Impact of Environmental Stringency on Energy Efficiency

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of environment policy stringency on energy efficiency by using the unbalanced data of 23 countries from 1990 to 2015. The regression results show that increased stringency of environmental policy implementation has a negative impact on energy intensity, as well as a lagging effect. This finding illustrates that strict environmental protection policies can effectively reduce unit resource energy consumption, reduce resource waste, and promote energy efficiency.