Do Environmental Regulations Facilitate a Low-Carbon Transformation in China’s Resource-Based Cities?

Resource-based cities (RBCs) are not only important for ensuring national resource and energy security, but they also face serious ecological and environmental problems. To achieve China’s carbon peaking and neutrality goals in the coming years, RBCs’ achievement of a low-carbon transformation has become increasingly significant. The core of this study is an investigation as to whether governance, including environmental regulations, can facilitate the low-carbon transformation of RBCs. Based on RBC data from 2003 to 2019, we establish a dynamic panel model to research the influence and mechanism of environmental regulations on low-carbon transformation. We found that China’s environmental regulations facilitate a low-carbon transformation in RBCs. Mechanism analysis identified that the environmental regulations facilitate the low-carbon transformation in RBCs by strengthening foreign direct investment, enhancing green technology innovation and promoting industrial structure upgrading. Heterogeneity analysis found that the environmental regulations play a greater role in facilitating the low-carbon transformation of RBCs in regions with more developed economies and less dependence on resources. Our research provides theoretical and policy implications for environmental regulations for the low-carbon transformation of RBCs in China, applicable to other resource-based areas.