Spatial linkages between digital economy and carbon reduction under dual carbon goals
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3846/jbem.2025.24471Abstract
Since announcing its “dual carbon” goals, China has made reducing carbon emissions a top priority. This study utilizes panel data from 285 cities in China, from 2011–2021, to systematically examine the relationship between the digital economy and urban carbon output. It aims to identify their relationship by introducing SDM and DID model. The findings are as follows: (1) Improving the digital economy is essential to significantly lowering carbon output. These benchmark regression results have passed robustness tests. (2) The SDM model results show that the development of the digital economy significantly reduces both total and direct carbon emissions in local cities, and there is a significant spatial spillover effect. (3) The digital economy’s impact on carbon reduction varies greatly by regional distribution and city size, exhibiting significant heterogeneity.
Keywords:
digital economy, carbon emissions reduction, DID, SDM, PSM-DIDHow to Cite
Share
License
Copyright (c) 2025 The Author(s). Published by Vilnius Gediminas Technical University.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
Banalieva, E. R., & Dhanaraj, C. (2019). Internalization theory for the digital economy. Journal of International Business Studies, 50(8), 1372–1387. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-019-00243-7
Beck, T., Levine, R., & Levkov, A. (2010). Big bad banks? The winners and losers from bank deregulation in the United States. The Journal of Finance, 65(5), 1637–1667. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6261.2010.01589.x
Chen, F., Zhao, T., & Liao, Z. (2020). The impact of technology-environmental innovation on CO2 emissions in China’s transportation sector. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27, 29485–29501. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08983-y
Farboodi, M., Mihet, R., Philippon, T., & Veldkamp, L. (2019). Big Data and firm dynamics. AEA Papers and Proceedings, 109, 38–42. https://doi.org/10.1257/pandp.20191001
Gan, C., Yu, J., Zhao, W., & Fan, Y. (2023). Big data industry development and carbon dioxide emissions: A quasi-natural experiment. Journal of Cleaner Production, 422, Article 138590. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.138590
Hao, X., Li, Y., Ren, S., Wu, H., & Hao, Y. (2023). The role of digitalization on green economic growth: Does industrial structure optimization and green innovation matter? Journal of Environmental Management, 325, Article 116504. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116504
Huang, Y., Hu, M., Xu, J., & Jin, Z. (2023). Digital transformation and carbon intensity reduction in transportation industry: Empirical evidence from a global perspective. Journal of Environmental Management, 344, Article 118541. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118541
Islam, M. M., Shahbaz, M., & Ahmed, F. (2024). Robot race in geopolitically risky environment: Exploring the Nexus between AI-powered tech industrial outputs and energy consumption in Singapore. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 205, Article 123523. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2024.123523
Jacobson, L. S., LaLonde, R. J., & Sullivan, D. G. (1992). Earnings losses of displaced workers (Upjohn Institute Working Paper No. 92–11). W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. https://doi.org/10.17848/wp92-11
Kennedy, S., & Sgouridis, S. (2011). Rigorous classification and carbon accounting principles for low and Zero Carbon Cities. Energy Policy, 39(9), 5259–5268. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2011.05.038
Lange, S., Pohl, J., & Santarius, T. (2020). Digitalization and energy consumption. Does ICT reduce energy demand? Ecological Economics, 176, Article 106760. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2020.106760
Liang, L., & Li, Y. (2023). How does government support promote digital economy development in China? The mediating role of regional innovation ecosystem resilience. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 188, Article 122328. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2023.122328
Luo, M., Qin, S., Chang, H., & Zhang, A. (2019). Disaggregation method of carbon emission: A case study in Wuhan, China. Sustainability, 11(7), Article 2093. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11072093
Lyu, W., & Liu, J. (2021). Artificial Intelligence and emerging digital technologies in the energy sector. Applied Energy, 303, Article 117615. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.117615
Ma, D., & Zhu, Q. (2022). Innovation in emerging economies: Research on the digital economy driving high-quality green development. Journal of Business Research, 145, 801–813. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.03.041
Manne, A. S., & Richels, R. G. (1999). The Kyoto Protocol: A cost-effective strategy for meeting environmental objectives? The Energy Journal, 20(1_suppl), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol20-NoSI-2
MAP Technology Review Center. (2022). GS (2022)1873 [Map].
