How does digital economy empower pollution mitigation and carbon reduction? Evidence from Chinese cities

Abstract

Achieving synergies in pollution mitigation and carbon reduction (PMCR) in Chinese cities is the overall lever to facilitate the comprehensive green transition in socio-economic development. As the catalyst of the information age, the impact of digital economy on urban PMCR needs to be explored. Thus, using 288 cities from 2006 to 2019 as a sample, this study examines the influence of the digital economy on the synergistic effect of PMCR. The regional differences and mechanism paths are further tested. We discover that: (1) the continuous advancement of the digitization is a valid driving force to suppress PM2.5 and carbon emissions and strengthen urban PMCR behavior in Chinese cities; (2) the inhibition effect of the digital economy on PM2.5 and carbon and its stimulation effect on PMCR are only reflected in the central and western cities, while the opposite finding is reached in the eastern cities; and (3) the digital economy will affect the PMCR and the emissions of two kinds of pollutants through economic path, technical path, and structural path. On this basis, we sequentially put forward some policy suggestions regarding stimulating digital economy and reducing pollutants emissions.