Digital development, environmental regulation, and electric power utilization efficiency

Abstract

To further promote green and sustainable development, the Chinese government has put forward the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals in 2020. As a clean energy, electric power can effectively replace the use of traditional fossil energy and ultimately reduce environmental pollution. Under the relevant background, in order to further explore the impact mechanism of digital development on China’s electric power utilization efficiency, a static panel regression model of provincial panel data was established on the basis of measuring the electric power utilization efficiency of 30 provinces in China from 2011 to 2020. The impact of digital development on electric power utilization efficiency of China and the moderating effect of environmental regulation are analyzed. The empirical evidence yields the following conclusions: 1) Digital development has a significant positive impact on the electric power utilization efficiency in China. 2) The results of moderating effect analysis and heterogeneity analysis show that strengthening environmental regulation can promote the improvement of electric power utilization efficiency; Digital development has different impacts on electric power utilization efficiency in the east, central and west of China, especially in the west. 3) In addition, the increase of the Consumer price index of hydropower and fuel and Share of R&D expansion in regional GDP will promote the improvement of electric power utilization efficiency, while the Share of secondary industry in regional GDP will have a negative impact on it.