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Toward low‐carbon sustainable development: Exploring the impact of digital economy development and industrial restructuring

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  • Lisi Tan
  • Zhuodong Yang
  • Muhammad Irfan
  • Chante Jian Ding
  • Mingjun Hu
  • Jin Hu

Abstract

Low‐carbon sustainable development is considered an essential strategy for achieving economic growth and environmental protection, requiring a fundamental transformation of the industrial structure, including developing clean technologies, promoting energy efficiency, and adopting sustainable production and consumption patterns. Simultaneously, the evolving digital economy is acknowledged as an essential driver in optimizing the industrial structure. Therefore, can digital economy development reshape the industrial structure and lead to low‐carbon sustainable development? The main purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of industrial structure upgrading in the relationship between the digital economy and low‐carbon development. Its ultimate purpose is to explore more possible paths to achieve low‐carbon development. This paper builds a regression model based on the data of cities. We found that digital economic development can directly promote low‐carbon sustainable development, a conclusion that still holds after endogeneity discussion and robustness testing. Additionally, digital economy development can promote industrial structure upgrading and thus promote low‐carbon sustainable development, meaning that industrial structure upgrading is an effective mechanism for digital economy development to promote low‐carbon sustainable development. This paper provides empirical evidence for the positive environmental externalities of digital economic development and establishes a basic research framework of “digital economic development → industrial structure upgrading → low‐carbon sustainable development.”

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  • Lisi Tan & Zhuodong Yang & Muhammad Irfan & Chante Jian Ding & Mingjun Hu & Jin Hu, 2024. "Toward low‐carbon sustainable development: Exploring the impact of digital economy development and industrial restructuring," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 2159-2172, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:33:y:2024:i:3:p:2159-2172
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.3584
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    3. Huang, Zhehao & Dong, Hao & Liu, Zhaofei & Albitar, Khaldoon, 2025. "Unleashing the empowered effect of data resource on inclusive green growth: Based on double machine learning," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 1270-1290.
    4. Jun Liu & Peng Zhang & Xiaofei Wang, 2025. "Exploring the Mechanisms and Pathways Through Which the Digital Transformation of Manufacturing Enterprises Enhances Green and Low-Carbon Performance Under the “Dual Carbon” Goals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-25, January.
    5. Wang, Shucui & Peng, Ting & Du, Anna Min & Lin, Xiaohui, 2025. "The impact of the digital economy on rural industrial revitalization," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    6. Ai, Hongshan & Tan, Xiaoqing & Mangla, Sachin Kumar & Emrouznejad, Ali & Liu, Fan & Song, Malin, 2025. "Renewable energy transition and sustainable development: Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    7. Daojin, Cheng & Xiaotian, Guo & Yuanyuan, Guo, 2025. "Research on the mechanism of digital economy enabling the conversion of new and old kinetic energy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
    8. Guo, Lu & Xiao, Fang, 2024. "Digital economy, aging of the labor force, and employment transformation of migrant workers: Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 787-807.
    9. Wei-wei He & Shao-ling He & Hai-lan Hou, 2024. "Digital economy, technological innovation, and sustainable development," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(7), pages 1-24, July.
    10. Karlilar Pata, Selin & Pata, Ugur Korkut & Wang, Qiang, 2025. "Ecological power of energy storage, clean fuel innovation, and energy-related research and development technologies," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).

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