Do Green Electricity Certificates (GECs) Increase the Share of Renewable Energy? Evidence from China

With the fast development of global renewables, green energy policy is currently a popular research topic. This paper emphasizes empirical methods to evaluate the Green Electricity Certificate (GECs) trading policy in China and explore the policy efficiency and future implementation by innovatively using the different-in-difference model. The findings are surprising, as the role of trading policy in accelerating the share of renewables in those provinces is not apparent, and the negative spillover effect promotes the development of wind and solar power in non-trading provinces. The Chinese government should carefully consider the real market demand of GECs and encourage renewable energy transition by more feasible and efficient policy instruments.