Are the later-urbanized regions more energy-efficient in the building sector? Evidence from the difference-in-differences model

Urbanization has an important impact on building energy consumption. Unfortunately, whether the laterurbanized provincial regions are more energy-efficient than those early-urbanized regions in the building sector is still unclear. This study innovatively adopts the difference-in-differences (DID) model to examine the event effect of urbanization on building energy intensity with China's provincial evidence from 2000-2015. Moreover, its influence mechanism is identified with the mediating effect model. Results demonstrate that: (1) The building energy intensity is higher in provincial regions where the urbanization rate reached 45% earlier, indicating that the later-urbanized regions are more energy-efficient. (2) Considering heterogeneity, the event of urbanization rate reaching 45% contributes positively to building energy intensity in the eastern and central regions, but the effect in the western region is insignificant. This can further validate the later-mover advantage of the urbanization. (3) Regarding influence mechanism, urbanization can drive building energy intensity by increasing the proportion of the tertiary industry and population density or reducing the proportion of building coal consumption and the plot ratio of the urban area. This study can facilitate the related theoretical and practical exploration of the event effect of urbanization on energy consumption, which is conducive to formulating differentiated energy-conservation strategies.

Automated summary

This study uses the difference-in-differences model to analyze provincial data in China and innovatively explores the impact of urbanization on building energy intensity. The results demonstrate that later-urbanized regions have higher building energy intensity compared to early-urbanized regions, indicating greater energy efficiency. Additionally, the study finds that urbanization has a positive impact on building energy intensity in the eastern and central regions, but this effect is insignificant in the western region. The influence mechanism of urbanization on building energy intensity is through the increase in the proportion of the tertiary industry and population density, or the decrease in the proportion of building coal consumption and urban area plot ratio.