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<p>As the world’s leading carbon emitter, China is committed to advancing global energy conservation and emission reduction efforts. Cities in China play a crucial role in promoting green and low-carbon development. They are not only critical economic units but also key drivers in achieving China’s “double carbon” goals. Additionally, the digital economy (DIG) has emerged as a significant force for driving high-quality economic and social development, making it essential for cities to achieve sustainable and green transformation. This paper focuses on exploring the impact of the DIG on the carbon reduction capacity (CRC) and the underlying mechanisms using panel data from 281 prefecture-level cities in China spanning the years 2006 to 2019. This paper constructs models incorporating spatial measures, mediating effects, and panel thresholds to examine the potential non-linear characteristics of the DIG’s impact. This paper’s findings include the following: the CRC and the DIG exhibited an upward trend during the study period in China. The DIG has a significant positive effect on improving the CRC, with industrial structure upgrading playing a mediating role in this impact. There is a threshold effect in the contribution of the DIG to the CRC. When the DIG exceeds the threshold value of −1.8917, its impact coefficient on the CRC increases from 0.2208 to 0.2366. The local DIG can positively spill over to improve the CRC of surrounding areas through spatial effects. The findings of this paper have important implications for other developing countries and large carbon-emitting countries in effectively implementing carbon reduction policies and promoting low-carbon urban development. They also provide valuable policy references for addressing global climate change and achieving high-quality development in China.</p>

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A study of the carbon emission reduction effects of the digital economy: evidence from China’s prefecture-level cities

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年12月11日

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  • Ruoxi Zhong,
  • Qiang He,
  • Xin Deng,
  • Yanbin Qi

摘要

As the world’s leading carbon emitter, China is committed to advancing global energy conservation and emission reduction efforts. Cities in China play a crucial role in promoting green and low-carbon development. They are not only critical economic units but also key drivers in achieving China’s “double carbon” goals. Additionally, the digital economy (DIG) has emerged as a significant force for driving high-quality economic and social development, making it essential for cities to achieve sustainable and green transformation. This paper focuses on exploring the impact of the DIG on the carbon reduction capacity (CRC) and the underlying mechanisms using panel data from 281 prefecture-level cities in China spanning the years 2006 to 2019. This paper constructs models incorporating spatial measures, mediating effects, and panel thresholds to examine the potential non-linear characteristics of the DIG’s impact. This paper’s findings include the following: the CRC and the DIG exhibited an upward trend during the study period in China. The DIG has a significant positive effect on improving the CRC, with industrial structure upgrading playing a mediating role in this impact. There is a threshold effect in the contribution of the DIG to the CRC. When the DIG exceeds the threshold value of −1.8917, its impact coefficient on the CRC increases from 0.2208 to 0.2366. The local DIG can positively spill over to improve the CRC of surrounding areas through spatial effects. The findings of this paper have important implications for other developing countries and large carbon-emitting countries in effectively implementing carbon reduction policies and promoting low-carbon urban development. They also provide valuable policy references for addressing global climate change and achieving high-quality development in China.