Reducing transport carbon intensity in the belt and road countries using the global value chain and the moderating role of digital industrialization

In economic globalization and climate change, the global value chain (GVC) research framework has become a prominent tool for studying carbon intensity (CI). The transportation industry is fundamental for the national economy and an essential service industry, playing an integrating role across the components of the GVC. The transport industry of the “Belt and Road” (B&R) countries has already been integrated into GVC by virtue of their resource and labor endowments, causing serious carbon emission problems. Finding new ways to reduce CI from the viewpoint of GVC embedding is vital. Using 2007–2020 data, this study explores the impact of GVC embedding on transport CI and analyzes the moderating role of digital industrialization. The study provides several conclusions. First, GVC forward embedding and the improvement of embedding position limit CI, whereas backward embedding promotes CI. Second, the analysis of country heterogeneity reveals that backward embedding inhibits the transport CI of countries with a high human development index. Third, the moderating effect suggests that digital industrialization enhances the inhibiting effect of embedding position and forward embedding on CI while weakening the facilitating effect of backward embedding on CI. Graphic abstract