Does the Sports Consumption City Pilot Policy Reduce Carbon Intensity? Quasi-Natural Experimental Evidence from Chinese Cities

The consumption of sports has grown to be a significant factor in the current industrial structure change and urban economic growth. However, carbon emissions caused by sports consumption activities have received little attention. 290 prefecture-level cities in China between 2011 and 2022 serve as the research samples for this study, which uses the sports consumption cities in China pilot policy (SCC) as a quasi-natural experiment. The impact effect and mechanism of the SCC on China’s carbon emission intensity are empirically tested using the difference-in-differences (DID) model. An assessment system for the hard and soft environments of sports consumption is built to investigate its mediating role, and the elements of sports consumption behavior that influence carbon emission intensity are included into the analytical framework from both the supply and demand sides. The results show that: (1) The conclusion that the SCC has significantly weakened the carbon emission intensity of cities remains valid after multiple tests. (2) Both the soft and hard environments have a mediating effect and lessen the influence of pilot initiatives on the intensity of carbon emissions. (3) Heterogeneity analysis indicates that this influence process is more significant in the central and eastern regions, while the western region failed the significance test. At the same time, the effect of the central city is greater than that of the peripheral cities. This study offers a new perspective for understanding the carbon emission impact of sports consumption and provides corresponding policy suggestions for the sustainable development of urban sports management.