Chi Fangyuan, Meng Zhuo
School of Economics and Management, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
School of Marxism, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2023 Jan;30(2):3133-3145. doi: 10.1007/s11356-022-22422-0. Epub 2022 Aug 9.
With the rapid development of information and communication technology (ICT) and counter-cyclical expansion of foreign direct investment (FDI), most foreign-invested companies in China are highly polluting. Meanwhile, new research shows that the impact of ICT on the environment is uncertain. This study is an effort in dividing ICT into hardware and software, aiming to explore its effects on carbon (CO) emissions from 2003 to 2017 in 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in China and further explore the impacts of its application to foreign-invested enterprises on environmental quality. The findings show that ICT software has a significant negative effect on CO emissions, but ICT hardware and FDI have significant positive effects on CO emissions. However, when ICT software and hardware are applied to foreign-invested enterprises, they can significantly improve the environmental quality. Moreover, the durative innovation of ICT software ensures environmental sustainability. A set of government measures are published to help stimulate the positive effect of ICT software on CO emissions, such as taxes and fees cuts, and no-interest loans. This could provide guidelines for other countries.
随着信息通信技术（ICT）的快速发展以及外国直接投资（FDI）的逆周期扩张，中国大多数外资企业污染严重。与此同时，新研究表明ICT对环境的影响尚不确定。本研究致力于将ICT分为硬件和软件，旨在探究其在2003年至2017年期间对中国31个省、自治区和直辖市碳排放的影响，并进一步探究其在外国投资企业中的应用对环境质量的影响。研究结果表明，ICT软件对碳排放有显著负面影响，但ICT硬件和FDI对碳排放有显著正面影响。然而，当ICT软件和硬件应用于外国投资企业时，它们可以显著改善环境质量。此外，ICT软件的持续性创新确保了环境可持续性。已发布一系列政府措施来帮助激发ICT软件对碳排放的积极影响，如税费减免和无息贷款。这可为其他国家提供指导方针。
