Abstract To advance sustainable urban development, China has established parallel environmental initiatives through the low-carbon city pilot and new energy demonstration city pilot programs. This study investigates the mechanisms through which dual-pilot policy implementation affects municipal energy utilization patterns and examines the policy impact across three dimensions: assessing synergistic effects produced by dual-pilot implementation, identifying transmission mechanisms through policies facilitated energy transition, and analyzing heterogeneous effects across different regional and industrial contexts. Using panel data from 280 Chinese cities (2007–2019) and employing a multiperiod difference-in-differences approach, the empirical results indicate that simultaneous implementation of both policies yields superior results in facilitating energy transition compared to implementing either policy individually. The policy operates through dual pathways—technology-driven pathways (enhancing green innovation capacity) and governance-driven pathways (strengthening government environmental fiscal commitment). Heterogeneity analysis reveals differential policy effectiveness across regions and industrial bases, with particularly pronounced effects observed in central regions and old industrial base cities.
ZHAO et al. (2026) studied this question.