How does digitalization affect energy? International evidence

Moving towards Environmental Sustainability: Can Digital Economy Reduce Environmental Degradation in China?

“…The digital economy is closely related to the environment and society, and several scholars have discussed this connection. First of all, Zhang et al [ 55 ], Shahbaz et al [ 56 ], and Xu et al [ 57 ] have focused on the nexus of digital economy and energy structure. The results indicate that digitalization has notably increased corporate energy conservation and promoted energy transition.…”

What Drives the Relationship Between Digitalization and Industrial Energy Demand? Exploring Firm-Level Heterogeneity

“…In addition, their results indicate effect heterogeneity with respect to labor and capital intensity. Using a compound index to measure digitalization, Xu et al (2022) find reductions in absolute energy use and improvements in the share of renewable energy in total energy at the country-level. They also show that effects are mediated by technological innovation and are more pronounced in low-income countries.…”

“…Previous empirical studies on the relationship between ICT and environmental impacts mainly attempt to prove a linear and directional link between ICT and CO 2 emissions (Zhang and Liu, 2015;Chen et al, 2019;Kopp and Lange, 2019) or energy efficiency and energy use (Collard et al, 2005;Bernstein and Madlener, 2010;Schulte et al, 2016;Axenbeck and Niebel, 2021;Huang et al, 2022). However, as the relationship may be heterogeneous or non-linear (Ben Lahouel et al, 2021;Taneja and Mandys, 2022;Xu et al, 2022), standard regression models fall short of fully uncovering the complexity of the relationship. In view of effect heterogeneity, nonparametric econometric methods have the potential to provide more detailed insights.…”

Can Digital Economy Promote Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction in Heavily Polluting Enterprises? Empirical Evidence from China

“…Regarding the issue of energy consumption, previous studies have not yet reached a consistent conclusion. Some researchers argue that the development of the Internet and ICT industry and digital transformation increase social energy consumption by promoting economic growth [ 25 , 26 ]; Some other researchers argue that digital transformation improves efficiency by promoting technological innovation [ 27 ], correcting distorted industrial structures, and accelerating human capital accumulation, thereby reducing energy demand [ 28 ].…”