Institute of Big Data and Digital Economy, Hubei University of Economics, Hubei, 430205, China; School of Economics and International Trade, Hubei University of Economics, Hubei 430205, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Emissions Trading System Co-constructed by the Province and Ministry, Hubei University of Economics, Hubei, 430205, China.
School of Finance, Hubei University of Economics, Hubei, 430205, China.
J Environ Manage. 2024 Dec;371:123195. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123195. Epub 2024 Nov 6.
Existing literature continues to present divergent perspectives regarding how e-commerce development influences CO emissions. The China's county-level e-commerce pilot program provides new evidence for researches in this subject. This study investigates the effects of China's rural e-commerce development on CO emissions using panel data in 2142 counties from 2010 to 2021, as well as a staggered Difference-in-Differences (DiD) model based on the "Rural E-commerce Demonstration Counties " (REDC) pilot program. Considering the REDC preference towards poor areas, this paper adds the selection variable of pilot program into the model. The main purpose of the REDC is to foster e-commerce growth, but this study finds that the pilot program inadvertently significantly reduces county-level CO emissions while promoting GDP growth in the county. The pilot program of e-commerce mainly achieves carbon reduction through two channels: encouraging the servitization of county industrial structures and the digital transformation of traditional industries. Emissions reductions have a greater impact on economically developed places, provinces with a stronger basis in e-commerce, and counties with better mobility options. This study accurately assesses the impact of e-commerce expansion on reducing emissions, providing new idea for digital carbon emissions reduction and offers policy implications for sustainable economic development in many developing countries (regions).
现有文献对电子商务发展如何影响二氧化碳排放的问题仍然存在分歧。中国的县级电子商务试点项目为这一主题的研究提供了新的证据。本研究利用 2010 年至 2021 年 2142 个县的面板数据以及基于“农村电子商务示范县”（REDC）试点项目的交错差分（DiD）模型，调查了中国农村电子商务发展对二氧化碳排放的影响。考虑到 REDC 对贫困地区的偏好，本文在模型中加入了试点项目的选择变量。REDC 的主要目的是促进电子商务的增长，但本研究发现，该试点项目在促进县级 GDP 增长的同时，无意中显著降低了县级 CO 排放量。电子商务试点项目主要通过两种渠道实现碳减排：鼓励县城产业结构服务化和传统产业数字化转型。减排对经济发达地区、电子商务基础较强的省份和交通选择较好的县城的影响更大。本研究准确评估了电子商务扩张对减排的影响，为数字碳排放减排提供了新的思路，并为许多发展中国家（地区）的可持续经济发展提供了政策启示。
