Study on the spillover effect of digital economy development on CO2 emissions

Abstract

To study the spillover effect of the digital economy development on carbon emissions, this study innovatively constructs different spatial weight matrices, based on 2011–2020 panel data covering 30 Chinese provinces, and it explores the direct spillovers, conducted spillovers, and spillovers from different spillover channels, such as human capital, service industry development, and information development of digital economy development on carbon emissions through the spatial Durbin model combined with a mediating effect model. The results show that there is significant spatial heterogeneity in digital economy development; in terms of regions, the eastern region has the highest average development level and the central region has the highest average annual growth rate. Digital economy development can directly suppress carbon emissions, and it can also indirectly suppress carbon emissions by driving technological innovation and optimizing the energy consumption structure, and there exists a spatial spillover effect. Under human capital, service industry development and information development matrices, the spatial spillover effect of digital economy development on carbon emissions is significantly negative. Regions with the same level of information development are more likely to exert a spatial spillover effect of digital economy development on carbon emissions.