Impacts of environmental regulation and energy misallocation on energy environmental efficiency

Accompanied by the sharp contradiction between environmental degradation and energy depletion, how to effectively enhance energy environmental efficiency becomes a crucial issue in China. To address this, an analysis is conducted by using China’s provincial data from 2001 to 2019. Firstly, energy environmental efficiency (EEE) is measured, and subsequently, a comprehensive framework that considers environmental regulation, energy misallocation, and EEE is established to explore their interrelations. Furthermore, the mediating effect, moderating effect, and regional heterogeneity effect are investigated. The results reveal that: (1) The impact of both command-and-control environmental regulation (CER) and market-oriented environmental regulation (MER) on EEE follows a U-shaped nonlinear pattern, characterized by an initial suppression and a subsequent promotion. (2) Energy misallocation significantly impedes EEE and serves as a mediator in the relationship between environmental regulation and EEE. Also, it negatively moderates the effect of CER on EEE. (3) The U-shaped relationship between CER and EEE is exclusively observed in the western region, whereas the U-type connection between MER and EEE is significant in the eastern region. (4) Energy misallocation restricts EEE in the central and western regions, and remarkably, it contributes to EEE in the eastern region. Finally, policy recommendations are proposed.