Does Smart City Construction Decrease Urban Carbon Emission Intensity? Evidence from a Difference-in-Difference Estimation in China

Climatic changes and environmental pollution caused by traditional urban development models have increased due to accelerated urbanisation and industrialisation. As a new model of urban development, smart city construction relies on digital technology reform to achieve intelligent urban governance, which is crucial for reducing carbon emission intensity and achieving regional green development. This paper constructs a multi-period DID model based on panel data from 283 cities from 2007 to 2019 to explore the impact of smart city construction on urban carbon emission intensity. This study found that smart city construction decreased urban carbon emissions intensity significantly and decreased carbon emissions per unit GDP in pilot areas by 0.1987 tonnes/10,000 CNY compared to that in non-pilot areas. According to a heterogeneity analysis, the integration of smart city developments could decrease carbon emission intensity in northern China’s cities and resource-based cities significantly but had an insignificant influence on carbon emission intensity in southern China’s cities and non-resource-based cities. The reason for this finding is that northern cities and resource-based cities have a higher carbon emission intensity and enjoy more marginal benefits from smart city construction. Based on an analysis of the influencing mechanisms, smart city construction can decrease urban carbon emission intensity by stimulating green innovation vitality, upgrading industrial structures, and decreasing energy consumption. These research conclusions can provide directions for urban transformation and low-carbon development, as well as a case study and experience for countries that have not yet established smart city construction.