The Effects of Broadband Infrastructure on Carbon Emission Efficiency of Resource-Based Cities in China: A Quasi-Natural Experiment from the "Broadband China" Pilot Policy

Digital infrastructure construction and household energy efficiency: Based on a quasi-natural experiment in China

With respect to total emissions, the proportion of household carbon emissions exhibits an upward trend; therefore, to reduce carbon emissions and enhance energy efficiency, researchers should understand the reasons for the increase in household carbon emissions. This study, which is based on the construction of the "Broadband China" demonstration cities and the 2010-2018 China Family Panel Studies, applies a difference-in-differences method. It identifies the impact of digital infrastructure construction on indirect household energy consumption, carbon emissions, and energy efficiency. The estimation results indicate that digital infrastructure construction significantly enhances household energy consumption and carbon emissions, and that it enhances the household energy efficiency pertaining to household carbon emissions and usage. Furthermore, the results indicate that households mainly enhance energy usage and efficiency by increasing developmental consumption. Additionally, this study noted that digital infrastructure construction affects household energy consumption and efficiency through the development of the consumer Internet and industrial Internet, which reshapes household consumption behavior and promotes the producers' technological progress.

Investigating the impact of ICT on transport-based CO2 emissions: empirical evidence from a quantile cointegration regression analysis

In the global initiative to leverage information and communication technologies (ICT) for reducing emissions, sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), a region of unique significance, has exhibited a delay in adopting ICT. This study aims to investigate the intricate relationship between ICT and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from transport in SSA. Employing the panel quantile autoregressive distributed lag (PQARDL) technique, the study analyzes panel data from 24 SSA nations spanning from 2000 to 2021. The results indicate that internet usage and fixed telephone subscriptions have a mitigating effect on CO2 emissions from transport across all quantiles in both the short and long run. However, mobile phone subscriptions contribute to CO2 emissions from transport across all quantiles. Additionally, the middle-income groups demonstrate negative relationships between ICT variables and emissions from transport, while the low-income group exhibits significant positive associations. These findings imply that ICT plays a pivotal role in mitigating transport-based emissions and reveal pronounced disparities in ICT adoption across various income groups within SSA, highlighting overarching underdevelopment in ICT infrastructure. Robustness checks employing a two-step system generalized method of moment (GMM) model reinforce our findings. The study provides policy recommendations, including the promotion of ICT infrastructure development, implementation of smart transportation solutions, and fostering public-private partnerships to address these challenges, shedding light on the path toward a greener and more sustainable transport ecosystem in SSA.

Spatial and temporal evolution of urban carbon emission efficiency in China

Improving carbon emission efficiency is crucial for achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality. This paper analyzes the carbon emission efficiency of Chinese cities using panel data from 275 prefecture-level cities between 2006 and 2020. The super-efficiency SBM (undesirable slacks-based measurement) model of undesired output, combined with kernel density estimation and exploratory data analysis, is employed. This study finds, firstly, from 2006 to 2020, the average efficiency of carbon emissions in Chinese cities declined from 0.53 to 0.48, indicating a downward trend. Secondly, from a temporal perspective, the level of dispersion in urban carbon emission efficiency has become increasingly distinct over time, coupled with a decrease in polarization. Thirdly, in terms of spatial analysis, urban carbon emission efficiency in China shows a positive correlation in a global context. In terms of local spatial correlation, it primarily exhibits high-high and low-low clusters, with a few instances of low-high and high-low clusters. Finally, based on the research findings, this paper proposes suggestions to improve urban carbon emission efficiency.

Can artificial intelligence achieve carbon neutrality? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment

Introduction

As the global climate crisis worsens, carbon neutrality has attracted the attention of various nations.

Methods

Based on panel data from 282 Chinese prefecture-level cities from 2008 to 2019, this research considers the execution of the artificial intelligence strategy as a quasi-natural experiment. It uses the difference-in-differences (DID) model to evaluate the effect of artificial intelligence construction on carbon emission reduction.

