Assessment of Regional Differences in the Implementation of the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan in China

Air pollution is still an important risk factor that endangers the health of Chinese people, leading the government to implement a series of policies to address air pollution. This study takes the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan (APPCAP) proposed in 2013 as the object and uses the combined data set of China’s 2000–2019 economic panel data and PM2.5 remote sensing data to analyse the implementation effect of the policy by the multiperiod difference-in-differences method, considering regional heterogeneity. The results show that the implementation of the APPCAP significantly reduced the PM2.5 concentration in China, and the effect was stronger in the Yangtze River Delta region. Future governance policies should further consider local characteristics and determine pollution control goals and measures according to local conditions.