Digitizing supply chains to boost renewable energy technological innovation

Climate change poses an increasingly severe challenge, making renewable energy technological innovation (RETI) a critical priority for sustainable development. While scholars have discussed digital transformation in various contexts, the specific contribution of supply chain digitalization, particularly within urban economies in emerging countries, has not received sufficient scrutiny. To narrow this gap, this study evaluates the effect of China's Supply Chain Digitization (SCD) Pilot Policy on RETI. Drawing on a balanced panel of 276 prefecture-level cities from 2011 to 2021, and applying a difference-in-differences approach with city and year fixed effects, the analysis suggests that cities involved in the SCD pilot experienced roughly an 8–9 % increase in renewable-energy patenting compared with non-pilot counterparts. Further examination points to three possible mechanisms: greater technical support from local governments, efficiency gains in the allocation of resources, and stronger market-driven incentives that encourage firms to invest in green innovation. Heterogeneity analyses further show stronger effects in eastern and southern provinces and in cities with priority environmental concern where digital infrastructures are better developed. These findings contribute novel causal evidence on how digital supply-chain practices foster urban green innovation and provide integrated policy implications: coupling digital strategies with energy transition initiatives can accelerate renewable innovation and advance global sustainability goals.