The Road to Eliminating Energy Poverty: Does Renewable Energy Technology Innovation Work?
研究测量了中国30个省份和274个城市的能源贫困水平，发现可再生能源技术创新能显著缓解能源贫困，并验证了可再生能源示范区的政策效果。
Under the constraint of carbon neutrality targets, the issue of energy poverty has garnered increasing concerns. This study aims to measure energy poverty and assess the impact of renewable energy technology innovation in 30 provinces across China. Furthermore, it calculates city-level energy poverty in 274 cities. By examining the influence of renewable energy technology innovation on energy poverty, this study proposes a new approach to accelerate energy transition and promote sustainable development. The regression results, which have undergone rigorous robustness and endogeneity tests, demonstrate that renewable energy technology innovation significantly alleviates energy poverty. Moreover, the treatment effect of policies is determined through the regression control method. Specifically, the cities of Zhangjiakou, Baotou, and Qiqihar are analyzed to provide targeted suggestions for China’s energy development. The treatment effects of both provincial and city-level policies indicate that implementing renewable energy demonstration zones can effectively alleviate energy poverty.