Abstract
Digital infrastructure inputs (DIIs) are vital in strengthening the framework for developing the digital economy and encouraging economic growth. Nonetheless, the risks of environmental contamination are pervasively caused by the rapid expansion and utilization of digital infrastructure. Assessing the carbon emission intensity (CEI) and level of the DIIs of 18 manufacturing in China as the research subject, this study discusses the heterogeneous behavior of various input sources and industries. Furthermore, a two-way fixed effects model, threshold effects model, mediating effects model and moderated mediation effects model have been adopted to examine the nexus between DIIs and CEI of manufacturing. The results show that (1) DIIs raise China’s manufacturing CEI and exert a non-linear threshold effect. (2) From the perspective of national attributes, the foreign DIIs will put more pressure on reducing the CEI in China. From the perspective of industry characteristics, DIIs are the most unfavorable for low-carbon development in capital-intensive industries. (3) Due to the mediating effect of total factor productivity (TFP), the positive influence of DIIs on CEI has dramatically diminished. (4) Participation in the global value chain (PAR) and foreign direct investment (FDI) exert moderating effects in the process of the direct effect and mediating effects. In light of the aforementioned conclusions, specific recommendations for developing digital infrastructure and reducing carbon emissions are proposed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The authors do not have permission to share data.
Notes
BP, 2021. Statistical Review of World Energy.
Data from UIBE GVC index database: https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/statis_e/miwi_e/miwi_e.htm
References
Balsalobre-Lorente D, Shahbaz M, Roubaud D, Farhani S (2018) How economic growth, renewable electricity and natural resources contribute to CO2 emissions? Energy Policy 113:356–367. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2017.10.050
Berkhout F, Hertin J (2004) De-materialising and re-materialising: digital technologies and the environment. Futures 36:903–920. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2004.01.003
Bogmans C (2015) Can the terms of trade externality outweigh free-riding? The role of vertical linkages. J Int Econ 95:115–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinteco.2014.10.006
Castiglione C (2012) Technical efficiency and ICT investment in Italian manufacturing firms. Appl Econ 44:1749. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2011.554374
Chang J (2022) The role of digital finance in reducing agricultural carbon emissions: evidence from China’s provincial panel data. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 29:87730–87745. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21780-z
Chen J, Sun C, Shen Y, Liu J (2022) Emission reduction technology sharing with environmental tax under multiple oligopolies. Environ Dev Sustain. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-022-02782-w.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-022-02782-w
Chen J, Sun C, Wang Y, et al (2023) Carbon emission reduction policy with privatization in an oligopoly model. Environ Sci Pollut Res. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-24256-2
Chen S (2011) Reconstruction of sub-industrial statistical data in China (1980—2008). China Econ Q 735-776. https://doi.org/10.13821/j.cnki.ceq.2011.03.012in Chinese
Datta A, Agarwal S (2004) Telecommunications and economic growth: a panel data approach. Appl Econ 36:1649–1654. https://doi.org/10.1080/0003684042000218552
David P, Wright G (2012) General purpose technologies and surges in productivity: historical reflections on the future of the ICT revolution. Econ Future Hist Perspect.https://doi.org/10.5871/bacad/9780197263471.003.0005
de Sousa Jabbour ABL, Jabbour CJC, Foropon C, GodinhoFilho M (2018) When titans meet – can industry 4.0 revolutionise the environmentally-sustainable manufacturing wave? The role of critical success factors. Technol Forecast Soc Chang 132:18–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2018.01.017
DehghanShabani Z, Shahnazi R (2019) Energy consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, information and communications technology, and gross domestic product in Iranian economic sectors: a panel causality analysis. Energy 169:1064–1078. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2018.11.062
Dong F, Zhu J, Li Y et al (2022) How green technology innovation affects carbon emission efficiency: evidence from developed countries proposing carbon neutrality targets. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29:35780–35799. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-18581-9
Doytch N, Narayan S (2016) Does FDI influence renewable energy consumption? An analysis of sectoral FDI impact on renewable and non-renewable industrial energy consumption. Energy Econ 54:291–301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2015.12.010
Foster C, Graham M (2016) Reconsidering the role of the digital in global production networks. Global Networks 17:68–88. https://doi.org/10.1111/glob.12142
Futch MD, Mcintosh CT (2009) Tracking the introduction of the village phone product in Rwanda. Inf Technol Int Dev 5:381
Ge J, Fu Y, Xie R et al (2018) The effect of GVC embeddedness on productivity improvement: from the perspective of R&D and government subsidy. Technol Forecast Soc Chang 135:22–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2018.07.057
Gopalan S, Reddy K, Sasidharan S (2022) Does digitalization spur global value chain participation? Firm-level evidence from emerging markets. Inform Econ Policy 59:100972. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infoecopol.2022.100972
Han B, Wang D, Ding W, Han L (2016) Effect of information and communication technology on energy consumption in China. Nat Hazards 84:297–315. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-016-2188-1
