What drives green development in China: public pressure or the willingness of local government?

With China already committing to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060, green development is urgent. It is necessary to clarify the driving mechanism of green development to design the path of green development scientifically. From the internal perspective of the green development system, this paper divides the green development power into external power and internal power. The external power is the political pressure formed by the public’s green demands. The internal power is the endogenous power of green development transformed by the political promotion willingness of local government leaders. The research shows that (1) the green demands from the public and the accompanying political pressure can form the driving force of green development. (2) The political promotion intention has not been transformed into the endogenous driving force to promote green development in the research period. (3) The external driving force of public appeal is closely related to economic development, income and consumption levels, and education. This paper enriches the research literatures on the driving mechanism of green development and provides theoretical and practical exploration for the driving path of green development.