Low-carbon City Construction Research Articles

The impact of pilot policies for low carbon city construction on the development of urban circular economy multiple time-point difference-in-differences model

IntroductionAs a means of environmental regulation, the low-carbon city pilot policy aims to address climate change and alleviate environmental resource pressures in economic development. The development of low-carbon cities often requires changes to the existing industrial and energy structures, which will have a significant impact on the regional economy.MethodsThe study is based on panel data from 273 prefecture level cities in China from 2012 to 2022, and uses the Analytic Hierarchy Process and Entropy Comprehensive Evaluation Method to construct an evaluation index system for urban circular benefits. Finally, the multiple time point differences model and mediation effect model were used to evaluate the impact and influencing factors of policies on urban economy.ResultsThe results indicate that at the 1% level, the explanatory variable coefficient significantly improves the level of urban circular economy development after adding control variables. The construction of low-carbon pilot cities has improved the performance of circular economy development by about 6.42%. The mediating effect of industrial structure rationalization is significantly positive at the 1% significance level, indicating that the construction of low-carbon pilot cities has greatly promoted the coordinated development of industrial relations within China’s low-carbon development regions.DiscussionIt can be seen that the low-carbon city pilot policy has a significant promoting effect on China’s economic development and the development of urban circular economy. Therefore, it is recommended to further expand the pilot scope of low-carbon cities and fully leverage their promoting role.

Effect of low carbon policy on residents’ health: Evidence from China

A good ecological environment is foundational to the survival and health of society. This study utilized data from the China Family Panel Studies to empirically examine the impact of implementing low-carbon cities on residents’ health. The results revealed that low-carbon cities enhanced residents’ health. Mechanism analysis revealed that the construction of low-carbon cities fosters residents’ health by improving air quality, expanding urban green spaces, encouraging residents to engage in physical exercise, and enhancing residents’ mental well-being. This research offers policy insights to guide governments in pursuing a sustainable development path that prioritizes both natural environments and residents’ health.

Evaluating coupling coordination between urban smart performance and low-carbon level in China’s pilot cities with mixed methods

The construction models of smart cities and low-carbon cities are crucial for advancing global urbanization, enhancing urban governance, and addressing major urban challenges. Despite significant advancements in smart and low-carbon city research, a consensus on their coupling coordination remains elusive. This study employs mixed-method research, combining qualitative and quantitative analyses, to investigate the coupling coordination between urban smart performance (SCP) and low-carbon level (LCL) across 52 typical smart and low-carbon pilot cities in China. Independent evaluation models for SCP and LCL qualitatively assess the current state of smart and low-carbon city construction. Additionally, an Entropy–TOPSIS–Pearson correlation–Coupling coordination degree (ETPC) analysis model quantitatively examines their relationship. The results reveal that smart city initiatives in China significantly outperform low-carbon city development, with notable disparities in SCP and LCL between eastern, non-resource-based, and central cities versus western, resource-dependent, and peripheral cities. A strong positive correlation exists between urban SCP and overall LCL, with significant correlations in management, society, and economy, and moderate to weak correlations in environmental quality and culture. As SCP levels improve, the coupling coordination degree between the urban SCP and LCL systems also increases, driven primarily by economic, management, and societal factors. Conversely, the subsystems of low-carbon culture and environmental quality show poorer integration. Based on these findings, this study proposes an evaluation system for smart and low-carbon coupling coordination development, outlining pathways for future development from the perspective of urban complex systems.

Research on Low-carbon Layout and Planning of Urban Space Driven by Sustainable Development

Carbon dioxide emissions, leading to global warming, have threatened human development. It is urgent to control and slow down greenhouse gas emissions to maintain ecologically sustainable development. The energy demand and pollutant emissions generated in the process of urban development are the main reasons leading to climate and environmental change. Scientific planning for cities and construction of low-carbon urban development models are the first work to deal with climate and environmental issues. In view of these problems, the article takes Guangyuan City as an example of low-carbon city construction, through transforming the city's industrial structure, strengthening the energy and science and technology innovation, establishing and improving the low-carbon system and other methods to implement the specific construction of low-carbon city, to build a clean, low- carbon new urban life mode, Make Guangyuan City from 2015 to reach the exploitable hydropower installed capacity of 65% to 80% in 2020. In this paper, we propose a series of specific low- carbon urban spatial layout and planning strategies, which not only in-depth analysis of the key problems in China's urbanization process, such as energy consumption, carbon emissions, etc., but also propose targeted solutions. By implementing these strategies, we can effectively meet the challenges brought about by urbanization and promote the development of Chinese cities in a more low-carbon and sustainable direction.

