Does low-carbon pilot city policy induce low-carbon choices in residents' living: Holistic and single dual perspective

Abstract

Low-carbon pilot cities can break the lock-in effect of living carbon emissions, which are an important strategic component of China's response to climate change. Current research on low-carbon pilot cities focuses on the production field. Insufficient attention has been paid to whether low-carbon pilot cities can promote the green transformation of residents' lifestyle. Using panel data of 285 cities in China from 2004 to 2016, this study explores the inducing effect of low-carbon pilot cities on residents' low-carbon choices from holistic and single-dual perspectives based on the difference-in-differences method and the synthetic control method. This study finds that low-carbon pilot cities can promote the green transformation of residents' lifestyle, and this policy has reduced living carbon emissions by approximately 15.3%. The transmission mechanisms are mainly green life consciousness and green habits. The conclusion considers the effects of multi-pilot policies and other living differences during the parallel period and is still valid after robustness testing using propensity score matching difference-in-differences. In addition, the policy has a snowball effect, and is stronger in larger cities. Ultimately, this paper provides useful information for the scientific implementation of carbon emission reduction plans in the field of residents' living and the improvement of the long-term mechanism of pilot cities with both quality and quantity guaranteed.

Keywords: China; Difference-in-differences; Living carbon emissions; Low-carbon choices; Low-carbon pilot cities.