The nexus between digital economy and carbon dioxide emissions in China: The moderating role of investments in research and development

Qiang Ma, Muhammad Tariq, Haider Mahmood and Zeeshan Khan

Technology in Society, 2022, vol. 68, issue C

Abstract: Since the signing of the Paris Agreement, it is necessary for the signatories to report their nationally determined contributions regarding the adoption of domestic strategies that are to be adopted to achieve emission-reduction commitments. Accordingly, the Chinese government has also declared the target of turning carbon-neutral by 2060. In this regard, the digitalization of the Chinese economy can be hypothesized to attain the carbon-neutrality agenda since an emerging digital economy has immense potential in ensuring environmentally-sustainable economic growth. Besides, it is also argued that investments in research and development can also facilitate this cause by developing the latest technologies that can limit emissions of carbon dioxide in China. Against this backdrop, this study aimed to check whether digitalization and research and development investments can help China achieve low carbon growth. In this regard, this study utilized annual data of 30 Chinese provinces between 2006 and 2017. The findings revealed long-run cointegrating relationships between carbon dioxide emissions, digitalization, research and development investments, and other major macroeconomic variables. Besides, digitalization is found to curb the provincial emission figures. Moreover, research and development investments are evidenced to not only curb the emission levels but also perform the role of a moderator between digitalization and carbon dioxide emissions. Similar direct and moderating effects of technological innovation are also discovered. Furthermore, economic growth, financial development, and energy use boost higher carbon dioxide emissions in China. In light of these findings, this study recommends the Chinese government integrate the digitalization and environmental development policies by enhancing investments in research and development. In addition, China should also look forward to green its economic growth, financial development, and energy transition policies.

Keywords: Carbon emissions; Digital economy; Research and development; Technological innovation; Carbon-neutrality; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (69)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160791X22000513
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:teinso:v:68:y:2022:i:c:s0160791x22000513

DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2022.101910

Access Statistics for this article

Technology in Society is currently edited by Charla Griffy-Brown

More articles in Technology in Society from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().