Study of the impact of digitization on the carbon emission intensity of agricultural production in China

Abstract

The digital economy is an important engine for China's economic and social development, accelerating the development of agricultural digitization and promoting the integration of agricultural digitization. Low-carbon production is an inevitable trend in China's current economic development. The article takes 30 provinces (cities and districts) in China as research objects, constructing and measuring indicators of digitization level and carbon emission intensity of agricultural production from 2006 to 2018. It classifies agricultural production into planting and animal husbandry and uses a basic regression model to study their dynamic relationships. A mediating effect model is used to explore the specific mechanism path of the digital economy affecting carbon emission intensity, and a regional heterogeneity analysis is conducted. The study found that: (1) The level of digitalization can significantly reduce the carbon intensity of agricultural production; (2) Digitalization can reduce China's carbon intensity by promoting the level of agricultural technological inputs, the level of human capital and the urbanization rate. (3) There are regional and sectoral differences in the impact of digitization on the carbon intensity of agricultural production. The impact on the plantation sector is greater than that on the livestock sector, and the carbon reduction effect is slightly greater in the central and western regions than in the eastern regions.