<p>Political resources, as a pivotal factor in advancing regional low-carbon development, are essential to addressing the global challenge of climate change and the long-standing imbalance between environmental protection and economic growth. China’s revolutionary old areas, which hold significant political resources due to their historical status, are caught in the dual predicament of environmental pollution and economic underdevelopment, and the national revitalization plans for these areas, which are designed to leverage political resources, have become a key initiative to promote their sustainable development. Using 2000–2019 Chinese county-level data, this study applies a multi-period difference-in-differences model to evaluate the impact of these revitalization plans on carbon emission intensity. Results indicate that the revitalization plans significantly reduce carbon emission intensity specifically, compared with counties not covered by the plans, those included experience an additional 9.97% reduction in carbon emission intensity. This reduction effect is mainly achieved through two channels: facilitating environmental regulation and enhancing energy productivity. Additionally, the inhibitory effect of the revitalization plans on carbon emission intensity shows temporal and spatial heterogeneity. These findings clarify the role of political resources in regional low-carbon development, provide research support for China to further optimize support policies for revolutionary old areas, and offer a replicable case for other developing countries and major carbon-emitting nations to promote low-carbon development in regions rich in political resources, which is of great significance to global carbon reduction and the achievement of sustainable development goals.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>