Does the Low-Carbon City Pilot Policy Promote Green Technology Innovation? Based on Green Patent Data of Chinese A-Share Listed Companies

To cope with climate change and achieve sustainable development, low-carbon city pilot policies have been implemented. An objective assessment of the performance of these policies facilitates not only the implementation of relevant work in pilot areas, but also the further promotion of these policies. This study uses A-share listed enterprises from 2005 to 2019 and creates a multi-period difference-in-differences model to explore the impact of low-carbon city pilot policies on corporate green technology innovation from multiple dimensions. Results show that (1) low-carbon city pilot policies stimulates the green technological innovation of enterprises as manifested in their application of green invention patents; (2) the introduction of pilot policies is highly conducive to green technological innovation in eastern cities and enterprises in high-carbon emission industries; and (3) tax incentives and government subsidies are important fiscal and taxation tools that play the role of pilot policies in low-carbon cities. By alleviating corporate financing constraints, these policies effectively promote the green technological innovation of enterprises. This study expands the research on the performance of low-carbon city pilot policies and provides data support for a follow-up implementation and promotion of policies from the micro perspective at the enterprise level.