Policy synergy analysis on coordinating reduction of pollution and carbon emissions in China: Insights from text mining and network analysis

Abstract

Coordinating the reduction of pollution and carbon emissions (CRPCE) is essential for China's climate governance and environmental protection. However, research on policy synergy related to CRPCE remains limited. To systematically explore the characteristics of policy synergy on CRPCE in China over the long term, this study collects policy documents on pollution reduction and carbon abatement from 2008 to 2023. Utilizing the lenses of policy objectives, policy pathways, and policy tools, text mining and network analysis are employed to develop a tri-level co-word network comprising ‘policy elements - policy topics - policy keywords’ in phases. Based on the structural characteristics of the network, the evolution trend of policy synergy on CRPCE is examined in detail. The findings indicate that: (1) Although the annual average number of published policies has steadily increased, the synergy among these policies has not risen correspondingly; instead, there was an increase in synergy from 2013 to 2017, followed by a gradual decline after 2018. (2) The fluctuation in synergy among policy elements aligns with the overall trend in policy synergy, while the synergy among topics within different policy elements exhibits varied trends. (3) If significant indirect synergy exists between two topics within the policy pathway and policy objective, the direct synergy between them is expected to strengthen in the future. This study introduces a novel approach to enhance current methodologies for researching policy synergy, providing valuable insights for the formulation of effective CRPCE policies in China and other developing nations.