The circular carbon economy is receiving increasing research attention as an essential tool for reducing carbon emissions and mitigating climate change. However, there is no research on the literature distribution and the current situation of the circular carbon economy studies. This paper presents a scientometric analysis of 1452 academic papers on the circular carbon economy and their references from 2010–2021 using the Citespace visualization network. The results show that research on the circular carbon economy has experienced a relatively gradual growth from 2010 to 2016, followed by an explosive growth from 2016 to 2021. Research cooperation among countries is close, forming a relatively concentrated cooperation network, while the core author group has not yet formed. Furthermore, the research on circular carbon economy strongly correlates with relevant international hotspots and national policy changes, reflecting the instrumental characteristics of circular carbon economy research. We summarized three main research topics through keywords clustering. In addition, we point out the future research directions from technical progress considering industry differences and cooperation, multiple environmental policies and legal system construction, interregional and international cooperation, etc., from an institutional research perspective. This article provides an essential and valuable reference for related research.

Based on the policy text from 1999 to 2022, this paper quantitatively analyzes photovoltaic power, wind power and new energy policies in mainland China by keyword capture and policy strength and establishes a spatial Durbin model to study the carbon reduction effects. The results show the following: (1) The development of new energy is primarily project-based and concentrated in rural areas. (2) Financial support is a double-edged sword. (3) After the implementation of the Renewable Energy Law in 2015, the change trend in policy quantity, total policy intensity, and average policy intensity is generally consistent. (4) The increase in the strength of new energy policies has effectively reduced the intensity of provincial carbon dioxide emissions. (5) New energy policies introduced in a single region are less effective in reducing carbon emissions than joint regional regulation. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the quality and coordination of new energy policies through the effective convergence of policies and regular evaluations to enhance the positive guidance of the policies. Policy measures for new energy are refined in three areas: improving the amount and quality of new energy policies, strengthening new energy policies and establishing cooperation mechanisms for the cross-regional consumption of new energy.

Eco-industrial development not only reduces pollutant emissions but also effectively addresses ecological and environmental pressures. Using panel data for 276 Chinese cities from 2006 to 2021, this study employs a Difference-in-Differences model combined with the Propensity Score Matching method to empirically examine the impact of eco-industrial development on air pollution, taking China’s National Eco-Industrial Demonstration Parks as the empirical setting. The analysis further includes robustness tests, heterogeneity analyses, and mechanism examinations focusing on green innovation and green investment. The results show that: (1) the establishment of National Eco-industrial Demonstration Parks significantly reduces PM_2.5 emissions and improves environmental quality in host cities; (2) eco-industrial development mitigates air pollution by promoting green innovation and enhancing green investments; (3) the pollution reduction effect of eco-industrial development is more pronounced in central and western cities, industrial cities, open cities, and regions with lower levels of green development.