Research on the synergies between low-carbon pilot city policy and high-speed railways in improving Chinese urban electricity efficiency
Purpose – Global climate change is a serious threat to the survival and development of mankind. Reducing carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality are the keys to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting sustainable human development. For many countries, taking China as an example, the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Emerald Publishing
2023-04-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJCCSM-07-2022-0078/full/pdf |
| _version_ | 1797788839446577152 |
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| author | Yu Chen Di Jin Changyi Zhao |
| author_facet | Yu Chen Di Jin Changyi Zhao |
| author_sort | Yu Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Purpose – Global climate change is a serious threat to the survival and development of mankind. Reducing carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality are the keys to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting sustainable human development. For many countries, taking China as an example, the electric power sector is the main contributor to the country’s carbon emissions, as well as a key sector for reducing carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality. The low-carbon transition of the power sector is of great significance to the long-term low-carbon development of the economy. Therefore, on the one hand, it is necessary to improve the energy supply structure on the supply side and increase the proportion of new energy in the total power supply. On the other hand, it is necessary to improve energy utilization efficiency on the demand side and control the total primary energy consumption by improving energy efficiency, which is the most direct and effective way to reduce emissions. Improving the utilization efficiency of electric energy and realizing the low-carbon transition of the electric power industry requires synergies between the government and the market. The purpose of this study is to investigate the individual and synergistic effects of China’s low-carbon policy and the opening of urban high-speed railways (HSRs) on the urban electricity consumption efficiency, measured as electricity consumption per unit of gross domestic product (GDP). Design/methodology/approach – This study uses a panel of 289 Chinese prefecture-level cities from the years 1999–2019 as the sample and uses the time-varying difference-in-difference method to test the relationship between HSR, low-carbon pilot cities and urban electricity consumption efficiency. In addition, the instrumental variable method is adopted to make a robustness check. Findings – Empirical results show that the low-carbon pilot policy and the HSR operation in cities would reduce the energy consumption per unit of GDP, and synergies occur in both HSR operated and low-carbon pilot cities. Research limitations/implications – This study has limitations that would provide possible starting points for future studies. The first limitation is the choice of the proxy variable of government and market factors. The second limitation is that the existing data is only about whether the high-speed rail is opened or not and whether it is a low-carbon pilot city, and there is no more informative data to combine the two aspects. Practical implications – The findings of this study can inform policymakers and regulators about the effects of low-carbon pilot city policies. In addition, the government should consider market-level factors in addition to policy factors. Only by combining various influencing factors can the efficient use of energy be more effectively achieved so as to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality. Social implications – From the social perspective, the findings indicate that improving energy utilization is dependent on the joint efforts of the government and market. Originality/value – The study provides quantitative evidence to assess the synergic effect between government and the market in the low-carbon transition of the electric power industry. Particularly, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the first to comprehend the role of the city low-carbon pilot policy and the construction of HSR in improving electricity efficiency. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T01:42:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ecb961cd83d84e87a836e7085a4cfd9e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1756-8692 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T01:42:13Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | Emerald Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management |
| spelling | doaj.art-ecb961cd83d84e87a836e7085a4cfd9e2023-07-03T13:10:31ZengEmerald PublishingInternational Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management1756-86922023-04-0115219521110.1108/IJCCSM-07-2022-0078Research on the synergies between low-carbon pilot city policy and high-speed railways in improving Chinese urban electricity efficiencyYu Chen0Di Jin1Changyi Zhao2College of Economics and Management, Zhejiang University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Hangzhou, ChinaCollege of Economics and Management, Zhejiang University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Hangzhou, ChinaBusiness School, Sichuan University, Chengdu, ChinaPurpose – Global climate change is a serious threat to the survival and development of mankind. Reducing carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality are the keys to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting sustainable human development. For many countries, taking China as an example, the electric power sector is the main contributor to the country’s carbon emissions, as well as a key sector for reducing carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality. The low-carbon transition of the power sector is of great significance to the long-term low-carbon development of the economy. Therefore, on the one hand, it is necessary to improve the energy supply structure on the supply side and increase the proportion of new energy in the total power supply. On the other hand, it is necessary to improve energy utilization efficiency on the demand side and control the total primary energy consumption by improving energy efficiency, which is the most direct and effective way to reduce emissions. Improving the utilization efficiency of electric energy and realizing the low-carbon transition of the electric power industry requires synergies between the government and the market. The purpose of this study is to investigate the individual and synergistic effects of China’s low-carbon policy and the opening of urban high-speed railways (HSRs) on the urban electricity consumption efficiency, measured as electricity consumption per unit of gross domestic product (GDP). Design/methodology/approach – This study uses a panel of 289 Chinese prefecture-level cities from the years 1999–2019 as the sample and uses the time-varying difference-in-difference method to test the relationship between HSR, low-carbon pilot cities and urban electricity consumption efficiency. In addition, the instrumental variable method is adopted to make a robustness check. Findings – Empirical results show that the low-carbon pilot policy and the HSR operation in cities would reduce the energy consumption per unit of GDP, and synergies occur in both HSR operated and low-carbon pilot cities. Research limitations/implications – This study has limitations that would provide possible starting points for future studies. The first limitation is the choice of the proxy variable of government and market factors. The second limitation is that the existing data is only about whether the high-speed rail is opened or not and whether it is a low-carbon pilot city, and there is no more informative data to combine the two aspects. Practical implications – The findings of this study can inform policymakers and regulators about the effects of low-carbon pilot city policies. In addition, the government should consider market-level factors in addition to policy factors. Only by combining various influencing factors can the efficient use of energy be more effectively achieved so as to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality. Social implications – From the social perspective, the findings indicate that improving energy utilization is dependent on the joint efforts of the government and market. Originality/value – The study provides quantitative evidence to assess the synergic effect between government and the market in the low-carbon transition of the electric power industry. Particularly, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the first to comprehend the role of the city low-carbon pilot policy and the construction of HSR in improving electricity efficiency.https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJCCSM-07-2022-0078/full/pdfCarbon neutralityElectricity efficiencyChinaCarbon pilot policyHigh-speed rails |
| spellingShingle | Yu Chen Di Jin Changyi Zhao Research on the synergies between low-carbon pilot city policy and high-speed railways in improving Chinese urban electricity efficiency International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management Carbon neutrality Electricity efficiency China Carbon pilot policy High-speed rails |
| title | Research on the synergies between low-carbon pilot city policy and high-speed railways in improving Chinese urban electricity efficiency |
| title_full | Research on the synergies between low-carbon pilot city policy and high-speed railways in improving Chinese urban electricity efficiency |
| title_fullStr | Research on the synergies between low-carbon pilot city policy and high-speed railways in improving Chinese urban electricity efficiency |
| title_full_unstemmed | Research on the synergies between low-carbon pilot city policy and high-speed railways in improving Chinese urban electricity efficiency |
| title_short | Research on the synergies between low-carbon pilot city policy and high-speed railways in improving Chinese urban electricity efficiency |
| title_sort | research on the synergies between low carbon pilot city policy and high speed railways in improving chinese urban electricity efficiency |
| topic | Carbon neutrality Electricity efficiency China Carbon pilot policy High-speed rails |
| url | https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJCCSM-07-2022-0078/full/pdf |
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