Abstract
Based on policy instrument theory and a case of low-carbon city development (Qihe County in Shandong), this study examined the policy instruments adopted for low-carbon city development in China and the effectiveness of these instruments. All the policies adopted by the piloted city from 2008 and 2014 were collected, coded, and analyzed. A two-dimensional analytical framework was developed based on a trichotomous policy instrument categorization and low-carbon city connotation. The results showed that the key goal of China’s low-carbon city construction is to develop low-carbon technology and low-carbon energy. Compulsory policy instruments are the most used and most effective, while voluntary policy instruments are rarely used. Further results indicated that when the ratio of compulsory instruments and mixed instruments comes to 2:1, the combination of policy instruments can lead to the optimal completion degree. It seems difficult to balance the stability of various policy instruments with the overall high completion degree. Chinese local governments are more accustomed to compulsory policy instruments. This reminds policymakers to pay more attention to the potential of voluntary instruments and mixed instruments in building low-carbon cities.
Highlights
Cities have become the centers of social economies and human activity, and promoting cities’efforts to reduce carbon emissions is essential for global carbon emissions reduction
Further results indicated that when the ratio of compulsory instruments and mixed instruments comes to 2:1, the combination of policy instruments can lead to the optimal completion degree
Voluntary policy instruments are rarely used, and mixed policy instruments account for about 40%
Summary
Cities have become the centers of social economies and human activity, and promoting cities’efforts to reduce carbon emissions is essential for global carbon emissions reduction. China’s central government set up a low-carbon city construction project in 2010 and hopes to promote the experiences of the selected pilot cities across the country by 2020. These selected pilot cities will focus on promoting energy-saving and emissions reduction policies, and take the reduction of carbon emissions as part of the government’s mission [6,8,9]. The specific content includes developing low-carbon industry, low-carbon technology, low-carbon transportation, and so on An investigation of these policy instruments and their effectiveness can produce lessons for low-carbon city development in China and in other places around the world, and can eventually contribute to global carbon emissions reduction
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