Does China's carbon emission trading policy alleviate urban carbon emissions?

Abstract

The essence of carbon emission right is a legalized right, and carbon emission right trading is to commercialize this right based on the market. This paper uses panel data of 226 prefecture-level cities in China from 2007 to 2016 as samples to examine the effect and mechanism of carbon emission trading policies on urban carbon emission intensity. The study found that the carbon emission trading policy has a significant promotion of reducing carbon emission, with the adjustment of industrial structure and energy-saving emission reduction methods. It can effectively reduce the city's carbon emission.