Research on the Impact of Green Patenting Activities on Urban Energy Efficiency

Abstract

Under the dual constraints of the “dual carbon” goals and energy security, local governments have taken the improvement of urban energy efficiency as an important tool to promote China’s green and low-carbon transition. This paper uses 270 prefecture-level and above cities in China from 2014 to 2023 as the research sample. It constructs a comprehensive index of urban energy efficiency, and mainly examines the actual impact of green patenting activities on urban energy efficiency. It also further tests the mediating role of energy conservation and environmental protection expenditure between the two. The results show that green patenting activities can significantly improve urban energy efficiency. Energy conservation and environmental protection expenditure plays a partial mediating role in this relationship. These effects are more evident in cities located in eastern China and on the southeast side of the Hu Huanyong Line. Based on these findings, this paper argues that green patenting activities can serve as an important endogenous force for improving urban energy efficiency. Fiscal expenditure can also act as a key policy lever. It can help transform different types of innovation outcomes into actual energy-saving performance. These empirical findings provide useful references for local governments to improve innovation incentives and allocate green fiscal resources more effectively.