ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Environmental Economics and Management
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2025.1599549
This article is part of the Research TopicIntelligence and Big Data for Sustainable Urban Built EnvironmentView all 7 articles
Assessing the impacts of industrial digitization on synergistic effects of pollution and carbon reduction
Provisionally accepted
- 1Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China
- 2Shandong University of Technology, Zibo, Shandong, China
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Abstract: Synergistic effects of pollution and carbon reduction is the core of ecological civilization construction in the "14th Five-Year Plan" period. Based on the panel data of prefecture-level cities in China from 2012 to 2023. Firstly, the baseline regression model and the spatial panel Durbin model are used to discuss the direct and spatial effects of industrial digitalization on synergistic effects of pollution and carbon reduction. Secondly, based on whole-process management, through the construction of a multiple intermediary effects model, the indirect impact of industrial digitalization on synergistic effects of pollution and carbon reduction was explored. Thirdly, heterogeneity tests from multiple perspectives are conducted. It is found that: (1) Industrial digitalization has a remarkable positive effect on synergistic effects of pollution and carbon reduction, and there is a positive spillover effect. (2) Industrial digitalization can indirectly promote synergistic effects of pollution and carbon reduction by strengthening "prevention at the source" through clean energy alternatives, enhancing "process control" through green process innovations, and strengthening "end-of-pipe governance" through environmental regulations. (3) Industrial digitalization has a more remarkable promoting effect on synergistic effects of pollution and carbon reduction in energy basins, higher-level cities, large cities, and urban agglomerations. The research conclusions promote traditional industries to use the "digital cloud" to help the joint development of pollution and carbon reduction, and offer a scientific foundation and theoretical reference for promoting industrial digitalization to empower synergistic effects of pollution and carbon reduction.
Keywords: Industrial digitalization, Synergistic effects of pollution and carbon reduction, Whole-Process Management, Spatial spillover effect, indirect effect
Received: 25 Mar 2025; Accepted: 04 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Diao and Ma. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yanxia Diao, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo, 255049, Shandong, China
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