This study explores the relationship between public environmental concern and the level of corporate carbon performance based on the data of Chinese A-share listed companies in the industri-al sector from 2011 to 2019.The research finds that public environmental concern significantly im-proves the level of corporate carbon performance,and this conclusion remains robust after additional tests such as the instrumental variables approach.The mechanism analysis shows that public environ-mental concern improves the level of carbon performance in firms through two mechanisms.One is promoting green technological innovation in firms,and the other is optimizing the regional energy con-sumption structure.The heterogeneity analysis indicates that the impact of public environmental con-cern on the level of carbon performance is more pronounced for firms facing stronger local environmen-tal regulations,located in low-carbon pilot cities,and with poorer social responsibility performance,while it exerts a significant effect on both SOEs and non-SOEs.
public environmental concerncorporate carbon performancelegitimacyenviron-mental regulation