Hanif I, Faraz Raza SM, Gago-de-Santos P, Abbas Q (2019) Fossil fuels, foreign direct investment, and economic growth have triggered CO2 emissions in emerging Asian economies: some empirical evidence. Energy 171:493–501. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2019.01.011
Hansen BE (1999) Threshold effects in non-dynamic panels: estimation, testing, and inference. J Econ 93:345–368. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-4076(99)00025-1
Hou M, Zhong S, Xi Z, Yao S (2022) Does large-scale ecological restoration threaten food security in China? A moderated mediation model. Ecol Indic 143:109372. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.109372
Hsieh C-T, Klenow PJ (2009) Misallocation and manufacturing TFP in China and India*. Q J Econ 124:1403–1448. https://doi.org/10.1162/qjec.2009.124.4.1403
Hu J, Zhang H, Irfan M (2023) How does digital infrastructure construction affect low-carbon development? A multidimensional interpretation of evidence from China. J Clean Prod 396:136467. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.136467
Huang Y, Xie J (2019) Input servitization of manufacturing industry and carbon emission intensity —empirical analysis based on WIOD’s cross-country panel. Finance Trade Econ 100–115. https://doi.org/10.19795/j.cnki.cn11-1166/f.20190806.008 in Chinese
Huang Y, Zhang Y (2023) Digitalization, positioning in global value chain and carbon emissions embodied in exports: evidence from global manufacturing production-based emissions. Ecol Econ 205:107674. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2022.107674
Ilmakunnas P, Miyakoshi T (2013) What are the drivers of TFP in the aging economy? Aging labor and ICT capital. J Comp Econ 41:201–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jce.2012.04.003
Lai H, Zhu SC (2007) Technology, endowments, and the factor content of bilateral trade. J Int Econ 71:389–409. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinteco.2006.07.002
Lange S, Pohl J, Santarius T (2020) Digitalization and energy consumption. Does ICT reduce energy demand? Ecol Econ 176:106760. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2020.106760
Lau L-S, Choong C-K, Kee Y (2014) Investigation of the environmental Kuznets curve for carbon emissions in Malaysia: do foreign direct investment and trade matter? Energy Policy 68:490–497. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2014.01.002
Li Z, Wang J (2022) The dynamic impact of digital economy on carbon emission reduction: evidence city-level empirical data in China. J Clean Prod 351:131570. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.131570
Liu B, Zhao X (2020) Servitization of manufacturing input，barriers to trade in services and division of the global value chains. Econ Res J 2020(07):159–174
Liu H, Zong Z, Hynes K, De Bruyne K (2020) Can China reduce the carbon emissions of its manufacturing exports by moving up the global value chain? Res Int Bus Finance 51:. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ribaf.2019.101101
Malgouyres C, Mayer T, Mazet-Sonilhac C (2021) Technology-induced trade shocks. Evidence from broadband expansion in France. J Int Econ 133:103520. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinteco.2021.103520
Marchi B, Zanoni S (2023) Technical note on Inventory management in supply chains with consideration of logistics, green investment and different carbon emissions policies. Comput Ind Eng 175:108870. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2022.108870
Marchi B, Zanoni S, Zavanella LE, Jaber MY (2019) Supply chain models with greenhouse gases emissions, energy usage, imperfect process under different coordination decisions. Int J Prod Econ 211:145–153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2019.01.017
Mert M, Bölük G (2016) Do foreign direct investment and renewable energy consumption affect the CO2 emissions? New evidence from a panel ARDL approach to Kyoto Annex countries. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23:21669–21681. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7413-7
Moyer JD, Hughes BB (2012) ICTs: Do they contribute to increased carbon emissions? Technol Forecast Soc Chang 79:919–931. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2011.12.005
Ndubuisi G, Otioma C, Owusu S, Tetteh GK (2022) ICTs quality and technical efficiency: an empirical analysis. Telecommun Policy 46:102439. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.telpol.2022.102439
Norton SW (1992) Transaction costs, telecommunications, and the microeconomics of macroeconomic growth. Econ Dev Cult Change 41:175–196. https://doi.org/10.1086/452002
Park Y, Meng F, Baloch MA (2018) The effect of ICT, financial development, growth, and trade openness on CO2 emissions: an empirical analysis. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25:30708–30719. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3108-6
Pata UK (2018) The influence of coal and noncarbohydrate energy consumption on CO2 emissions: revisiting the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis for Turkey. Energy 160:1115–1123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2018.07.095
Peng G (2013) Green ICT: a strategy for sustainable development of China’s electronic information industry. China: Int J 11:68–86. https://doi.org/10.1353/chn.2013.0031
Qian L, Xu X, Sun Y, Zhou Y (2022) Carbon emission reduction effects of eco-industrial park policy in China. Energy 261:125315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2022.125315
Repkine A (2008) ICT Penetration and aggregate production efficiency: empirical evidence for a cross-section of fifty countries. SSRN J. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1112542
Salahuddin M, Alam K, Ozturk I, Sohag K (2018) The effects of electricity consumption, economic growth, financial development and foreign direct investment on CO2 emissions in Kuwait. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 81:2002–2010. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.06.009
