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Industrial digitization and synergy between pollution and carbon emissions control: new empirical evidence from China

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Abstract

Industrial digital transformation is a key engine to help developing countries reduce pollution and carbon emissions. We used the composite system synergy model (CSSM) and modified entropy weight method to measure the degree of synergy between pollution and carbon emissions control (SPCEC) and the level of industrial digitization in each province and city based on the Chinese inter-provincial panel data from 2011 to 2020. We then used the two-way fixed effects and panel quantile regression models to test the heterogeneous influence of industrial digitization on the SPCEC. We found that: (1) industrial digitization had a positive contribution to the SPCEC. (2) Digitization of industry contributes more to the SPCEC level than the digitization of agriculture and services. (3) The promotion of SPCEC by industrial digitization is significant in the western region, but not in the eastern, central and northeastern regions. (4) In provinces and municipalities with lower level of SPCEC, the contribution of industrial digitization to the SPCEC is higher. This paper reveals the impact of industrial digitization on the SPCEC and can provide a policy reference for the realization of the SPCEC from the perspective of the integration of industry and digitization.

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Data availability

The datasets used or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding authors on reasonable request.

Notes

  1. The calculation process of using the composite system synergy model is not reported here for space reasons, and interested readers can request it from the authors.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the National Office for Philosophy and Social Sciences of China. The project is a late-stage project funded by the National Social Science Foundation of China in 2022 and is entitled Research on the Impact of the Digital Economy on the Synergistic Governance of Pollution and Carbon Reduction. In addition, the authors gratefully acknowledge the editor and the anonymous referees for their valuable comments on this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Economics and Management, China University of Geosciences, 430074, Wuhan, China

    Yang Yi, Ming Yi & Yingjie Huang

  2. Taofen Research Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China

    Ruiwen Cheng

  3. School of Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Haoyu Wang

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  1. Yang Yi
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  2. Ruiwen Cheng
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  4. Ming Yi
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript and approved the final manuscript. The specific contributions are as follows. Conceptualization: YH, YY; Methodology: YY; Formal analysis and investigation: YY, RC and YH; Writing—original draft preparation: YY, YH; Writing—review and editing: HW, RC and MY; Resources: MY and HW; Supervision: YH, YY and RC.

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Correspondence to Yingjie Huang.

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Responsible Editor: V.V.S.S. Sarma

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Yi, Y., Cheng, R., Wang, H. et al. Industrial digitization and synergy between pollution and carbon emissions control: new empirical evidence from China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 36127–36142 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-24540-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-24540-1

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