The Moderating Effect of Urbanization on the Link Between Digitalization and Carbon Emissions

Interaction impact of demographic and digital economy on carbon emissions in China

Despite the digital economy’s potential to support decarbonization, the role of population dynamics in shaping this association remains unclear. More empirical and theoretical studies are needed to understand this relationship. Based on this background, this study aims to explore the complex associations between the digital economy, population, and carbon emissions based on China 31 provinces panel data from 2000 to 2020 sourced from the China Statistical Yearbook. The study innovatively employs a population distance matrix to analyze how population factors condition the digital economy-emissions association and utilizes a structural equation model to overcome the limitations of traditional single-pathway mediation analyses. The findings suggest that the digital economy is significantly negatively associated with carbon dioxide emissions across China, with notable spatial spillover associations. Additionally, there is a strong negative-emissions association between population ageing and the digital economy, while population mobility exhibits a significant negative association. Moreover, as population density increases, the association between the digital economy and emissions initially intensifies, then diminishes.

Does Urbanization Still Drive Economic Growth in the Era of Smart Cities and Climate Challenges?

Urbanization has long been viewed as a driver of economic growth through agglomeration economies. However, emerging challenges such as digital transformation and climate change call into question the universality of this relationship. A major gap in the literature is the limited integration of digital and environmental factors in explaining nonlinear urbanization–growth effects, as previous reviews (e.g., Gilles Duranton and Diego Puga, 2023) focus mainly on traditional mechanisms. This review therefore examines the evolution of the urbanization–growth nexus, identifies critical thresholds, evaluates the roles of digitalization and climate factors, and proposes a new conceptual framework. Following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, searches were conducted in Web of Science, Scopus, EconLit, RePEc/IDEAS, and Google Scholar using Boolean search strings. From 3,892 records, 186 peer-reviewed studies published between 1960 and 2024 were selected. These studies linked urbanization indicators (e.g., population density and city size) to growth outcomes (e.g., GDP and productivity), while accounting for digital or environmental moderators. The findings reveal three distinct phases. Between 1960 and 2000, urbanization showed strong positive effects on growth. From 2000 to 2015, growth effects remained broadly linear during the period of rapid urbanization in China, India, and parts of Southeast Asia. After 2015, however, the relationship became increasingly conditional, with average agglomeration elasticities declining from 0.05 to 0.03. Digital infrastructure was found to increase urbanization benefits by 8–15 %, whereas environmental degradation reduced them by 4–12 %. Building on these findings, the review proposes a novel multiplicative framework in which net agglomeration benefits depend on physical density, amplified by digital (D) and environmental (E) multipliers. This framework helps explain why mid-sized smart and sustainable cities often outperform megacities in generating economic gains. Overall, the review confirms that urbanization can continue to support economic growth, but primarily in cities that are both digitally advanced and environmentally sustainable. Key limitations include geographic biases in the existing literature. Future research should therefore focus on identifying the causal effects of 5G and net-zero initiatives through experimental methods and harmonized measurement indices.

Revisiting the environmental costs of digitalization: evidence from advanced economies

Digitalisation has greatly changed development approaches worldwide, including increasing efficiency and productivity in sectors. But the potential impact on the environment is unclear. This study examines the effects of digitalisation on the environment in G7 economies between 2000 and 2023. A composite digitalization index is built by applying principal component analysis (PCA) and the carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions is used as a proxy for environmental degradation. The study uses PMG-ARDL model to provide strong empirical analysis and FMOLS model as a robustness test due to cross-sectional dependence, slope heterogeneity and mixed integration order. The results show that digitalisation helps to lower CO 2 emissions in G7 countries, supporting environmental sustainability through technological progress. The EKC is verified, as initial economic development leads to rising emissions and beyond a threshold, lower emissions. In addition, energy use is a major contributor to environmental damage, and FDI results a decline of emissions. The findings underline the importance of policymakers to incorporate environmental concerns in digital transformation policies. To achieve maximum environmental benefits from digitalization, it is important to promote energy-efficient digital infrastructure and provide incentives for green innovation. The study highlights the need to make sure digital development is aligned with sustainability goals.

Does the Digital Economy Promote Urban Energy Transition? Evidence from China

Although the digital economy (DE) and sustainable urban systems have drawn growing attention, how DE drives urban energy transition (UET) remains insufficiently understood. Employing panel data from 266 Chinese cities spanning 2011–2021, this study applies fixed-effects, mediation, moderation, and spatial Durbin models to examine the impact of DE on UET. UET is measured by a composite index that captures energy system performance and transition readiness. The results show that DE is positively associated with UET, with a one-unit increase in DE corresponding to a 0.1566-unit increase in UET. This finding remains robust after employing an instrumental-variable approach and a battery of robustness checks, including an exogenous policy shock. This positive effect is partially mediated by reduced resource misallocation and industrial structure upgrading. When electricity intensity is treated as a moderating factor, cities with higher electricity intensity exhibit a more pronounced positive effect of DE on UET. Further evidence indicates that DE advances UET in the eastern, central, and western regions, but has a limited impact in the northeastern region. Additionally, DE exerts positive spillover effects, thereby advancing energy transition in neighboring cities.

Digital growth, structural changes, energy transitions, and sustainability in Sub‑Saharan Africa: evidence from the load capacity curve

Measuring the Impact of Globalization on Environmental Degradation in Pakistan

The study was aimed to investigate the impact of globalization on environmental degradation in Pakistan for the period 1990-2024. Stationarity test Augmented Dickey-Fuller and Phillips-Perron are employed to the order of stationarity. For estimation of the parameters of the model Auto-Regressive Distributed Lags approach is employed. Bound Test reported that there is long run relationship between the variables of the model. Long run results showed that globalization affect negatively and significantly environmental degradation, which means that globalization improves environmental quality through technological diffusion and the adoption of cleaner production practices. In contrast, population density has a positive and significant impact on environmental degradation, implying that higher population concentration increases carbon dioxide emissions and worsens environmental quality. Similarly, economic growth is found to have a positive and statistically significant long-run effect on environmental degradation, indicating that the process of economic expansion in Pakistan has been accompanied by increased energy consumption, industrial activities, and carbon emissions, thereby exerting pressure on environmental quality. Furthermore, poverty exhibits a positive and significant impact on environmental degradation, suggesting that higher poverty levels encourage the unsustainable exploitation of natural resources, reliance on environmentally harmful practices, and limited adoption of cleaner technologies. Based on these outcomes of the study, it is suggested that globalization, population dynamics, economic growth, and poverty should be paid special attentions regarding environmental policy formulation to provide clean and quality environment to the residents of the nation. It can be possible by Promoting environmentally sustainable technologies through globalization, implementing effective population dynamics, encouraging green economic growth, and reducing poverty through inclusive development are essential for achieving long-term environmental sustainability in Pakistan.