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Multiple effects of ICT investment on carbon emissions: evidence from China

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Abstract

Little research has been conducted on the multiple possible future environmental effects of different types of information and communication technology (ICT) investment. This paper innovatively calculates the ICT productive capital stock (PCS) in China from 2007 to 2018 and explores the multiple effects of ICT PCS on carbon emissions. The results show that (1) ICT PCS is conducive to carbon emission reduction; furthermore, ICT software PCS has a significant carbon emission reduction effect, while ICT hardware PCS has the opposite outcome. (2) The spatial effect demonstrates that ICT and its hardware and software PCS can significantly reduce carbon emissions in surrounding areas. (3) The ICT PCS indirectly affects carbon emissions through the digital economy and energy efficiency, but the role of the influence mechanism varies according to the type of ICT PCS. (4) There is a nonlinear relationship between all ICT PCS and carbon emissions due to differences in green productivity and ICT PCS levels. Finally, this study provides valuable references for optimizing ICT investment and promoting low-carbon development.

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Data availability

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

Notes

  1. If readers are interested in the specific process of digital economy measurement, please contact the author for information.

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Funding

We received financial support from the National Social Science Foundation of China (No. 18XJL011), the National Nature Science Foundation of China (No. 72003017), Central Basic Scientific Research Funding of China (No. 2020CDSKXYGG006, No. 2021CDJSKZD05), and the Chongqing Graduate Scientific Research Innovation Project of China (No. CYS18056).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Policy and Administration, Chongqing University, Shapingba District, 174 Shazheng Street, Chongqing, 400044, China

    Huanyu Cui, Yuequn Cao & Chi Zhang

  2. School of Economics and Business Administration, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China

    Chao Feng

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  1. Huanyu Cui
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  2. Yuequn Cao
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  3. Chao Feng
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  4. Chi Zhang
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by H. Y. Cui, Y. Q. Cao, C. Feng, and C. Zhang. The first draft of the manuscript was written by H. Y. Cui, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Yuequn Cao.

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Cui, H., Cao, Y., Feng, C. et al. Multiple effects of ICT investment on carbon emissions: evidence from China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 4399–4422 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-22160-3

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