Automating decarbonization: industrial robots and the manufacturing in resource-based cities

Advanced digital and automation technologies are increasingly promoted as key instruments for achieving low-carbon transitions. However, their applicability in resource-dependent regions remains uncertain, where industrial structures are often rigid and carbon-intensive. This paper examines whether and how industrial robot adoption contributes to decarbonization in China’s resource-based cities (RBCs). Using firm-level manufacturing data from 2007 to 2016, we construct both direct and indirect measures of carbon emissions and estimate the impact of robot adoption using fixed-effects models and an instrumental variable approach. We find that industrial robot adoption significantly reduces both total carbon emissions and emission intensity among manufacturing firms in RBCs. The effects are significant in mature resource-based cities and are also more pronounced among non-state-owned enterprises. Across industries, robot adoption exerts heterogeneous effects, reducing total emissions in high-automation industries while lowering emission intensity in low-automation industries. Our mechanism analysis reveals that the emission reduction effects operate through capital deepening and optimization of the emission structure. Moreover, the magnitude of the impact is conditioned by government environmental attention and local innovation investment. Overall, the findings provide insights for coordinating industrial upgrading, electrification strategies, and green governance in resource-dependent regions undergoing structural transition.