<p>Based on the new era of green development, this paper using panel data from 254 cities (2006–2022), this study treats the construction of innovative cities and national intellectual property model cities as a quasi-natural experiment and employs a multi-period DID method to empirically test the pollution reduction and carbon emission reduction effects of the “innovation-driven + property rights protection” dual pilot policy. The results show: (1) Compared to non-dual pilot cities, dual pilot cities significantly reduce carbon and pollutant emissions without affecting economic development. This result holds robust after robustness checks. (2) The policy’s effects exhibit significant heterogeneity, with eastern cities showing stronger effects, and resource-based cities performing better than non-resource-based cities. (3) The dual pilot policy primarily promotes pollution and carbon reduction in cities through three mechanisms: fostering green technological innovation, enhancing talent agglomeration, and improving the efficiency of resource allocation. Additionally, the dual pilot policy has clear spatial spillover effects, reducing emissions both locally and in neighboring areas. Further research finds that dual pilot policy is more effective than single pilot policies, and the synergy of “innovation-driven + property rights protection” results in a “1 + 1 &gt; 2” effect, with a more significant reduction when the national intellectual property model city pilot precedes the innovative city construction.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>