The PSM–DID regression results.

Environmental public interest litigation (EPIL) is a significant part of the judicial system; it is aimed at strengthening judicial protections and safeguarding public interests. Based on the quasi-natural experimental setting of China’s EPIL pilot project, this study examines the impact of EPIL on the country’s urban land green use efficiency (ULGUE). The findings show that effectively implementing EPIL enhances ULGUE. Specifically, this policy has led to a 6.6% increase in ULGUE in pilot cities, and its impact has grown stronger over time. Mechanism analysis results show that EPIL mainly enhances ULGUE by strengthening environmental supervision and law enforcement, by increasing public participation in environmental governance, and by promoting green innovation and industrial structure upgrades. Furthermore, heterogeneity analysis revealed that the positive effects of this policy implementation are more pronounced in resource-based cities, cities with open environmental information, and cities with high marketization. This paper provides empirical evidence for the effectiveness of environmental governance via EPIL.

环境公益诉讼（Environmental Public Interest Litigation，EPIL）是司法体系的重要组成部分，旨在强化司法保护、维护公共利益。本研究基于中国环境公益诉讼试点项目的准自然实验场景，考察了EPIL对我国城市土地绿色利用效率（urban land green use efficiency，ULGUE）的影响。研究结果表明，有效落实EPIL可提升城市土地绿色利用效率：具体而言，该政策使试点城市的ULGUE提升了6.6%，且其影响随时间推移逐渐增强。机制分析结果显示，EPIL主要通过强化环境监管与执法、扩大公众参与环境治理以及推动绿色创新与产业结构升级三大路径提升ULGUE。进一步的异质性分析发现，该政策的正向实施效应在资源型城市、环境信息公开城市以及市场化程度较高的城市中更为显著。本文为通过EPIL开展环境治理的有效性提供了实证依据。