Bridging energy gaps in urbanizing economies: Evidence from China's new energy demonstration city policy on multidimensional energy poverty

Energy poverty, defined as unequal access to affordable and clean energy, remains a critical barrier to equitable development, especially in rapidly urbanizing economies. Launched in 2014 to promote renewable energy adoption, China's New Energy Demonstration City Construction (NEDCC) policy provides a quasi-experimental setting to evaluate its impact on multidimensional energy poverty. Using six waves (2012–2022) of nationally representative China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data and a staggered difference-in-differences design, the study reveals four key findings. First, the NEDCC policy reduced household multidimensional energy poverty by 12.7 %. Second, its effectiveness varies by context: high living costs in urbanizing areas weaken the poverty-reducing impact, while proximity to core economic zones strengthens outcomes through infrastructure spillovers and market integration. Third, mediation analysis shows that 58 % of the effect is driven by improved regional energy efficiency, and 84 % by reduced economic inequality, demonstrating how technical and distributive factors jointly alleviate energy deprivation. Fourth, spatial spillover effects lowered energy poverty in neighboring non-pilot regions by 10.7 %, with simulations indicating that expanding the policy to central-western China could further reduce energy poverty indices by 0.12–0.16 points. By integrating household-level dynamics with urban-scale renewable infrastructure, this study offers a scalable policy framework for emerging economies to align decarbonization goals with inclusive development, with benefits projected to exceed short-term gains.