Can the construction of low-carbon cities reduce haze pollution?

Based on the relation analysis through the Vector Autoregressive (VAR) model, this study investigates the effect of the construction of low-carbon cities on haze pollution in China by using the Difference in Differences-Propensity Score Matching (PSM-DID) method. In addition, we examine the influencing mechanism of low-carbon city construction on haze pollution, namely technical innovation effect, industrial structure effect and population quality effect. The results show that the construction of low-carbon cities has not effectively reduced haze pollution in pilot cities. Further study shows that the failure of the reduction effect on haze pollution may lie in the ineffectiveness of technical innovation effect and population quality effect of low-carbon city construction, as well as the regional heterogeneity. Finally, we propose several recommendations in terms of overall construction strategies, green development of technology and industry, and regional heterogeneous policies to better alleviate China's haze pollution through the construction of low-carbon cities.