Does "low-carbon pilot policy" affect the carbon intensity of construction industry? Exploring the implementation mechanism and effectiveness in China

PurposeCarbon reduction in the construction industry is related to the achievement of carbon emission peaks and carbon neutrality targets. Therefore, exploring the influence of current carbon reduction policies on the construction industry is necessary. China's low-carbon pilot (LCP) policy has been extensively studied, while LCPs mechanism and effectiveness on carbon reduction in the construction industry remain to be explored.Design/methodology/approachThis study selected four provincial LCP regions as case studies and adopted the grounded theory method for case studies to analyze the implementation mechanism of the LCP policy on carbon reduction in the construction industry. Then, this study adopted the propensity score matching and difference-in-differences regression (PSM-DID) approach to evaluate the influence of the LCP policy on carbon intensity (CI) in the construction industry by using panel data taken from 30 provinces in China between 2008 and 2017.FindingsThe authors found that (1) the LCP policy promotes carbon reduction in the construction industry through the crossing implementation mechanism of five vertical support approaches and five horizontal support approaches. (2). The LCP policy can significantly reduce CI in the construction industry.Originality/valueThe study not only explored how is the LCP policy implemented, but also examined the effectiveness of the LCP policy in the construction industry. The policy implications of this study can help policy-makers better achieve low-carbon development targets in the construction industry.