Seker F, Ertugrul HM, Cetin M (2015) The impact of foreign direct investment on environmental quality: a bounds testing and causality analysis for Turkey. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 52:347–356
Sun W, Ren C (2021) The impact of energy consumption structure on China’s carbon emissions: taking the Shannon-Wiener index as a new indicator. Energy Rep 7:2605–2614. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2021.04.061
Sun C, Li Z, Ma T, He R (2019) Carbon efficiency and international specialization position: evidence from global value chain position index of manufacture. Energy Policy 128:235–242
Thompson HG, Garbacz C (2007) Mobile, fixed line and internet service effects on global productive efficiency. Inf Econ Policy 19:189–214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infoecopol.2007.03.002
Ur Rehman F, Md Islam M (2023) Does energy infrastructure spur total factor productivity (TFP) in middle-income economies? An application of a novel energy infrastructure index. Appl Energy 336:120836. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.120836
Wang J, Wan G, Wang C (2019) Participation in GVCs and CO2 emissions. Energy Econ 84:104561. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2019.104561
Wang S, He Y, Song M (2021) Global value chains, technological progress, and environmental pollution: inequality towards developing countries. J Environ Manag 277:110999. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110999
Wang Z, Wei S-J, Yu X, Zhu K (2017) Measures of participation in global value chains and global business cycles. Natl Bur Econ Res. https://doi.org/10.3386/w23222
Wei G, Bi M, Liu X et al (2023) Investigating the impact of multi-dimensional urbanization and FDI on carbon emissions in the belt and road initiative region: direct and spillover effects. J Clean Prod 384:135608. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.135608
Wurlod J-D, Noailly J (2018) The impact of green innovation on energy intensity: an empirical analysis for 14 industrial sectors in OECD countries. Energy Econ 71:47–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2017.12.012
Xu Q, Zhong M (2022) Shared prosperity, energy-saving, and emission-reduction: can ICT capital achieve a “win-win-win” situation? J Environ Manag 319:115710. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115710
Xu S-C, Miao Y-M, Gao C et al (2019) Regional differences in impacts of economic growth and urbanization on air pollutants in China based on provincial panel estimation. J Clean Prod 208:340–352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.10.114
Xu H, Cheng L, Sun T (2017) The effect of the input servitization of manufacturing on upgrading export domestic value added of enterprises——empirical evidence from Chinese micro-enterprise. China Ind Econ 62–80. https://doi.org/10.19581/j.cnki.ciejournal.2017.10.005 in Chinese
Yang G, Sun T, Wang J, Li X (2015) Modeling the nexus between carbon dioxide emissions and economic growth. Energy Policy 86:104–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2015.06.031
Yang Z, Gao W, Han Q et al (2022) Digitalization and carbon emissions: how does digital city construction affect China’s carbon emission reduction? Sustain Cities Soc 87:104201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2022.104201
Yao X, Zhang X, Guo Z (2020) The tug of war between local government and enterprises in reducing China’s carbon dioxide emissions intensity. Sci Total Environ 710:136140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136140
Yi M, Liu Y, Sheng MS, Wen L (2022) Effects of digital economy on carbon emission reduction: new evidence from China. Energy Policy 171:113271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2022.113271
Zhang L, Mu R, Zhan Y et al (2022) Digital economy, energy efficiency, and carbon emissions: evidence from provincial panel data in China. Sci Total Environ 852:158403. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158403
Zhang Q, Yu J (2020) Input digitization and climbing global value chain: micro evidence from Chinese manufacturing enterprises. Econ Rev 72–89. https://doi.org/10.19361/j.er.2020.06.07 in Chinese
Zhang Q, Yu J (2021) Input digitization of manufacturing industry and upgrading in GVC: reexamination based on the difference of input source. J Finance Econ 93–107. https://doi.org/10.16538/j.cnki.jfe.20210616.203in Chinese
Zhou X, Zhou D, Wang Q (2018) How does information and communication technology affect China’s energy intensity? A three-tier structural decomposition analysis. Energy 151:748–759. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2018.03.115
Funding
This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 71703016), Hebei Social Science Development Research Project (Grant No. 20220202464), and the National Statistical Science Research Project (Grant No. 2022LY093).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Wei Zhang: conceptualization; methodology; supervision, writing review and editing. Hangyu Li: conceptualization; data curation; formal analysis; and writing—original draft. Shaohua Wang: formal analysis and editing. Ting Zhang: Visualization.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics approval
Not applicable.
Consent to participate
Not applicable.
Consent for publication
Not applicable.
Competing interests
The author declares no competing interests.
Additional information
Responsible Editor: V.V.S.S. Sarma
Publisher's note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Zhang, W., Li, H., Wang, S. et al. Impact of digital infrastructure inputs on industrial carbon emission intensity: evidence from China’s manufacturing panel data. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 65296–65313 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-26931-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-26931-4