Hao Meng-Ge, Xu Shi-Chun, Meng Xiao-Na, Xue Xiao-Fei
School of Economics and Management, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, China.
School of Information Management, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, China.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2024 Mar;31(12):18448-18464. doi: 10.1007/s11356-024-32304-2. Epub 2024 Feb 12.
The digital economy is playing a crucial effect in the field of environmental governance. Digital and intelligent management is an essential means to fully realize the "zero-waste city" construction. The present paper investigates the impact of digital economy on China's provincial "zero-waste city" construction. The results indicate that digital economy can contribute to "zero-waste city" construction. The digital economy has a positive nonlinear effect on the construction of "zero-waste city," but the marginal effect is diminishing. The digital economy can facilitate "zero-waste city" construction by improving industrial structure upgrading and green technology innovation. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that digital economy contributes to the construction of "zero-waste city" in the eastern and western regions and high-level environmental regulation regions, while this impact is insignificant in the central region and low-level environmental regulation regions. The digital economy exerts the most significant positive influence on waste resource recycling followed by waste final disposal and then waste reduction at the source. These findings underscore the effect of digital economy in fostering "zero-waste city" construction and promoting sustainable waste management. The present study provides new ideas for the "zero-waste city" construction in emerging developing countries such as China.
数字经济在环境治理领域发挥着关键作用。数字化与智能化管理是全面实现“无废城市”建设的重要手段。本文研究了数字经济对中国省级“无废城市”建设的影响。结果表明，数字经济有助于“无废城市”建设。数字经济对“无废城市”建设具有正向非线性效应，但边际效应递减。数字经济可通过推动产业结构升级和绿色技术创新来促进“无废城市”建设。异质性分析表明，数字经济对东部和西部地区以及环境规制水平较高地区的“无废城市”建设有促进作用，而在中部地区和环境规制水平较低地区，这种影响不显著。数字经济对废弃物资源回收利用的正向影响最为显著，其次是废弃物最终处置，对源头减量的影响最小。这些发现凸显了数字经济在推动“无废城市”建设和促进可持续废弃物管理方面的作用。本研究为中国等新兴发展中国家的“无废城市”建设提供了新思路。
