Mechanism and Empirical Evidence of Green Taxation Influencing Carbon Emissions in China’s Yangtze River Economic Belt

Abstract

Based on the panel data of 100 cities in China’s Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2010 to 2020 and the extended STIRPAT model, this paper uses SYS-GMM to empirically study the impact of green taxation on carbon emissions in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Then, it explores the effect path of green taxation on regional carbon emissions using the intermediary effect model and analyzes the threshold characteristics of the influence of urban greening level on the regional carbon emissions of green taxation using the threshold effect model. The results show that, (1) from 2010 to 2020, the carbon emissions in China’s Yangtze River Economic Belt showed a slow rising trend, and carbon emissions in the lower reaches were significantly higher than those in the middle and upper reaches. (2) Green taxation can significantly suppress carbon emissions in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. However, green taxation has the weakest inhibitory effect on carbon emissions in the upstream region and is slightly stronger in the middle reaches, with the strongest inhibitory effect on carbon emission in the downstream region. (3) From the perspective of the action path, the level of green technology innovation has a significant partial mediating effect. Green taxation mainly realizes carbon emission reductions by improving the level of urban green technology innovation, and its intermediary effect accounts for 17.6% of the total effect of green taxation on regional carbon emissions and 15.6% of the total effect of green taxation on per capita carbon emission intensity. (4) Further research shows that the emission reduction effect of green taxation is also influenced by the level of urban greening, showing a single threshold effect. Before reaching the threshold value, the inhibition effect of green taxation on carbon emission levels is relatively strong, and after crossing the threshold value, the inhibition effect is weakened.