Digitalization and Household Consumption-Based Carbon Emissions: Evidence from China’s CFPS Panel

The rapid expansion of the digital economy is reshaping consumption patterns and carries significant implications for environmental sustainability and low-carbon transition. Against the backdrop of global carbon neutrality goals and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), understanding how digitalization influences household consumption-based carbon emissions is considered critical for promoting sustainable consumption systems. Using five waves of balanced panel data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) from 2014 to 2022, this study measures household carbon emissions based on the Consumer Lifestyle Approach (CLA) and constructs a multidimensional digitalization index covering digital access, usage, and cognition. Employing two-way fixed effects and chain mediation models, this study examines both the direct effects and underlying mechanisms linking digitalization and household carbon emissions. The results show that digitalization is significantly and positively associated with household carbon emissions, with notable heterogeneity across individuals, households, and regions. Mechanism analysis reveals that digitalization alleviates liquidity constraints and promotes consumption upgrading, forming a chain mediation pathway that drives emission growth. This study contributes to the literature by providing micro-level evidence on the environmental consequences of digitalization and by integrating behavioral mechanisms into the analysis of digital economy-environment interactions. It further offers policy insights for aligning digital transformation with low-carbon development and advancing sustainable consumption in the digital era.