Quantifying the Synergy of China's Carbon Neutrality Policies Through Policy Documents

Carbon neutrality is a crucial pathway to addressing global climate challenges. To achieve the goal of carbon neutrality by 2060, the Chinese government has introduced a series of policies at various levels. Synergizing between these different levels of government and policy domains is crucial for smoothly advancing carbon neutrality goals. Additionally, policy documents provide a lens through which to observe policy synergy. This study defines a framework for assessing the synergy of carbon neutrality policies from the perspectives of policy content, policy issuer, and the temporal dimension. Utilizing text mining techniques and network analysis methods, the study quantifies policy synergy based on 224 carbon neutrality policies released by the Chinese government. The findings reveal high content synergy for the policy tool and goal dimensions, with network densities of 0.78 and 0.71, respectively. Regarding issuer synergy, the synergy across different regions in China varies significantly, ranging from 0.653 to 0.912. Meanwhile, as policy topics evolved, the temporal synergy increased from 0.88 to 0.90. These conclusions provide robust support for policy formulation, offering valuable insights to realize global carbon neutrality goals more efficiently and comprehensively.