Did the energy transition effectively alleviate multidimensional stresses of the social system? An evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in Chinese cities

Abstract

Under the urgent demand for global climate governance, energy transition, as a core strategy, had garnered significant attention for its societal impacts. Existing literature primarily focused on the economic and environmental ramifications, while inadequate exploration of its societal implications and incomplete mechanism testing persisted. Based on panel data of 256 Chinese cities from 2010 to 2021, the propensity score matching-difference in difference method was employed to comprehensively examine the multifaceted effects of energy transition on employment, public health and urban-rural income disparities in social systems. The moderation effect model was utilized to verify the moderating roles of resource endowments and technological innovation. Lastly, the spatial spillover effects and regional heterogeneity of impacts were analyzed. The findings indicate that: (1) Energy transition significantly contributed to optimizing employment structures, improving public health, and narrowing urban-rural income gaps. (2) Policy effects were modulated by resource endowments and technological innovation. (3) The influence of energy transition exhibited varying degrees of spatial spillovers across cities with different geographical distances. Additionally, the impacts of energy transition demonstrated regional heterogeneity. It offered a new perspective for understanding the societal effects of energy transition. Recommendations were proposed based on the conclusions.