How energy service companies moderate the impact of industrialization and urbanization on carbon emissions in China?

Energy service companies (ESCOs) have emerged to carry out energy efficiency retrofit projects, playing an essential role in mitigating carbon dioxide (CO) emissions in China. However, it remains unclear how exactly ESCOs contribute to CO mitigation during urbanization and industrialization. We conducted regression analyses on data collected in 29 provinces in China as the first case study to investigate the moderating effect of ESCOs in relationships between urbanization, industrialization, and CO emissions.