Sun, R., Wang, K., Wang, X., & Zhang, J. (2021). China’s carbon emission trading scheme and firm performance. Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, 58(3), 837–851. https://doi.org/10.1080/1540496X.2021.1925535
Tian, J., Yang, H., Xiang, P., Liu, D., & Li, L. (2016). Drivers of agricultural carbon emissions in Hunan Province, China. Environmental Earth Sciences, 75, Article 121. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-015-4777-9
Tseng, S.-W. (2019). Analysis of energy-related carbon emissions in Inner Mongolia, China. Sustainability, 11(24), Article 7008. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11247008
Wang, L., & Shao, J. (2023). Digital economy, entrepreneurship and energy efficiency. Energy, 269, Article 126801. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2023.126801
Wang, P., Liu, L., Tan, X., & Liu, Z. (2019). Key challenges for China’s carbon emissions trading program. WIREs Climate Change, 10(5). https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.599
Wang, Y., Ma, W., Tu, W., Zhao, Q., & Yu, Q. (2013). A study on carbon emissions in Shanghai 2000–2008, China. Environmental Science & Policy, 27, 151–161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2012.12.005
Wang, Z., Zhu, Y., Zhu, Y., & Shi, Y. (2016). Energy structure change and carbon emission trends in China. Energy, 115, 369–377. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2016.08.066
Wu, H., Xue, Y., Hao, Y., & Ren, S. (2021). How does internet development affect energy-saving and emission reduction? Evidence from China. Energy Economics, 103, Article 105577. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2021.105577
Wu, J., Guo, Q., Yuan, J., Lin, J., Xiao, L., & Yang, D. (2019). An integrated approach for allocating carbon emission quotas in China’s emissions trading system. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 143, 291–298. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.01.001
Wu, L., Jia, X., Gao, L., & Zhou, Y. (2021). Effects of population flow on regional carbon emissions: Evidence from China. Environmental Science Pollution Research, 28, 62628–62639. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-15131-7
Yang, L., Wang, Y., Han, S., Li, C., Liu, Y., & Ren, Q. (2017). Carbon dioxide emissions from commuter traffic in Xi’an, China. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers – Transport, 170(1), 8–18. https://doi.org/10.1680/jtran.14.00078
Yang, X., Jiang, P., & Pan, Y. (2020). Does China’s carbon emission trading policy have an employment double dividend and a Porter effect? Energy Policy, 142, Article 111492. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2020.111492
Yin, S., & Yu, Y. (2022). An adoption-implementation framework of digital green knowledge to improve the performance of digital green innovation practices for industry 5.0. Journal of Cleaner Production, 363, Article 132608. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.132608
Yu, H., & Zhu, Q. (2022). Impact and mechanism of digital economy on China’s carbon emissions: from the perspective of spatial heterogeneity. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30, 9642–9657. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-22552-5
Zhang, W., Liu, X., Wang, D., & Zhou, J. (2022). Digital economy and carbon emission performance: Evidence at China’s city level. Energy Policy, 165, Article 112927. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2022.112927
Zhang, W., You, J., & Lin, W. (2021). Internet plus and China industrial system’s low-carbon development. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 151, Article 111499. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2021.111499
Zhong, S., Xin, C., Shen, H., & Chen, X. (2021). Effects of land urbanization and internet penetration on environmental sustainability: A cross-regional study of China. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28, 66751–66771. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-15226-1
Zhu, T.-T., Peng, H.-R., Zhang, Y.-J., & Liu, J.-Y. (2021). Does higher education development facilitate carbon emissions reduction in China. Applied Economics, 53(47), 5490–5502. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2021.1923641
View article in other formats
Published
Issue
Section
Copyright
Copyright (c) 2025 The Author(s). Published by Vilnius Gediminas Technical University.
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.