The impact of low-carbon city pilot policy on urban green technology innovation: Based on government and public perspectives.

Global climate change has caused a series of environmental problems, green technology innovation is necessitating strategic responses, but the impact of low-carbon city pilot policy on urban green technology innovation is unclear. Based on panel data from 285 Chinese cities during 2005-2022, this study employs the Difference in Difference method to examine the impact of low-carbon city policy on urban green technology innovation. The results show that (1) The low-carbon city pilot policy promotes urban green technology innovation. (2) The low-carbon city pilot policy promotes urban green technology innovation through government green input and public engagement. (3) New infrastructure enhances the impact of low-carbon city pilot policy on quantity of green technology innovation. (4) Compared with the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the low-carbon city policy has a greater influence on urban green technology innovation in the Yellow River Basin.The findings provide policy insights for the construction of low-carbon pilot cities.

Will the Low-carbon City Pilot Policy Achieve Regional Emission Reduction?

In order to address climate change and promote green and low-carbon development, the Chinese government has implemented a pilot policy for low-carbon cities since 2010 and has continuously expanded the scope of the pilots. Taking the second batch of low-carbon pilot policies as an example, this paper uses difference in difference method to study the impact of low-carbon pilot policies on reducing urban carbon emission intensity based on the panel data of prefecture level cities from 2006 to 2019. It is found that the construction of low-carbon cities has a positive effect on reducing carbon emissions,and this conclusion is still valid under the robustness test. Based on this conclusion,this paper argues that China should further promote low-carbon pilot policies and actively explore the development model of low-carbon cities, especially to improve the livable and green urban environment.

How Can Low-Carbon City Construction Enhance Urban Economic Resilience? A Mechanism Analysis Based on Industrial Agglomeration and Technological Innovation Effects

How Can Low-Carbon City Construction Enhance Urban Economic Resilience? A Mechanism Analysis Based on Industrial Agglomeration and Technological Innovation Effects

Interaction between urbanization and carbon emission in Guizhou Province

Investigating interplay between urbanization and carbon emissions is crucial for reaching carbon peak objective. This study employs a VAR model to examine correlation between the urbanization rate and carbon emissions specifically within Guizhou Province, VAR model has obvious advantages in studying the dynamic relationship between them. The findings indicate that: (1) In Guizhou Province, there is a nuanced interplay between the urbanization rate and carbon emissions, with the magnitude and direction of their influence varying across different time intervals. (2) Carbon emissions in Guizhou Province exhibit a notable self-propelling effect, while concurrently, the urbanization rate demonstrates an inertia effect, which also contributes to its own advancement. (3) The influence of the urbanization rate on carbon emissions in Guizhou Province experiences gradual rise before plateauing, suggesting that the high-quality advancement of new urbanization in the region facilitates the achievement of carbon reduction objectives. Finally, policy recommendations are put forward: (1) Conscientiously implement the central ecological environment zoning control policies, such as: Guizhou Province Ecological environment zoning control Plan and Guizhou Province Urban and Rural Construction Carbon peak Implementation Plan and other policies. (2) Pay attention to the quality of Guizhou’s urbanization process. Solve the relationship between urbanization and carbon emissions, and realize the coordination and unification of urbanization and the carrying capacity of resources and environment. (3) Develop a new type of urbanization rich in Guizhou’s mountainous characteristics and promote the construction of low-carbon cities. Give full play to the regional characteristics of Guizhou’s mountainous areas, build a new type of urbanization with Guizhou’s mountainous characteristics, promote the construction of low-carbon cities in the process of urbanization development, and strengthen the coordinated development of ecological environment construction and urbanization.

Impacts of spatial and temporal patterns and economic development on carbon emissions in Chinese cities

With the economic and social development and the improvement of peoples living standards, the urban carbon emission increases. Studying the influence of industrial structure and spatial patterns on carbon emission under the economic development of different cities can help to find the main factors affecting carbon emission, formulate policies to solve the problem according to local conditions, and provide an important scientific basis for the transformation of economic growth mode and the construction of low-carbon cities. This paper draws conclusions by analyzing the trend curves of urban carbon emissions and economic factors over the years. Different regions of the citys economic development potential differences are obvious, and the potential for greater spatial concentration of cities; citys economic development potential in the spatial and temporal distribution of key cities and major urban agglomerations as the basis for the point - line - surface in order to promote. economically developed cities, the total carbon emissions, carbon emissions growth rate of a declining trend; economically underdeveloped areas, the total carbon emissions, carbon emissions growth rate of a year-on-year trend; the degree of carbon emissions and the degree of prosperity of the secondary industry is closely linked. Chinas urban carbon emissions have a significant positive spatial correlation between 2006 and 2016, the cold spot area of urban carbon emissions is relatively stable, mainly distributed in the eastern and southern economic zones, while the hot spot area is mainly distributed in the northwest, northeast and the middle reaches of the Yellow River economic zone.

