Can digital environmental monitoring alleviate environmental inequality? Evidence from ambient air quality standards in China

Reducing environmental inequality and achieving inclusive green development has always been a critical challenge. We provide a new solution from digital environmental monitoring (DEM). This study uses the "Ambient Air Quality Standards (2012)" policy as a quasi-natural experiment for DEM, with a sample of 283 prefecture-level cities in China, to investigate whether DEM can alleviate environmental inequality. The study finds that (1) DEM can mitigate environmental inequality; (2) From the perspectives of government and firms, DEM can alleviate environmental inequality by reducing government enforcement biases in environmental regulations and minimizing pollution transfer by firms; (3) Public environmental concern amplifies the impact of DEM, and higher government digitalization levels enhance environmental monitoring and management effectiveness. Additionally, the effect of DEM on improving environmental inequality is more pronounced in cities with less economic pressure, more intense official promotion competition, and greater green innovation collaboration. These findings enrich the understanding of DEM and provide policy insights for comprehensive pollution control.