Impact Of Digital Economy Development On China’s Carbon Emission Intensity

In recent years,the rapid increase in greenhouse gas emissions,mainly carbon dioxide,has brought enormous challenges to human survival and development,and controlling carbon emissions has become a widely recognized goal globally.As a responsible major country,China has set the ambitious climate action goals of reaching peak emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060.At the same time,as the world’s largest developing country,China’s economic development task is still very arduous,and promoting high-quality economic development still faces many challenges.Under the dual pressure of accelerating carbon reduction and achieving highquality economic development,continuously reducing carbon intensity is particularly urgent,and the development of digital economy provides a way and possibility to improve carbon emission performance.Therefore,exploring the impact of digital economy development on China’s carbon emission intensity is of great significance.Based on theoretical research,this article constructs a comprehensive evaluation system for the digital economy from three dimensions:digital infrastructure,digital technology application,and digital industry development.The entropy method is used to compile the digital economy development index of 30 provinces in China from 2011 to 2019.Then,using panel data models,the article examines the effects and influencing mechanisms of digital economy development on carbon emission intensity.The research results show that:(1)China’s digital economy is developing rapidly during the sample period,but there are significant regional differences,showing a distribution pattern of"East high,Central flat,and West low."(2)Both the overall digital economy development index and the three major sub-indexes show that the digital economy can significantly reduce China’s carbon emission intensity.(3)The inhibitory effect of the digital economy on carbon emission intensity has regional heterogeneity.The negative impact of the digital economy on carbon emission intensity is the largest in the central region,followed by the eastern region,and weaker in the western region.(4)The mediating effect model analysis shows that developing the digital economy can reduce carbon emission intensity through two paths:optimizing energy structure and enhancing innovation capabilities.Based on the empirical results,this article proposes targeted policy recommendations for better leveraging the role of the digital economy in reducing China’s carbon emission intensity.