The Influence and the Function of the Digitalization of Logistics on Carbon Emission in China

Abstract

Digitization and greening, as two critical themes in the development of today’s world, are also the main driving forces for high-quality and sustainable economic development. Based on the panel data of 30 provinces in China (except Tibet and Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan) from 2011-2019, this paper firstly measures the level of digital development of China’s logistics industry by establishing a coupled and coordinated development model of China’s logistics industry and digital industry, using two-way fixed effects model empirically China’s logistics industry digital level on its carbon intensity, The mediating effect of logistics industry transformation and upgrading level on the impact of logistics digitalization level on its carbon emission intensity is further tested. The results show that: (1) the digitalization level of China’s logistics industry shows an obvious “high in the east and low in the west”; (2) the influence of the digitalization level of the logistics industry on its carbon emission intensity is non-linear, with a significant inverse shape; (3) the transformation and upgrading level of the logistics industry has a positive mediating effect in the influence of the digitalization level of the logistics industry on its carbon emission intensity. The intermediary effect of positive regulation, in which the intermediary utility accounts for 66.7% of the total utility.