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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Environmental Economics and Management
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2024.1468512
This article is part of the Research Topic Sustainable Energy Governance in the Context of Global Climate Change: Technologies, Mechanisms and Strategies View all 9 articles

How Digital Technology Affects Regional Energy Intensity from the Perspective of Energy Economy: A Case Study of the Yangtze River Economic Belt

Provisionally accepted
Shaokui Gao Shaokui Gao 1Xintao Li Xintao Li 2Huayang Duan Huayang Duan 1Shuchang Liu Shuchang Liu 2Xuesong Sun Xuesong Sun 1*
  • 1 Department of Law and Political Science, North China Electric Power University, Baoding, China, Baoding, China
  • 2 Chinese Government and Policy Joint Research Center, Zhou Enlai School of Government, Nankai University, Tianjin, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This study aims to explore the impact of digital technology innovation on energy efficiency and energy intensity, and further provide new insights for addressing emerging challenges in energy economics. Focusing on the panel data of 11 provinces and cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2010 to 2020, this study thoroughly investigates the process by which the digital economy influences regional energy intensity through the mechanism of technological spillovers, utilizing the fixed-effect model, the mediated-effect model, and the spatial Durbin model. The systematic empirical analysis clearly demonstrates that the vigorous development of the digital economy significantly reduces regional energy intensity, and this effect remains stable after tests for endogeneity and robustness. Further analysis reveals that green technology innovation is a crucial pathway through which the digital economy reduces regional energy intensity. Additionally, the digital economy positively and indirectly lowers the energy intensity of neighboring provinces through technological spillovers. However, it is noteworthy that the rapid growth of the digital economy since 2017 has also triggered the so-called "energy rebound effect," which has led to an increase in energy consumption in neighboring regions to some extent. Therefore, to achieve a sustainable reduction in regional energy intensity and promote coordinated regional development, it is essential to continuously strengthen the development of a digital economy centered on digital technology to fully realize its technological spillover effects. These findings not only provide a scientific basis for the formulation of regional energy policies but also offer valuable insights for China in promoting green development and achieving the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality.

    Keywords: digital economy1, energy intensity2, green technology innovation3, spatial spillover effect4, Yangtze River Economic Belt5

    Received: 22 Jul 2024; Accepted: 04 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Gao, Li, Duan, Liu and Sun. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Xuesong Sun, Department of Law and Political Science, North China Electric Power University, Baoding, China, Baoding, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.