Effects of the Digital Economy on Carbon Emissions in China: A Spatial Durbin Econometric Analysis

Carbon emission reduction is an important issue for sustainable development around the world, and the digital economy is an important driver of carbon emission reduction. Hence, using panel data from 282 Chinese cities collected during 2011–2019, this study empirically explores the impact of the digital economy on carbon emissions based on the spatial Durbin econometric model. The findings show that there is a positive spatial correlation in carbon emissions among regions. That is, the reduction in carbon emissions in one region can lead to a reduction in carbon emissions in neighboring regions. Meanwhile, the digital economy has significant negative local and spillover effects on carbon emissions. However, the spatial-spillover effect of the digital economy on carbon emission reduction has a regional boundary. It is only significant within a range of 750 km and decreases with increasing geographical distance within this range. As China is a major carbon-emitting country, the findings of this study provide empirical strategies for achieving China’s “double carbon” target and have some reference value for other countries’ sustainable-development strategies.