Carbon Emission Trading And Total Factor Productivity Of Enterprises

The natural ecological environment is an important cornerstone for human survival and development,but in recent years,extreme weather events such as acid rain,sandstorms,and haze have only increased without decreasing.In response to the severe situation caused by greenhouse gas emissions,countries around the world have accelerated the construction of carbon trading markets,and used this mechanism as the main means to help achieve the goal of low-carbon development.The report of the 20 th National Congress of the Communist Party of China further clarified the goal of "actively and steadily promoting carbon peak carbon neutrality".In fact,China approved seven provinces and cities to carry out pilot work on carbon emission trading in October 2011.The "Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Accelerating the Construction of a National Unified Market" issued in April2022 also mentioned the need to build a national unified carbon emission trading market,a unified trading supervision mechanism,and other contents.At the same time,"promoting high-quality development" and "focusing on improving total factor productivity" remain important tasks for China to build a new development pattern.In this context,heavy polluting enterprises that have been facing various pressures such as transformation difficulties,technological innovation obstacles,and economic development constraints can promote the growth of their total factor productivity through the implementation of carbon emission trading mechanisms? What is its mechanism of action?In order to solve the above problems,this paper analyzes the impact of carbon emissions trading on total factor productivity of heavily polluting enterprises based on externality theory,sustainable development theory and Porter’s hypothesis,and puts forward research hypotheses for empirical testing.This article collects and organizes sample data of heavily polluting enterprises listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-shares from 2009 to 2021 in accordance with the National Economic Industry Classification.Using the pilot policy of carbon emission trading proposed in 2011 as a quasi natural experiment,a double difference model is used to examine the impact and mechanism of carbon emission trading on total factor productivity of enterprises.Research has found that:(1)carbon emission trading has a significant positive impact on the improvement of total factor productivity of heavily polluting enterprises;After using parallel trend tests,substitution variable tests,placebo tests,and incorporating urban level control variables for regression,the results remain significant,indicating that the implementation of carbon trading can help enterprises improve production efficiency and achieve sustained and stable economic development;(2)The mechanism test results indicate that carbon emission trading enhances total factor productivity by forcing enterprises to optimize their human resources structure,increase external investment,and adjust industrial structure;(3)Further analysis shows that compared to areas with weaker public participation in environmental protection,the promotion effect of carbon emission trading on total factor productivity of enterprises is more significant in areas with stronger public participation;And whether it is state-owned or non-state-owned enterprises,carbon emissions trading can promote the total factor productivity of enterprises.Possible research contributions and innovations lie in:(1)Innovation in research subjects.This article conducts research based on data from heavily polluting enterprises,providing theoretical basis and relevant policy recommendations for China’s heavily polluting enterprises to achieve sustainable environmental and economic development.(2)The research content is innovative.This article outlines the mechanisms by which optimizing human resources structure,increasing external investment,and adjusting industrial structure affect the total factor productivity of heavily polluting enterprises as carbon emissions trading.The transformation of industrial structure is further divided into industrial upgrading and industrial greening,and empirical testing is conducted based on this,enriching the research on the micro effects of carbon emissions trading;At the same time,in the heterogeneity test,public participation was proposed as the intensity of informal environmental regulation,discussing the social level of coercion mechanisms,providing reference for the government to develop differentiated carbon emission trading mechanisms.