Dong Zheming, Yao Shujun
School of Statistics, Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, Dalian, 116025, China.
School of Management, Xi'an University of Finance and Economics, Xi'an, 710100, China.
Sci Rep. 2024 Jul 17;14(1):16526. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-67315-z.
As global warming's impact on humanity surpasses initial predictions, numerous countries confront heightened risks associated with escalating urban carbon footprints. Concurrently, digital finance has flourished, propelled by advancements in digital technology. This convergence underscores the urgency of exploring digital finance's role in mitigating urban carbon footprint pressures. This study analyzes data spanning 277 Chinese cities from 2011 to 2020, yielding several key findings: Firstly, we developed a dataset detailing the carbon footprint pressures in these cities, revealing that variations in these pressures predominantly correlate with economic growth. Secondly, our analysis indicates that digital finance has a significant impact on reducing urban carbon footprint pressures, through mechanisms such as reducing the number of physical bank branches and enhancing residents' environmental awareness. Thirdly, the study identifies that the efficacy of digital finance in reducing carbon footprint pressures varies according to factors like sunshine duration and geographic location. The insights from this research aim to contribute substantively to strategies for sustainable urban development.
随着全球变暖对人类的影响超过最初的预测，许多国家面临着与城市碳足迹不断增加相关的更高风险。与此同时，在数字技术进步的推动下，数字金融蓬勃发展。这种融合凸显了探索数字金融在缓解城市碳足迹压力方面作用的紧迫性。本研究分析了2011年至2020年中国277个城市的数据，得出了几个关键发现：首先，我们编制了一个详细说明这些城市碳足迹压力的数据集，发现这些压力的变化主要与经济增长相关。其次，我们的分析表明，数字金融通过减少实体银行分支机构数量和提高居民环境意识等机制，对降低城市碳足迹压力有显著影响。第三，该研究发现，数字金融在降低碳足迹压力方面的效果因日照时长和地理位置等因素而异。本研究的见解旨在为可持续城市发展战略做出实质性贡献。
