Encouraging technology introduction: pathway to optimizing energy intensity in emerging economies

China is often censured for its high CO2 emissions and energy intensity, and the introduction and diffusion of advanced production technologies provide an important way to reduce energy intensity. The Catalogue of Encouraging Technology Introduction (CETI), implemented in 2006, aims to encourage enterprises to introduce advanced production technologies by granting income tax incentives. Taking the implementation of the CETI as a quasi-natural experiment, this study constructs difference-in-differences models to verify the influence of encouraging technology introduction on energy intensity. The empirical results show that the policy encouraged enterprises to reduce their energy intensity by an average of 8.6%. The mechanism test shows that: First, encouraging technology introduction promotes capital renewal of enterprises, eliminates outdated production capacity, and improves enterprise productivity. Second, the introduction of technology has accelerated the pace of enterprise energy structure transformation. Third, the introduction of advanced production technology provides the foundation for indigenous innovation of local enterprises and promotes the diffusion of advanced production technology in the industry.