Introduction With the looming global warming crisis, the question of how to achieve carbon neutrality is becoming an important issue confronting many countries. Although the spatial studies have indicated that education can spatially reduce the carbon intensity, they have ignored the transmission mechanism and dynamic interrelationship between education and carbon intensity. Methods Based on spatial economics theory, this study uses a spatial Durbin model and spatial vector autoregressive model to examine how education affects carbon intensity and how they relate to each other in China’s 30 provinces from 2000 to 2021. Results The results show that education and the carbon intensity have positive global spatial autocorrelation. Education reduces the carbon intensity mainly through the spillover effect. The negative spillover effects in provinces with low carbon intensity are significantly greater than the direct effects are, whereas the spillover effects in provinces with high carbon intensity are negative but not significant. Education reduces the carbon intensity through green technology innovation and consumption structure upgrading. Furthermore, there is a dynamic interrelationship between education and carbon intensity. This study suggests that local governments should increase investment in education and focus on educational equity. They should also consider the spatial spillover effects of education when implementing tailored emission reduction policies based on local conditions. Additionally, educational institutions are encouraged to invest more in researching and promoting green technologies, as well as integrating low-carbon lifestyles into the education system. Discussion The findings can help policymakers achieve sustainable development goals 4 and 13 and a net-zero future.
Ma et al. (2026) studied this question.