The Impact Of The Digital Economy On Regional Carbon Emissions

In the face of the severe global climate situation,China has fulfilled its carbon emission reduction obligations with a positive attitude,announcing the goals and visions of "carbon peaking" and "carbon neutrality".As "carbon peaking" and "carbon neutrality" have become hot spots of social concern,policy documents such as the "14th Five-Year Plan for Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction" and the "14th Five-Year Plan" for the development of circular economy have been successively issued at the national level to support the realization of the "dual carbon" goal.Compared with other countries,China’s realization of the "dual carbon" goal has great challenges,not only the carbon emission reduction time is short,but also the total carbon emission reduction is large.At the same time,the digital economy is not only of great significance for optimizing and upgrading traditional industries and giving birth to emerging industries,but also an important engine for promoting high-quality economic development and playing a vital role in future development.In this context,promoting the deep integration of digital economy and low-carbon economy may become an important opportunity to achieve the "dual carbon" goal.Therefore,studying the impact of digital economy development on regional carbon emissions has theoretical and practical significance.This paper first reviews the literature related to digital economy and carbon emissions.Secondly,theoretical analysis is carried out,the definition of core concepts such as digital economy and carbon emissions is clarified,the relevant theoretical foundations are reviewed,and the direct effects,indirect effects,spatial effects and regional heterogeneity of the impact of digital economy on regional carbon emissions are analyzed from the theoretical level.Thirdly,the entropy method is used to calculate the comprehensive development index of the digital economy,the IPCC method is used to calculate the total regional carbon emissions,the regional per capita carbon emissions and regional carbon emission intensity are specifically calculated,and the development of the digital economy and regional carbon emissions are analyzed from the dimensions of time and space.On this basis,empirical analysis is carried out,a static panel model is constructed,and benchmark regression is carried out by index and sub-region to test the direct effect of digital economy on regional carbon emissions.An intermediary model was constructed to test whether the digital economy indirectly affected regional carbon emissions through economic,energy and population effects at the national and regional levels.A spatial econometric model was constructed to examine the spatial effect and spatial heterogeneity of the impact of digital economy on regional carbon emissions.Finally,policy recommendations are made based on the findings of the study.Through theoretical and empirical analysis,the following conclusions are drawn:First,the development of digital economy can significantly affect regional carbon emissions.There is an inverted U-shaped relationship between the digital economy and regional per capita carbon emissions,and the development of digital economy can significantly reduce regional carbon emission intensity.Second,the digital economy can indirectly affect regional carbon emissions through economic,energy and population effects.Third,the impact of the digital economy on regional carbon emissions has a spatial spillover effect.Fourth,the impact of the digital economy on regional carbon emissions is heterogeneous.This heterogeneity is reflected in direct effects,mediation effects,and spatial spillover effects.Based on the above conclusions,it is recommended that: First,improve the quality of the development of the digital economy.Second,develop the digital economy according to local conditions.Third,there is a targeted promotion of low-carbon development.Fourth,improve the efficiency of regional digital cooperation.