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Is the digital economy a booster for urban carbon mitigation? The interplay of green finance and green technological advancement
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DOI：10.1080/15567249.2026.2671307.png)
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Abstract
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Mitigating urban carbon emissions while sustaining socioeconomic development has become a core strategic imperative for global climate governance and China's high-quality development agenda. The inherent tension between socioeconomic advancement and decarbonization, exacerbated by the high costs of conventional emission-reduction measures, has positioned the digital economy as a critical pathway for achieving low-carbon urban growth under China's dual carbon goals. This study investigated how the digital economy reduced urban carbon emissions via city-level panel data from 2011 to 2019. The results demonstrated that the digital economy exerted a significant inhibitory effect on urban carbon emissions, and these findings remained statistically robust after a series of robustness checks. Heterogeneity analysis showed that the carbon mitigation effect of the digital economy varied considerably, being particularly pronounced in non-western regions, regions with a high tertiary sector share, regions with low internet penetration, and the post-2016 period. Mechanism analysis further revealed that while green finance alone did not serve as a significant mediator, the digital economy curbed urban carbon emissions primarily by directly promoting green technology innovation through a chain mediation pathway. These findings highlighted the importance of context-specific digital decarbonization strategies and the synergistic role of green finance as an enabler of technological innovation.
Keywords:
Green finance
green technological advancement
the digital economy
Urban carbon mitigation
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