Can the Growth of the Digital Economy Be Beneficial for Urban Decarbonization? A Study from Chinese Cities

Abstract

An environmentally friendly city is a livable home for the future. Can the rapidly developing digital economy help decrease carbon emissions and realize a low-carbon and clean city promptly? This study focuses on examining how multi-dimensional digital economic growth has influenced CO2 emissions across 280 Chinese cities from 2011 to 2019. Findings discover that (1) An “n”-type curve nexus exists between CO2 emissions and the digital economy in Chinese cities, which means that digital economy expansion initially strengthens CO2 emissions, but at a certain level, it can help achieve the target of urban decarbonization; (2) The digital economy’s influence on CO2 emissions is spatially spilled and regionally heterogeneous, and by means of economies of scale and industrial composition upgrades, it can help the city to lower carbon emissions and benefit the low carbonization of neighboring cities. However, based on the “rebound effect”, the intermediary role of technological effects in reducing emissions in the short term is not apparent; (3) The expansion of trade openness and appropriately stringent environmental rules in line with national conditions are beneficial to lower CO2 emissions in the city and the surrounding cities in the short term. It is recommended that policy makers actively promote the development of the digital economy, strengthen exchanges and cooperation between cities, narrow the gap between cities, and actively learn the advanced management concepts of surrounding cities through the development of economies of scale and industrial structure transformation to accomplish the target of “carbon neutrality” sooner rather than later.