A Study on Plant Selection for Low-Carbon Rain Gardens Based on an AHP-TOPSIS Model

Low-impact development (LID) measures are crucial for solving water environment problems during sponge city construction. Optimizing LID measures to meet multi-objective demands is essential for achieving low-carbon and green operation of sponge cities under the goal of ‘dual carbon’. To select the optimal rain garden plants suitable for the construction of a coastal sponge low-carbon city, a set of AHP-TOPSIS applicability assessments was constructed. The assessment index system comprises three main categories of indices: economic cost, ecological benefit, and environmental adaptability. The hierarchical analysis method (AHP) was used to construct a plant evaluation system from three decision-making levels and eleven criterion levels. This system assigned weights to each index in the index system. Subsequently, the distance between the superior and inferior solutions (TOPSIS) was used to evaluate the overall performance of 14 tree species, 10 shrub species, and 12 herbaceous plant species commonly found in rain gardens in a coastal city in China, so as to identify the optimal plants to meet the target demand of low-carbon rain garden construction.

The health and welfare effects of environmental governance: Evidence from China

Environmental regulations aim to reduce pollution and improve air quality and the health of residents. However, there is a lack of research focusing on the health and welfare effects of low-carbon city pilot policies. In this context, this study takes China’s low-carbon city pilot policy as an entry point, focuses on the health effects of public environmental governance, and systematically investigates the effects and mechanisms of low-carbon city development on the health of middle-aged and elderly people by applying the difference-in-differences method. The study finds that low-carbon city (LCC) policy significantly improves the physical and mental health of middle-aged and elderly people, and the main transmission mechanism is the reduction in air pollution and improvement in social capital. These results hold following a series of robustness tests. Furthermore, low-carbon city construction can reduce hospitalization and outpatient costs for people over 45 years old by up to 3 % and 15.5 %, respectively. The findings of this study provide useful policy insights for ensuring sustainable improvement in environmental quality and public health.

Analysis of Low-carbon City Construction Path in Shenzhen

In the face of global climate change characterized by climate warming, in order to protect the natural environment and restore its vitality in the past, human beings began to seek low-carbon development methods. As the center of human social and economic activities and the main source of greenhouse gas emissions, cities play a core role in the development of global low-carbon economy. This paper takes Shenzhen as the research object, explains the existing problems and suggestions of low-carbon cities, and puts forward the low-carbon development approach of Shenzhen under the premise of ensuring steady economic growth. Its green and low-carbon industrial system is accelerating, the clean and efficient energy system is becoming increasingly perfect, the green and low-carbon transportation level is leading the world, the development of green buildings is making solid progress, the ecological livable Shenzhen model is taking the lead, green and low-carbon living consumption highlights, green science and technology innovation plateau is taking shape, and green and low-carbon regional opening and cooperation is rich and colorful. All these indicate that Shenzhen has made remarkable progress in low-carbon construction.

How to promote the construction of low‐carbon cities in China? An urban complex ecosystem perspective

AbstractThe escalation of carbon emissions has propelled global warming into a global issue requiring urgent attention. As primary contributors to global carbon emissions, cities constitute the central battleground for efforts aimed at carbon emission reduction. Notably, China, the world's largest carbon emitter, has channeled substantial human and financial resources towards the development of low‐carbon cities. However, the multifaceted challenges confronting Chinese low‐carbon city construction (LCC), including the lack of clearly defined construction strategies and deficiencies in government policy implementation, underscore the need for a systematic exploration of the influencing factors and mechanisms to overcome these obstacles. In response to this pressing need, this study utilizes a conceptual framework that is deeply rooted in the complex urban social‐economic‐natural‐management ecosystem. Within this framework, the study meticulously identified 12 influencing factors and, employing the pressure‐state‐response (PSR) model, categorized them to elucidate the dynamic and multidimensional nature of low‐carbon city construction. Subsequently, the DEMATEL method was employed to explore the causality and centrality of these 12 factors, and the ISM method was used to analyze the hierarchical structure and influencing factors and mechanisms of LCC. Three paths from LCC pressure to LCC response were established. Finally, three major implications were proposed to help Chinese LCC: (i) improve urban strategic planning applicability in a one‐city‐one‐policy manner, (ii) strengthen the green economy's long‐term development mechanism, and (iii) use the enthusiasm of market forces and public participation.

