The Impact and Spatial Effects of Industrial Intelligence on Carbon Emissions in Chinese Cities

Industrial intelligence is crucial for achieving the deep integration of informatization and industrialization and serves as a key driver in balancing the dual objectives of environmental protection and economic growth. Using the penetration rate of industrial robots as a representative indicator of industrial intelligence development, this study employs panel data from 253 Chinese cities at or above the prefectural level to empirically examine the impact of industrial intelligence on urban carbon emission intensity and its underlying mechanisms through a bidirectional fixed effects model. The findings indicate that industrial intelligence contributes to reducing local carbon emission intensity; however, as the adoption of emerging technologies increases, this effect exhibits a marginally diminishing trend. Mechanism analysis reveals that industrial intelligence reduces carbon emissions primarily by lowering energy consumption intensity and facilitating the upgrading of the service industry structure. Further investigation using the spatial Durbin model shows that both industrial intelligence and carbon emission intensity in Chinese cities display spatial clustering. Moreover, the development of regional industrial intelligence exerts a negative spatial spillover effect on the carbon emission intensity of neighboring areas. The carbon reduction effect of industrial intelligence varies spatially, with differing intensities across locations. These findings offer significant theoretical insights into the current state of China’s digital and intelligent economic development and clarify the low-carbon transformation pathway for the manufacturing industry.