Knowledge Mapping, Research Hotspots and Theoretical Framework of “Dual-carbon” Policy

Using three rounds of literature screening and expert selection, a bibliometric visualization and content analysis of 402 (in Chinese) and 2837 (in English) core journal articles on “dual-carbon” policies was conducted. The results show that the policy path of “dual-carbon” mainly includes four aspects: cleaner energy transition, greener industry upgrading, carbon trading market and ecological protection and carbon sinks. In addition, social justice, legal system, hydrogen energy, energy storage and CCUS are also research hot spots of “dual-carbon” policies. On this basis, a theoretical framework integrating “policy mechanism—policy type —policy path” was constructed to clarify the elemental structure, interaction mechanism and internal logic of “dual-carbon” policies. Among them, policy mechanism aims to clarify why and how to formulate and implement the “dual-carbon” policy system, including four elements: policy actors, situations, objectives and rules. Policy types are the results of policy mechanism, including institutional regulation, market mechanisms and technological innovation, and clarifying policy types can help provide direction for the specific path of “dual-carbon” policy. In light of this, policy path is the specific action direction of “dual-carbon” policy implementation under different policy types, including energy transformation, industrial upgrading, carbon trading market, ecological carbon sink, and artificial carbon sequestration. This study enriches the theoretical research on “dual-carbon” policy science, and helps policy makers to understand and grasp the theoretical framework and development path of “dual-carbon” policy in a systematic way, and provides theoretical and practical reference for subsequent policy formulation, implementation and optimization.