FROM SOFT GUIDANCE TO REAL EMISSION REDUCTION: IMPLEMENTATION STATUS AND EFFECT EVALUATION OF ENERGY SAVING INCENTIVE POLICIES FOR CHINESE ENTERPRISES
Keywords:
Carbon neutrality, Energy efficiency policy, Green finance, Industrial energy saving, Policy evaluation, Small and medium sized enterprisesAbstract
Enterprises are the main energy users in China. Their saving behaviour decides whether national efficiency targets can be reached. Over the past four decades China has built an incentive system for enterprise energy saving. The system now contains fiscal subsidies, tax relief, green finance, market mechanisms and credit assessment. This paper reviews how the system evolved and how well it works in practice. A five layer analytical framework is proposed. The framework links policy input, delivery channel, firm response, outcome and feedback in one chain. A scoring system with fifteen indicators is designed for the macro level and the micro level. Policy texts, official statistics and published programme lists from 1980 to 2025 are compiled. The results show clear aggregate gains. National energy intensity fell by more than 26 percent against the 2015 level, and more than 3000 national green factories were certified. The results also show a structural gap. The take up rate of subsidy and green finance among small and micro firms stays below 35 percent. Marginal returns of the classic subsidy model are falling. Four optimisation paths are proposed for layered design, agency coordination, full cycle supervision and market based incentives.References
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