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The global‐scale empirical analysis of how renewable energy policies (REPs) affect carbon emissions and the mediating role of renewable energy development (RED) in this mechanism remains underexplored. To fill this research gap, we extracted and organized REPs data from IEA's databases for 135 countries until 2018 and conducted empirical analyses of these issues. We find that: (a) REPs significantly reduce global carbon emissions, especially through regulatory, economic, and R&D policies. (b) REPs' effectiveness in mitigating carbon emissions is enhanced by robust energy infrastructure, strong control of corruption, and adherence to the rule of law. Besides, the balance of REPs types does not influence their efficiency, but REPs prioritizing certain renewable energy (RE) types aligns better with carbon reduction goals. (c) RED displays a Janus‐faced influence on REPs' carbon reduction effect …