Does Information Infrastructure Promote Low-Carbon Development? Evidence from the "Broadband China" Pilot Policy

Hanjin Xie; Xi Tan; Jun Li; Shuang Qu; Chunmei Yang

doi:10.3390/ijerph20020962

Does Information Infrastructure Promote Low-Carbon Development? Evidence from the "Broadband China" Pilot Policy

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Jan 5;20(2):962. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20020962.

Authors

Hanjin Xie¹, Xi Tan¹, Jun Li², Shuang Qu¹, Chunmei Yang¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Economic and Management, East China Jiaotong University, Nanchang 330013, China.
² School of Public Economics and Administration, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai 200437, China.

Abstract

While information infrastructure has remarkably boosted global economic prosperity in the last several decades, how it propels low-carbon development has failed to draw enough attention. Based on panel data from 284 cities in China from 2006 to 2019, this study used the "Broadband China" pilot policy as an exogenous event to examine the impact of information infrastructure on carbon emission intensity. We found the following: (1) The "Broadband China" pilot policy significantly reduced carbon emission intensity, which held true in a series of robustness tests. (2) Promoting the development of the service sector, encouraging innovation activities, and fostering low-carbon lifestyles are the influential mechanisms by which information infrastructure reduced carbon emission intensity. (3) The population size, administration rank, marketization, industrialization, and informatization base significantly strengthened the reduction effect of information infrastructure on carbon emission intensity, while the disparity in human capital does not cause an evident difference. This paper's findings reveal a counting path through which improving information infrastructure advances low-carbon and sustainable growth.

Keywords: broadband China; carbon emission intensity; information infrastructure; low-carbon development.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Carbon Dioxide / analysis
Carbon* / analysis
China
Cities
Economic Development
Humans
Industrial Development*
Policy

Substances

Carbon
Carbon Dioxide

Grants and funding

This research was funded by Key Program of Social Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province of China, grant number (22ZXQH34), National Natural Science Foundation of China, grant number (71864011) and (72174080).