Promotion or inhibition? Understanding the impact of public environmental concerns on energy transition in China

It is the theme of today to achieve the “dual carbon target” and promote sustainable development through energy transition (ET). Considering the importance of public environmental concern (PEC) in social operation, this study examines the impact of PEC on ET using panel data of Chinese cities spanning from 2011 to 2019 and a fixed-effects model. A proxy variable for PEC is constructed using the Baidu search index of 25 specific environmental keywords. The results of our study suggest that PEC can facilitate ET and that the effects are heterogeneous, i.e., PEC is more likely to promote ET in central and western China. Investigations of the mechanism test show that PEC mainly facilitates ET by promoting industry structure upgrade and green technology innovation. Furthermore, the results indicated that government environmental concerns (GECs) have a moderating effect on the PEC–ET nexus. The threshold analysis reveals that PEC can have a positive effect only in areas where GEC is relatively low, indicating that PEC can have a positive impact on ET when GEC is absent and acts as a complement to formal environmental regulation. These results provide important insights into strategies for advancing sustainable development and promoting ET in the aspect of government regulation, particularly focusing on synergies between the government, industry, corporate, and the public.