How digital technology contributes to the low-carbon transformation of industries—a segmentation perspective based on three major industries

Digital technology is a crucial tool for driving low-carbon transformation in industries and achieving the ‘dual-carbon’ goals. This study calculates the carbon productivity of the three major industries in each province in China, and empirically examines the direct impact of digital technology on the carbon productivity of the three major industries and its impact mechanism based on the industry comparison perspective. The empirical results confirm that digital technology helps to promote the low-carbon transformation of the secondary and tertiary industries, while the low-carbon transformation of the primary industry is not yet significant. Digital technology promotes the low-carbon transition of the secondary and tertiary industries mainly by stimulating green technology innovation, expanding the scale effect of economic clustering, enhancing public environmental concern, and accelerating the accumulation of human capital. This study provides a whole-industry perspective on digital technology-enabled low-carbon transition, and provides empirical evidence and policy insights on the prospects for the application of digital technology in the low-carbon transition of the three major industries.