The Low-Carbon Alternative: The Effects of The West-East Gas Pipeline Project On Energy Savings And Emission Reduction — Based On Empirical Research In Hubei Province

Abstract

\n The extensive use of natural gas has created new opportunities for low-carbon primary energy composition, and has eased the peak value of carbon emissions before the complete transition to clean energy. To explore the impact of natural gas access on energy conservation and emission reduction in inland areas of developing countries, this study examines the policy intervention effects of the West-East Gas Pipeline Project in Hubei Province. In this paper, the causal inference of multi-bandwidth and multi-core analysis is made with breakpoint regression, and then the core conclusion of the counterfactual analysis is proven to be robust by using the synthetic control method. The results show that the transportation of natural gas from west-to-east to Hubei Province can reduce the intensity of carbon emissions, which demonstrates that it is an effective low-carbon energy alternative. The West-East Gas Pipeline Project can meet the demands of a large number of energy shortages caused by the rise of the manufacturing industry and can solve the energy bottleneck in the development process in the central and eastern regions of China. The West-East Gas Pipeline Project has ensured the coordinated development of the western, central and eastern regions in China, has stabilized the economic growth rate, and has achieved high-quality growth. These achievements can serve as a reference for guiding the energy conservation and emission reduction work of a considerable number of gas-importing central provinces.