How the Digital Economy Affects Urban Carbon Emissions Reduction—Research based on Panel Data of 263 Cities

The digital economy is an important force in promoting high-quality economic development in China.In the context of dual carbon goals and the realization of green development, the digital economy plays an important role in urban carbon emission reduction. Based on panel data from 263 cities in China from 2011 to 2019, this article empirically tests the impact of the digital economy on urban carbon emissions and its underlying mechanism. Empirical results show that the digital economy has significantly reduced urban carbon emission levels. This conclusion still holds true after robustness tests such as replacing core explanatory variables and endogeneity tests. The test of the mechanism of action shows that the digital economy can significantly improve energy utilization efficiency., promote green technology innovation and promote industrial structure upgrading to reduce carbon emissions; heterogeneity analysis shows that compared with the western region, the digital economy has a significant effect on carbon emission reduction in the central and eastern regions. The expanded analysis further performed regression from the four dimensions of digital industry development, digital infrastructure, industrial digitalization and digital innovation. The results show that digital industrialization, industrial digitalization and digital innovation have a significant negative impact on carbon emissions, while digital infrastructure has a significant negative impact on carbon emissions. The impact of carbon emissions is significantly positive. The research conclusions can provide new research perspectives and empirical evidence for understanding the carbon emission reduction impact and mechanism of the digital economy, and also provide a reference for China's low-carbon development path from the perspective of the digital economy.