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[Objective] An accelerated shift toward low carbon energy consumption is required in China due to environmental deterioration and energy security concerns. Clarifying the impact and mechanism of the Energy-consuming Right Trading System (ERTS) on the low-carbon transformation of the provincial energy consumption structure provides important policy implications for the development of market-based environmental regulation. [Methods] This study explored the effects of the ERTS from the perspective of a quasi-natural experiment, taking the four pilot provinces (Zhejiang, Fujian, Henan, and Sichuan) as the experimental group and the remaining 26 provinces (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and Tibet due to missing data) as the control group. The year 2016, when the policy began to be implemented, was seen as the time of policy shocks. The difference-in-differences (DID) method was used to test the relationship between the ERTS and the low-carbon transformation of the energy consumption structure. [Results] (1) The ERTS significantly and positively promoted the low-carbon transformation of the energy consumption structure in the pilot provinces and neighboring provinces. (2) Green technological progress and reduced resource dependency were the main paths for the ERTS to promote the low-carbon transformation of the energy consumption structure, while the mechanisms of industrial structure upgrading and public environmental concerns were not yet available. (3) In central provinces, western provinces, and provinces with low environmental information disclosure levels, the ERTS made a greater contribution to the decarbonization of energy consumption structure. [Conclusion] This study confirmed that the ERTS can achieve a low-carbon transformation of regional energy consumption structure through green technological progress and reduced resource dependency. Therefore, it is recommended to actively and orderly expand the pilot scope of the ERTS. The heterogeneous effects of regional differences and the level of environmental information disclosure on the effectiveness of the ERTS should be fully understood to promote the green and high-quality development of regional economies.