The role of digital governance on carbon emission performance: evidence from the cities in yangtze river delta, China

Abstract

Rapid industrialization and ambitious socio-economic targets have presented significant challenges to China’s carbon neutrality process. However, digital transformation offers new opportunities for sustainable development. This research examines the influence of digital governance (Digov) on carbon emission performance (Cep) and explores its underlying mechanisms. The study utilizes data from cities in China’s Yangtze River Delta from 2011 to 2019. The results show that digital governance has significantly improved carbon emission performance, a conclusion that remains robust even after conducting a series of rigorous tests and addressing endogeneity concerns. The main impact mechanisms of digital governance on carbon emission performance include energy intensity reduction, energy consumption scale reduction, industrial structure adjustment, and energy consumption structure optimization.Furthermore, the results indicate that the variation in carbon emission reduction due to digital governance can be attributed to differences in city administrative level, city size, and government capacity. In particular, digital governance plays a pivotal role in facilitating the sustainable transformation of resource-based cities.From the perspective of digital governance, this study provides effective recommendations and valuable insights for achieving low-carbon targets and promoting sustainable development of cities.