Digital government and carbon emissions: evidence from China

With the continuous modernization of national governance, the role of digital government construction in environmental protection and sustainable development has become increasingly prominent. This study explores the intrinsic link between digital government construction and carbon emissions and the...

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Main Author: Junling Yi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-01-01
Series:Frontiers in Environmental Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2025.1470724/full
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author Junling Yi
author_facet Junling Yi
author_sort Junling Yi
collection DOAJ
description With the continuous modernization of national governance, the role of digital government construction in environmental protection and sustainable development has become increasingly prominent. This study explores the intrinsic link between digital government construction and carbon emissions and the mechanism of its influence based on 30 provincial-level panel data in China from 2017 to 2021. The study finds that digital government construction can significantly suppress carbon emissions, and this conclusion still holds after considering endogeneity issues and after multiple robustness tests. The study further reveals that digital government can inhibit carbon emissions through the internal mechanism of promoting industrial structure upgrading and green technology innovation. In addition, the inhibiting effect of digital government on carbon emissions is more pronounced in eastern and central provinces, provinces with higher levels of government transparency, higher levels of digital government development, and higher intensity of environmental regulation. This study provides an important reference for understanding the role of digital government construction in promoting green development and achieving carbon emission reduction targets.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2296-665X
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Environmental Science
spelling doaj-art-a3c0088a6cdb49e8a23823150ffb72df2025-01-27T08:38:29ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Environmental Science2296-665X2025-01-011310.3389/fenvs.2025.14707241470724Digital government and carbon emissions: evidence from ChinaJunling YiWith the continuous modernization of national governance, the role of digital government construction in environmental protection and sustainable development has become increasingly prominent. This study explores the intrinsic link between digital government construction and carbon emissions and the mechanism of its influence based on 30 provincial-level panel data in China from 2017 to 2021. The study finds that digital government construction can significantly suppress carbon emissions, and this conclusion still holds after considering endogeneity issues and after multiple robustness tests. The study further reveals that digital government can inhibit carbon emissions through the internal mechanism of promoting industrial structure upgrading and green technology innovation. In addition, the inhibiting effect of digital government on carbon emissions is more pronounced in eastern and central provinces, provinces with higher levels of government transparency, higher levels of digital government development, and higher intensity of environmental regulation. This study provides an important reference for understanding the role of digital government construction in promoting green development and achieving carbon emission reduction targets.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2025.1470724/fullDigital governmentcarbon emissionindustrial structure upgradinggreen technology innovationheterogeneity
spellingShingle Junling Yi
Digital government and carbon emissions: evidence from China
Frontiers in Environmental Science
Digital government
carbon emission
industrial structure upgrading
green technology innovation
heterogeneity
title Digital government and carbon emissions: evidence from China
title_full Digital government and carbon emissions: evidence from China
title_fullStr Digital government and carbon emissions: evidence from China
title_full_unstemmed Digital government and carbon emissions: evidence from China
title_short Digital government and carbon emissions: evidence from China
title_sort digital government and carbon emissions evidence from china
topic Digital government
carbon emission
industrial structure upgrading
green technology innovation
heterogeneity
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2025.1470724/full
work_keys_str_mv AT junlingyi digitalgovernmentandcarbonemissionsevidencefromchina