Overview, Evolution and Thematic Analysis of China’s Green Consumption Policies: A Quantitative Analysis Based on Policy Texts

Abstract

Based on the 286 green consumption policy documents issued from 1989 to 2019 at the national level, we analyzed the stage of documents issued, the intergovernmental relationship network of the policy issuing units, and the evolution of the green consumption policy system. The results revealed that: (1) the development of green consumption policies had undergone three stages (i.e., initial stage, preliminary development stage, and deep development stage). For the issuing units, collaborative decision-making by multiple units is a significant phenomenon in the current green consumption policy field; (2) the green consumption policy focus had evolved from placing an initial emphasis on pollution control and clean production to constructing a circular economy and encouraging ecological environmental protection; (3) in respect to the research topic, the results of high-frequency keywords indicated that six clusters were generated, and these included industrial pollution, green product certification and labeling, resource conservation and energy-saving technological development, environmental protection and the energy ecological cycle, the low-carbon economy, and publicity and social participation.