Results

The findings indicate that implementing the artificial intelligence strategy into practice can lower carbon emissions and advance carbon neutrality, and this conclusion still passes after various robustness tests. The mediating effects reveal that developing green technologies and upgrading the industrial structure are crucial mechanisms for achieving carbon neutrality. The implementation effect varies with time, geographical location, natural resource endowment, and city level.

Discussion

This article examines the influence of artificial intelligence on urban carbon neutrality at the city level, adding to the notion of urban carbon neutrality and providing research support for urban development transformation.

Can Internet Construction Promote Urban Green Development? A Quasi-Natural Experiment from the "Broadband China"

Broadband, as a key element of Internet infrastructure, plays an important role in breaking down barriers to the flow of production factors and promoting green economic transformation. Using the "Broadband China" strategy as a quasi-natural experiment, this study examines the impact and mechanisms of Internet infrastructure on urban green development by constructing a multi-period Difference-in-Differences (DID) model based on panel data from 277 Chinese prefecture-level cities from 2009 to 2019. The results show that the "Broadband China" pilot policy significantly promotes urban green development, with green technological innovation and talent aggregation playing important moderating roles. However, there is a certain lag in the impact of the "Broadband China" pilot policy on urban green development. Furthermore, our heterogeneity analysis suggests that the promotion of the "Broadband China" pilot policy for urban green development mainly exists in central cities, large-scale cities, and resource-based cities, as opposed to surrounding cities, small-scale cities, and non-resource-based cities. The above findings clarify the impact of Internet construction on urban green development and provide a theoretical and practical exploration for achieving a win-win situation of high-quality urban development and environmental protection.

Do Environmental Regulations Facilitate a Low-Carbon Transformation in China's Resource-Based Cities?

Resource-based cities (RBCs) are not only important for ensuring national resource and energy security, but they also face serious ecological and environmental problems. To achieve China's carbon peaking and neutrality goals in the coming years, RBCs' achievement of a low-carbon transformation has become increasingly significant. The core of this study is an investigation as to whether governance, including environmental regulations, can facilitate the low-carbon transformation of RBCs. Based on RBC data from 2003 to 2019, we establish a dynamic panel model to research the influence and mechanism of environmental regulations on low-carbon transformation. We found that China's environmental regulations facilitate a low-carbon transformation in RBCs. Mechanism analysis identified that the environmental regulations facilitate the low-carbon transformation in RBCs by strengthening foreign direct investment, enhancing green technology innovation and promoting industrial structure upgrading. Heterogeneity analysis found that the environmental regulations play a greater role in facilitating the low-carbon transformation of RBCs in regions with more developed economies and less dependence on resources. Our research provides theoretical and policy implications for environmental regulations for the low-carbon transformation of RBCs in China, applicable to other resource-based areas.

Can Digital Economy Development Contribute to the Low-Carbon Transition? Evidence from the City Level in China

As a new engine to promote high-quality development and a sustainable economy, the digital economy (DE) plays a key role in achieving carbon reduction targets. In this paper, we use the "broadband China (BC)" policy as a proxy variable for the DE and employ the panel data of Chinese prefecture-level cities from 2006 to 2019 to investigate the effect of DE development on carbon emission intensity and its mechanism of action. It is found that (1) DE development significantly reduces the carbon emissions of cities and presents dynamic and sustainable characteristics; (2) the results of mechanism tests indicate that DE development is more inclined to reduce carbon emission intensity by improving regional innovation quality than by improving regional innovation quantity; (3) the impact of DE development on carbon emission intensity differs among cities with different characteristic attributes and different environmental regulation intensity, and the emission reduction effect is more obvious in non-resource-based cities, cities with lower environmental regulation intensity, and cities with weaker environmental target constraints; (4) the impact of DE development and innovation-driven development strategies on reducing carbon emission intensity has a policy linkage effect.