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term nature of industrial park policies be maintained and further transformation and upgrading of industrial
structure be attained. Additionally, intercity coordination could be introduced or enhanced.

Keywords: Carbon emission intensity, national economic and technological development zone, national eco-
industrial demonstration park, national low-carbon industrial park, difference-in-differences

INTRODUCTION
To mitigate climate change caused by excessive anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, humankind has
made great efforts. From the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992 to the
Kyoto Protocol in 2005, and then to the Paris Agreement in 2015, these international agreements aim to
[1]
limit global temperature rise and ultimately achieve net zero emissions . As the world’s largest developing
country , China is among the largest carbon emitters, and consequently, China’s emission reduction results
[2]
[3]
are crucial to global carbon reduction . In response, the Chinese government proposed the goal of “carbon
[4]
peak and carbon neutrality” in 2020 .
[5]
According to the Statistical Review of World Energy 2022 , in 2021, China’s energy-based carbon dioxide
emissions accounted for 31.1% of the global total. The industrial sector is the main contributor, with its
energy consumption accounting for 65% of the national total in 2021 and 62% in 2019, at a level of
[6]
[7]
6,236 million tons . Industrial processes are primarily carried out in industrial parks, where over 2,500
national and provincial industrial parks contributed to more than half of the country’s industrial output
[8,9]
[10]
and 31% of the carbon dioxide emissions . This renders industrial parks key to achieving the “carbon peak
and carbon neutrality” goals .
[11]
In recent years, China has introduced various policies to promote the green, circular, and low-carbon
development of industrial parks. Among them, the focus has been on economic and technological
development zones (ETDZs), eco-industrial demonstration parks (EIDPs), and low-carbon industrial parks
(LCIPs). Economic and Technological Development Zones (ETDZ) are government-designated zones that
aim to attract foreign and domestic investment, promote industrial development, and enhance
technological innovation. ETDZs are often focused on rapid economic growth, and their carbon emissions
can vary depending on the types of industries they attract, which may range from manufacturing to high-
tech industries. Their emphasis on economic growth may sometimes conflict with environmental goals,
leading to higher emissions in some cases. EIDPs are designed to promote sustainable industrial practices by
encouraging the integration of cleaner production technologies and industrial symbiosis, where waste or by-
products from one company are used as inputs by another. These parks focus on environmental
sustainability and aim to reduce emissions by improving resource efficiency and minimizing waste. As a
result, they are generally expected to have lower carbon emissions compared to more traditional industrial
parks. LCIPs are specifically aimed at reducing carbon emissions through the adoption of low-carbon
technologies and renewable energy. These parks emphasize the development of green industries, including
renewable energy, energy efficiency, and low-carbon manufacturing processes. LCIPs are designed to be at
the forefront of China’s efforts to meet its carbon neutrality goals, and as such, they typically aim to achieve
the lowest carbon emissions among the three types of parks. Despite these policies, there has been limited
research investigating the overall impact of these industrial parks on regional carbon emissions. Existing
studies often focus on the emissions of individual or specific parks, while few have assessed how the
construction of multiple types of industrial parks influences urban carbon emissions at the broader level.
Thus, understanding the role that industrial parks play in reducing emissions is essential for achieving
China’s carbon goals. This study aims to fill the gap by analyzing the impact of industrial park policies on
urban carbon emission reductions in China, focusing on the effects of different industrial parks on city
carbon emissions and exploring the differences and similarities between various types of parks.