National environmental audit and improvement of regional energy efficiency from the perspective of institution and development differences

Abstract

This paper examines the causal relationship between national environmental audit and regional energy efficiency from the perspective of institutional environment and development level differences for the period 2007–2017. The empirical results show that national environmental audit can significantly improve regional energy efficiency. In well-developed regions and regions with sound institutional environment, the external governance effect of national environmental audit on regional energy efficiency is more pronounced. Further studies also find that the external governance effect of the national environmental audit is to improve regional energy efficiency by promoting technological progress. Therefore, the Chinese government should strengthen the intensity of environmental audit, and different audit strategies should be adopted according to the institutional environment and development level differences. In addition, the Chinese government should integrate environmental audit with innovation policies, and improve energy efficiency through technological progress, so as to achieve efficient energy use and sustainable economic development.