Toward a carbon neutral path: exploring the impact of digital economy on carbon neutrality performance

Purpose – The pursuit of carbon neutrality is a deliberate and systematic effort in response to the severe consequences of climate change. The emerging digital economy provides a novel pathway for advancing carbon neutrality. This study specifically aims to investigate the relationship between the d...

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Main Authors: Meiling Wang, Yuying Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Emerald Publishing 2025-04-01
Series:International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJCCSM-08-2024-0135/full/pdf
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author Meiling Wang
Yuying Wang
author_facet Meiling Wang
Yuying Wang
author_sort Meiling Wang
collection DOAJ
description Purpose – The pursuit of carbon neutrality is a deliberate and systematic effort in response to the severe consequences of climate change. The emerging digital economy provides a novel pathway for advancing carbon neutrality. This study specifically aims to investigate the relationship between the digital economy and carbon neutrality performance, utilizing interprovincial data from China spanning the period from 2011 to 2021. Design/methodology/approach – To examine the impact of the digital economy on carbon neutrality performance, this paper employed two models: a one-way fixed effects model and a mediated effects model, using interprovincial data from China spanning the period from 2011 to 2021. Findings – The findings demonstrate that the enhancement of carbon neutrality performance is positively affected by the digital economy, particularly in western and central China, regions characterized by lower levels of marketization and higher financial pressures. Mechanism analysis reveals that improvements in industrial structure, consumption patterns and economic development, driven by digital economy growth, further improve carbon neutrality performance. Practical implications – This study provides critical policy insights to support achieving the “dual-carbon goal” and promote high-quality development in the national economy. Moreover, it enriches the discussion on the factors affecting carbon neutrality and deepens our understanding of how the digital economy impacts carbon neutrality performance. Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine how the digital economy affects carbon neutrality performance in China from 2011 to 2021.
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publishDate 2025-04-01
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series International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management
spelling doaj-art-e610c53cb4334735900daf4033bfaade2025-08-20T02:37:49ZengEmerald PublishingInternational Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management1756-86921756-87062025-04-0117157359410.1108/IJCCSM-08-2024-0135Toward a carbon neutral path: exploring the impact of digital economy on carbon neutrality performanceMeiling Wang0Yuying Wang1College of Economics and Management, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, ChinaCollege of Economics and Management, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, ChinaPurpose – The pursuit of carbon neutrality is a deliberate and systematic effort in response to the severe consequences of climate change. The emerging digital economy provides a novel pathway for advancing carbon neutrality. This study specifically aims to investigate the relationship between the digital economy and carbon neutrality performance, utilizing interprovincial data from China spanning the period from 2011 to 2021. Design/methodology/approach – To examine the impact of the digital economy on carbon neutrality performance, this paper employed two models: a one-way fixed effects model and a mediated effects model, using interprovincial data from China spanning the period from 2011 to 2021. Findings – The findings demonstrate that the enhancement of carbon neutrality performance is positively affected by the digital economy, particularly in western and central China, regions characterized by lower levels of marketization and higher financial pressures. Mechanism analysis reveals that improvements in industrial structure, consumption patterns and economic development, driven by digital economy growth, further improve carbon neutrality performance. Practical implications – This study provides critical policy insights to support achieving the “dual-carbon goal” and promote high-quality development in the national economy. Moreover, it enriches the discussion on the factors affecting carbon neutrality and deepens our understanding of how the digital economy impacts carbon neutrality performance. Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine how the digital economy affects carbon neutrality performance in China from 2011 to 2021.https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJCCSM-08-2024-0135/full/pdfClimate changeDigital economyHigh-quality developmentCarbon neutrality performance
spellingShingle Meiling Wang
Yuying Wang
Toward a carbon neutral path: exploring the impact of digital economy on carbon neutrality performance
International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management
Climate change
Digital economy
High-quality development
Carbon neutrality performance
title Toward a carbon neutral path: exploring the impact of digital economy on carbon neutrality performance
title_full Toward a carbon neutral path: exploring the impact of digital economy on carbon neutrality performance
title_fullStr Toward a carbon neutral path: exploring the impact of digital economy on carbon neutrality performance
title_full_unstemmed Toward a carbon neutral path: exploring the impact of digital economy on carbon neutrality performance
title_short Toward a carbon neutral path: exploring the impact of digital economy on carbon neutrality performance
title_sort toward a carbon neutral path exploring the impact of digital economy on carbon neutrality performance
topic Climate change
Digital economy
High-quality development
Carbon neutrality performance
url https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJCCSM-08-2024-0135/full/pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT meilingwang towardacarbonneutralpathexploringtheimpactofdigitaleconomyoncarbonneutralityperformance
AT yuyingwang towardacarbonneutralpathexploringtheimpactofdigitaleconomyoncarbonneutralityperformance