How does regional policy coordination help achieve the low-carbon development?: a study of theoretical mechanisms and empirical analysis from China

In the process of achieving China's "Dual Carbon" goals, policy coordination serves as a crucial driving force in breaking regional administrative barriers and promoting emission reductions. Based on 7462 policy texts and panel data from 31 provinces in China, we utilize the BERTopic model, Social Network Analysis and the STIRPAT model to analyze the theoretical mechanism and carbon emission reduction effect of regional policy coordination. The results are as follows: (1) In China, the essence of realizing the national "Dual Carbon" goals is "institutional collective action". The cross-border feature of the policy network is the key to solving the inherent problems of regional carbon emission reduction publicity and externality. (2) During the study period, the network density of regional policy coordination first increased and then gradually stabilized, presenting a state of "strong-tie" in the eastern region and a relatively "weak-tie" in the central, western, and northeastern regions. (3) Regional policy coordination has a significant indirect carbon emission reduction effect, but it must interact with increased financial investment, optimized industrial structure, and reduced energy intensity. (4) Due to different regional development strategies, the emission reduction pathways through policy coordination will also exhibit heterogeneity. Based on the research findings, we propose to strengthen regional policy coordination and take it as the main line to guide inter-regional carbon emission reduction governance.