Study on the effect of technological innovation on carbon emission intensity in 278 prefecture-level cities in China

Abstract In the context of combating climate change and pursuing sustainable economic development, technological innovation is considered to be an important engine for promoting the green transformation of the economy and achieving sustainable development. This study investigates the impact of techn...

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Main Authors: Xuelian Zhu, Jianan Che, Xiaogeng Niu, Nannan Cao, Meiyu Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-04-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-99370-5
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author Xuelian Zhu
Jianan Che
Xiaogeng Niu
Nannan Cao
Meiyu Liu
author_facet Xuelian Zhu
Jianan Che
Xiaogeng Niu
Nannan Cao
Meiyu Liu
author_sort Xuelian Zhu
collection DOAJ
description Abstract In the context of combating climate change and pursuing sustainable economic development, technological innovation is considered to be an important engine for promoting the green transformation of the economy and achieving sustainable development. This study investigates the impact of technological innovation on the carbon intensity of Chinese cities using a spatial Durbin model combined with prefecture-level data. Through a standard spatial econometric analysis, this paper reveals the spatial relationship between the innovation and carbon emission, which exceeds the maximum explanatory power of linear regression. The results of empirical analysis show that: (1) overall, the improvement of technological innovation level in China has a negative spatial spillover effect on the carbon emission intensity of cities, which can reduce the carbon emission intensity of the city and the neighboring cities; (2) from a geographical perspective, the spatial spillover effect of the level of technological innovation on the carbon emission intensity of cities in western China is not significant compared with cities in other regions; (3) the spatial spillover effect of the improvement of technological innovation on the carbon emission intensity of non-resource-based cities is more significant than that of resource-based cities. Therefore, we need to increase investment in technological innovation and optimize the industrial structure. At the same time, we need to fully utilize the spatial spillover effect to help cities achieve synergistic carbon reduction.
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spelling doaj-art-39aa75aeebee48e390b89566cf6ec5b62025-08-20T02:10:56ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-04-0115111710.1038/s41598-025-99370-5Study on the effect of technological innovation on carbon emission intensity in 278 prefecture-level cities in ChinaXuelian Zhu0Jianan Che1Xiaogeng Niu2Nannan Cao3Meiyu Liu4School of Economics, Hebei GEO UniversitySchool of Economics, Hebei GEO UniversitySchool of Economics, Hebei GEO UniversitySchool of Economics, Hebei GEO UniversityChina University of GeosciencesAbstract In the context of combating climate change and pursuing sustainable economic development, technological innovation is considered to be an important engine for promoting the green transformation of the economy and achieving sustainable development. This study investigates the impact of technological innovation on the carbon intensity of Chinese cities using a spatial Durbin model combined with prefecture-level data. Through a standard spatial econometric analysis, this paper reveals the spatial relationship between the innovation and carbon emission, which exceeds the maximum explanatory power of linear regression. The results of empirical analysis show that: (1) overall, the improvement of technological innovation level in China has a negative spatial spillover effect on the carbon emission intensity of cities, which can reduce the carbon emission intensity of the city and the neighboring cities; (2) from a geographical perspective, the spatial spillover effect of the level of technological innovation on the carbon emission intensity of cities in western China is not significant compared with cities in other regions; (3) the spatial spillover effect of the improvement of technological innovation on the carbon emission intensity of non-resource-based cities is more significant than that of resource-based cities. Therefore, we need to increase investment in technological innovation and optimize the industrial structure. At the same time, we need to fully utilize the spatial spillover effect to help cities achieve synergistic carbon reduction.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-99370-5Technological innovationCarbon emission intensitySpatial spilloversSpatial Dubin model
spellingShingle Xuelian Zhu
Jianan Che
Xiaogeng Niu
Nannan Cao
Meiyu Liu
Study on the effect of technological innovation on carbon emission intensity in 278 prefecture-level cities in China
Scientific Reports
Technological innovation
Carbon emission intensity
Spatial spillovers
Spatial Dubin model
title Study on the effect of technological innovation on carbon emission intensity in 278 prefecture-level cities in China
title_full Study on the effect of technological innovation on carbon emission intensity in 278 prefecture-level cities in China
title_fullStr Study on the effect of technological innovation on carbon emission intensity in 278 prefecture-level cities in China
title_full_unstemmed Study on the effect of technological innovation on carbon emission intensity in 278 prefecture-level cities in China
title_short Study on the effect of technological innovation on carbon emission intensity in 278 prefecture-level cities in China
title_sort study on the effect of technological innovation on carbon emission intensity in 278 prefecture level cities in china
topic Technological innovation
Carbon emission intensity
Spatial spillovers
Spatial Dubin model
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-99370-5
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AT xiaogengniu studyontheeffectoftechnologicalinnovationoncarbonemissionintensityin278prefecturelevelcitiesinchina
AT nannancao studyontheeffectoftechnologicalinnovationoncarbonemissionintensityin278prefecturelevelcitiesinchina
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