Low Carbon City Pilot Policy On Urban Green Innovation Impact Study

Currently,China is in a strategic stage from rapid economic development to high-quality development,and there is a huge energy consumption and greenhouse effect while achieving industrialization and urbanization.At present,the global climate change problem is becoming increasingly serious,and China,as a responsible power,has made practical commitments and actions for carbon reduction and emission reduction.Since2010,the National Development and Reform Commission has been conducting nationwide pilot projects on low-carbon city policies.So far,three batches of pilots have been conducted,covering six provinces and 81 cities,with a view to controlling CO2 emissions and promoting green and low-carbon urban development.The ultimate goal of low-carbon cities is to achieve carbon neutrality and carbon peaking as soon as possible by optimizing the industrial structure of cities and controlling carbon emissions.As a "testing ground" for low-carbon transformation,the pilot cities integrate innovative and green development concepts into the construction of low-carbon cities,with a view to achieving a win-win situation of green and low-carbon and promoting innovation.So,will the implementation of low-carbon city pilot policies bring policy dividends or innovation gaps to urban green innovation? Which mechanisms play a key role? How do the effects of policy innovation differ across different types of cities?Based on the green patent application data of Chinese prefecture-level cities from2007 to 2018,this paper adopts the idea and method of "quasi-natural experiment" with double difference,comparing the development trend of green innovation level of cities before and after the policy,comprehensively examining the policy effect of low-carbon city construction on urban green innovation,analyzing the factors and mechanisms of the effect.We also analyze the factors and mechanisms affecting the effect,and further compare and analyze the heterogeneity of cities and innovation types.The results of this study show that:(1)The benchmark test found that the low-carbon city pilot policy induced green innovation activities at the city level and the study findings were robust.(2)The mechanism test indicates that low-carbon city pilot policies promote urban green innovation through industrial structure upgrading and CO2 emission control.(3)Heterogeneity tests show that the innovation effect of low-carbon city pilot policies is significantly promoted in the eastern and western regions,but not in the central region;the low-carbon city pilot policies inhibit innovation activities in resource-based cities and significantly induce innovation activities in non-resource-based cities;the policy innovation effect is more significant in provincial capitals than in non-capital cities;the innovation effect is mainly manifested in the utility-oriented The effect of innovation is mainly on utility model patents,but not on invention patents,which are more innovative,with the characteristic of "emphasizing utility but not invention".Finally,based on the results of the empirical study,the paper summarizes the policy recommendations from three aspects: summarizing the pilot experience and promoting the policy,improving the construction of the environmental governance system with the participation of multiple parties,and formulating differentiated low-carbon transition programs according to local conditions.This paper provides city-level empirical support and empirical tests for the evaluation of the innovation effects of low-carbon city pilot policies,which is of great practical significance for further promoting the construction of low-carbon cities in China,promoting the low-carbon transformation of society,and accelerating urban green innovation.