secondly,the size of the carbon trading market is another important tool.The carbon trading market size increases enterprises’ capital inputs,reduces carbon emissions,and suppresses low-carbon total factor productivity.Finally,the size of the carbon trading market moderates the relationship between carbon prices and enterprises’ low-carbon total factor productivity.The expansion of the carbon trading market size weakens the suppressive effect of carbon prices on low-carbon total factor productivity.Fifthly,it explores the path choices for enterprises’ low-carbon development.Using a mediation effect model,it outlines the diversified paths through which the carbon trading market promotes enterprises’ low-carbon development.It finds that carbon prices suppress low-carbon total factor productivity by lowering capital deepening and technological efficiency levels.Furthermore,carbon prices influence enterprises’ low-carbon development by affecting technological innovation inputs,showing a positive "U"-shaped relationship,with an initial suppression followed by a promotion effect.Lastly,carbon prices boost enterprises’ low-carbon development through digitalization,but this effect exhibits an inverted "U"-shaped pattern,with a positive effect up to a carbon price of 36 yuan/ton,requiring careful consideration by policymakers.In summary,this paper proposes corresponding countermeasures and suggestions for achieving high-quality economic development and low-carbon transformation for enterprises in China.At the government level,it is necessary to scientifically set the total carbon quota,maintain transparency of information in the carbon trading market,and steadily expand the size of the carbon trading market.At the enterprise level,it is crucial to formulate long-term carbon reduction strategies,improve technological levels,enhance capital deepening,and accelerate digital transformation.