New energy demonstration city pilot and green energy consumption: Evidences from China

This paper measures the green energy consumption levels of 30 provinces and 221 cities in China from 2009 to 2019 by using the entropy method and comprehensive evaluation model. The natural breakpoint method is applied to divide the data into three intervals corresponding to the low-level interval, medium level interval, and high-level interval and explore the spatial distribution pattern of green energy consumption levels. Secondly, a difference-in-difference model is built to assess the effect of the establishment of new energy demonstration cities on green energy consumption levels. The establishment of new energy demonstration cities significantly contributed to improving the level of green energy consumption, The construction of new energy demonstration cities can have a positive impact on the level of green energy consumption through three intermediary channels: technological innovation, industrial structure, and special financial support. (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.