Unveiling the impact mechanism of urban resilience on carbon dioxide emissions of the Pearl River Delta urban agglomeration in China

With the increasingly severe global climate change situation, the construction of low-carbon and resilient cities is expected to be an effective means of accelerating the achievement of carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals. As a major global economic and carbon-emitting power, it is necessary to advocate for China to accelerate the construction of low-carbon and resilient cities. We have formulated a comprehensive methodological framework to appraise the effects of urban resilience (UR) on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. This study first constructs a “social-economic-institutional-ecological-engineering” UR assessment framework. Based on this framework, we establish an evaluation system for the UR of the urban agglomeration to explore the dynamic evolution of its spatial and temporal patterns. And then this study uses the SBM-DEA method that includes undesirable outputs to measure the carbon emission efficiency of the urban agglomeration. Finally, the spatial Durbin model is used to analyze the spatial spillover effects of UR on CO2 emissions, and the mechanism of CO2 emission spatial effects is theoretically explained by introducing geographical laws. The results show that the overall UR level in the region increased from 0.107 in 2000 to 0.318 in 2020, with an average carbon emission efficiency of 0.82, but still at a relatively low level. Moreover, there are significant differences in the regional level, with Guangzhou and Shenzhen and their surrounding cities showing significantly higher levels compared to other cities. Regarding the spillover effects analysis, CO2 emissions exhibit significant spatial spillover effects between cities. Improving UR can reduce urban CO2 emissions, but it may also have negative spillover effects on surrounding cities. This research can provide a new perspective for improving the study of regional CO2 emissions reduction and its influencing mechanisms while also offering important references for accelerating the construction of UR and achieving regional carbon peak targets.

How changes in landscape patterns affect the carbon emission: a case study in the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle, China.

The construction of low-carbon cities is an optimal means to balance the competing interests of economic growth and carbon emission reduction. This study focuses on the optimization of land use patterns with a low carbon orientation, taking the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle (CCEC), the fourth-largest economic growth pole in China, as an example. The panel data regression analysis is carried out to identify the dynamic correlations between the landscape changes and the carbon emission induced by land use and land cover change (LICE) of each city, each year, for the last 20 years. The results show that the CCEC has witnessed a 142.85% increase in carbon emissions during the period studied, with the growth of built-up land contributing 94% of total carbon emissions from 2000 to 2020. By constructing the panel regression model, this study finds that the intensity of carbon emissions increases significantly as the urban built-up land area and the agglomeration of artificial structures increase. The conversion of cropland, which dominates the landscape pattern, to built-up land has led to further fragmentation of the landscape pattern and a reduction in LPI, thus increasing carbon emissions. And a more complex regional landscape pattern will have a positive impact on carbon emission reduction. Based on the above findings, suggestions are articulated for carbon emission reduction.

Factors affecting the daytime cooling effect of cool materials: A case study combining experiment and simulation

Cool materials, with their high reflectivity, can significantly reduce the heat absorbed by buildings in summer and thus reduce energy consumption. The amount of solar radiation received by building surfaces varies with their orientation, so the effectiveness of cool materials on different building surfaces may vary. This study investigated the effects of using cool materials on scaled-down building models and full-scale real buildings through a combination of experiments and simulations, considering factors including building surfaces of different orientations, material properties, and weather conditions. Both experimental measurements and simulation studies showed that applying cool materials on roofs has the best cooling effect, reducing indoor temperatures by 0.93 °C in full-scale models. The south and west façades also showed good cooling effects when using cool materials. The north façade has the least cooling effect when using cool materials. Compared to exposed cement boards and regular materials, cool materials showed significantly better cooling effects, similar to those of 2 cm thick XPS insulation boards. Overall, buildings with poorer thermal insulation performance benefit more from the cooling effect of cool materials in summer. Additionally, the cooling effect of cool materials is ineffective on cloudy and rainy days. We found that the cooling effect of cool materials was significantly reduced when the solar radiation was less than 400 W/m2. The findings of this study provide guidance for the use of cool materials in energy retrofitting of existing buildings and the construction of low-carbon cities.

