The construction policy of "Zero-Waste City" can improve the utilization level of solid waste resources and is an important way to promote the sustainable development of cities.. Utilizing panel data encompassing 286 prefecture-level and above cities in China from 2008 to 2023, this study employs the ZWC policy as a quasi-natural experiment. A Difference-in-Differences (DID) model is constructed to empirically examine the policy's impact on achieving both a quantitative reduction and qualitative improvement in urban carbon emissions. The findings reveal that the ZWC policy exerts a significant positive effect on lowering total urban carbon emissions and enhancing carbon total factor productivity, thereby effectively promoting the dual objectives of quantitative reduction and qualitative improvement. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the emission reduction and quality enhancement effects are more pronounced in central and western regions, higher-tier cities, and non-resource-based cities. Mechanism analysis demonstrates that the policy facilitates the dual carbon objectives by strengthening public environmental awareness, elevating green technology innovation capability, and boosting energy use efficiency. Furthermore, digital inclusive finance and government debt levels exhibit positive and negative moderating effects, respectively, on the policy's effectiveness in driving the quantitative reduction and qualitative improvement of carbon emissions. Extended analysis shows that the ZWC policy construction policy has a significant enhancing effect on improving urban environmental pollution and achieving the co-benefits of pollution and carbon reduction. This study provides critical insights to inform the optimization of the ZWC policy initiative and to advance the integrated governance of solid waste with climate objectives, thereby contributing to the realization of China's carbon neutrality and peaking targets.
LI Wei
,
CHEN Jian-guo
,
LI Jin-hu
. The impact of "Zero-Waste City" Development on the "Reduction in Quantity and Improvement in Quality" of urban carbon emissions in China[J]. Urban Problems, 2025
, 361(8)
: 59
-72
.
DOI: 10.13239/j.bjsshkxy.cswt.250807
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