Policies for Achieving Carbon Reduction in China from 1995 to 2022: A Review and Content Analysis

The formulation and implementation of carbon reduction policies are pivotal strategies for attaining the Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality objectives in China, yet there has been limited in-depth research at the policy level. This study systematically compiled 179 central government carbon reduction policy documents and 1183 local government carbon reduction policy documents from China. These policies were classified into command-and-control (CC), market-based (MB), and public participation (PP) categories based on their policy tools. Through detailed content analysis, the intensity of each policy within each category was calculated and the distributions of both quantity and intensity were analyzed. Subsequently, a multiple regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the impact of policy intensity on carbon emissions at the provincial level. The findings highlight a more pronounced policy activity and intensity in the eastern regions relative to the central and western regions, reveal the dominance of CC policies in terms of both their prevalence and intensity, and identify a counterintuitive increase in carbon emissions associated with CC policies. This research elucidates the landscape of China’s carbon reduction policies, offering nuanced insights into their distribution, intensity, and effectiveness in lowering carbon emissions, often a major concern of policymakers, researchers, and industry stakeholders.