Better cities better lives: How low-carbon city pilots can lower residents’ carbon emissions

Cities generate substantial carbon emissions while facing serious climate challenges. The construction of low-carbon cities is a vital measure to cope with climate change. China has implemented three batches of low-carbon city pilots since 2010, with advocating low-carbon lifestyles and consumption patterns for residents as an indispensable component. However, there is limited research on the impact of pilot cities on carbon emissions of residents, as well as a lack of theoretical guidance and accurate data. Based on 281 prefectural-level cities in China, this study established the difference-in-differences model to evaluate the impact of low-carbon city pilots on residents' carbon emissions. By introducing the Attitudes, Behaviours, and Circumstances theory as the analytical framework and compiling a direct carbon emission inventory of residents, this study attempts to fill the research gap. The results indicate that low-carbon city pilots could lower residents' carbon emissions by 7.3% annually, with a gradual strengthening trend over time. This study presents and validates three influencing mechanisms of the pilot policy, including improving green attitudes, advocating low-carbon behaviours, and optimizing living circumstances. The heterogeneity analysis demonstrates that the eastern and central regions with higher levels of economic development have generated significant policy effects. Although both the northern and southern pilot cities have lowered residents’ carbon emissions, the former has exhibited a stronger policy effect. Based on these findings, this study proposes several policy recommendations: innovate attitudinal guidance, nudge behavioural choices, shape external circumstances, and combine local characteristics.

Research on the Development Pathways for Low-Carbon City Construction from a Multi-Stakeholder Collaborative Perspective—A Case Study of Xiamen, a Pilot Low-Carbon City in China

Research on the Development Pathways for Low-Carbon City Construction from a Multi-Stakeholder Collaborative Perspective—A Case Study of Xiamen, a Pilot Low-Carbon City in China

An Integrated Neutrosophic Approach for the Urban Energy Internet Assessment under Sustainability Dimensions


 The urgent issue of climate change has resulted in an increasing preoccupation with the transition to low-carbon energy. The urban energy internet (UEI) enables the efficient utilization of renewable energy via the integration of contemporary energy grids, smart energy services, and cyber-physical systems. Consequently, the assessment of urban energy is vital for the construction of low-carbon cities. This study intends to provide an integrated decision-making approach for addressing assessment challenges related to UEI, with a focus on sustainability. The introduced approach adopts the opinions of three experts to express their opinions through semantic terms in evaluating sustainability factors and evaluating UEI projects. Determining the most suitable project for sustainable UEI is a difficult task. In addition, there are multiple sustainability dimensions, including: economic, social, technical, environmental and resource dimension. This paper presents an integrated approach through which experts can use semantic terms to express their opinions to evaluate the priorities of sustainability dimensions that affect the sustainability of UEI projects. Therefore, this study applies a hybrid multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) approach that takes into account multiple dimensions. Also, the uncertainty in the study is handled by type 2 neutrosophic numbers (T2NNs). Initially, the CRiteria Importance through Inter-criteria Correlation (CRITIC) method was used to determine the relative importance of the sustainability dimensions used in the study. Also, the evaluation based on distance from average solution (EDAS) method was used to rank the selected alternatives. The results indicate that the technical dimension is the most important with a weight of 0.384. Finally, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to prove the validity and reliability of the developed framework with differences in weights.

Does Low-Carbon City Construction Promote Integrated Economic, Energy, and Environmental Development? An Empirical Study Based on the Low-Carbon City Pilot Policy in China

Low-carbon urban transformation is considered the path to green economic growth in dual-carbon contexts. The low-carbon city pilot policy (LCCP) in China has vast potential to enhance the integrated development of the economy, energy, and environment (3Es). Taking 240 cities in China from 2005 to 2019 as research samples, this paper investigated the impact of LCCP on the integrated development level of the 3Es using the progressive difference-in-differences model and analyzed the mechanisms of influence. In addition, the implementation effects on different cities were analyzed using the triple difference model. The findings show that implementing the LCCP policy significantly improves the 3Es integrated development level in the sample cities, and a variety of robustness tests were used to validate this conclusion. The influence mechanism analysis shows that the primary avenues for pilot programs to contribute and successfully advance the enhancement of the low-carbon city 3Es integrated development level are technological innovation and financial development. Moreover, the heterogeneity analysis of resource endowment and geographical location shows that LCCP is beneficial to the 3Es integrated development in non-resource-based cities and eastern cities. Consequently, policy recommendations include the continuation of low-carbon pilot city expansion, joint promotion of regional 3Es integration, improving the level of technological innovation and financial development, and tailoring of policy to local circumstances. This study provides theoretical support for the evaluation of China’s LCCP and, to a certain extent, proves that the measures taken by China in the process of exploring green economic growth and realizing the dual-carbon goal are correct.