Contributing to carbon peak: Estimating the causal impact of eco‐industrial parks on low‐carbon development in China

Abstract Low‐carbon development is associated with eco‐industrial parks (EIPs), but whether a causal relationship exists is unknown. A growing body of evidence from environmental engineering studies suggests that EIPs reduce carbon emissions, but few economic studies have assessed the causality, channels, and heterogeneity of this relationship. This study uses the staggered difference‐in‐difference method to construct a quasi‐natural experiment to assess the impact of national‐level EIPs on low‐carbon development. The empirical results reveal that EIPs help achieve low‐carbon development in China. Specifically, EIPs reduce the carbon intensity of the pilot cities by 7.2%. The channel analysis reveals that EIPs advance technological innovation, stimulate the Porter effect, and upgrade the industrial structure. Regional heterogeneity analysis further reveals that EIPs are more conducive to low‐carbon development in pilot cities in southern China, cities along the coast, and cities on the east of the Hu line. Further analysis shows that EIPs depress the peak of the environmental Kuznets curve and help achieve the turning point early. Moreover, this study offers fresh cases and patterns for the construction of EIPs in China. This study contributes to an in‐depth understanding of the role of EIPs in the low‐carbon transition in the largest developing country and provides inspiration for further policy optimization.