Does China's Low-Carbon City Pilot Policy Effectively Enhance Urban Ecological Efficiency?

The low-carbon city pilot (LCCP) policy represents a pioneering approach to fostering sustainable development. It offers a scientific framework to reconcile the relationship between economic growth, resource utilization, and environmental protection. This study measures urban ecological efficiency (UEE) through the non-radial directional distance function (NDDF) model using the panel data of 284 cities in China, from 2007 to 2021, and analyzes the impact of the LCCP policy on UEE, adopting a multi-period difference-in-differences (DID) model. The results of the baseline regression indicate that the pilot cities exhibit an average ecological efficiency that is approximately 3.0% higher than that observed in non-pilot cities, which pass both the parallel trend test and the robustness test. Mechanism analysis reveals that industrial upgrading and energy consumption reduction are the primary pathways through which the LCCP policy enhances UEE. In addition, the policy effects are particularly significant in improving UEE in non-resource-based cities, large cities, and cities in the eastern region. Finally, the spatial spillover effects demonstrated by the LCCP policy can effectively inform neighboring cities of strategies to enhance their UEE. The research findings provide invaluable insight and direction for China's efforts in the development of low-carbon cities and ecological sustainability.