Digitalization and net-zero carbon: The role of industrial robots towards carbon dioxide emission reduction

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The increasing adoption of industrial robots has raised concerns about their potential impact on carbon dioxide emissions. To address this issue, this study investigates both the effect of industrial robot adoption on carbon dioxide emissions, as well as the mechanism through which this effect is transmitted using data from OECD and BRICS countries spanning from 1993 to 2015. In particular, we present three possible influence mechanisms of industrial robots on carbon dioxide emissions, namely, the economic growth effect, technological progress effect, and structural transformation effect. Employing the STIRPAT and environmental Kuznets curve models, we estimate the negative and significant effects of industrial robot adoption on carbon dioxide emissions, analyze their effect under different conditional distributions and in different countries, and verify the effect channels of industrial robots on carbon dioxide emissions using the stepwise regression method and the bootstrap method. The empirical results indicate that the increased use of industrial robots can significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions, particularly at higher quantiles of emissions. Moreover, the negative impacts of industrial robot adoption on carbon dioxide emissions are more pronounced in OECD, developed, and European and American countries compared to BRICS, developing, and non-European and American countries. Finally, the adoption of industrial robots primarily achieves its impact on carbon dioxide emissions through the facilitation of an economic growth effect. This study fills a critical gap in the literature and provides a basis for policymakers and industry leaders to develop effective strategies to promote sustainable industrial development.