Abstract:

The impact of carbon emissions is global, posing a threat to global climate, ecological balance, human health and other aspects. Digital economy is being integrated into various fields of economic and social development, and its impact on carbon emissions deserves attention and exploration. In order to verify the complex internal influence path between digital economy and carbon emissions, this study successively adopts the two-way fixed effects model with time and individual effects, the mediation model, the threshold effect model and the spatial Durbin model. The empirical results show that: first, digital economy can significantly inhibit carbon emission intensity and per capita carbon emissions; Second, the digital economy can help adjust the energy structure, thus significantly reducing carbon emissions. Third, with the improvement of energy efficiency, digital economy and carbon emissions show an inverted U-shaped relationship. Fourthly, under three spatial weight matrices, the effects of digital economy on carbon emission show spatial spillover effect. The conclusions of this study provide reference for further promoting the development of digital economy and realizing China’s “Dual Carbon” goals.

Key words: Digital economy, Mediating effect, Threshold effect, Spatial spillover effect