How does the digital economy empower green and low-carbon development? The synergistic role of government governance and public participation
摘要
This research evaluates the degree of green and low-carbon development (GLD) in urban China from the perspective of coordination among pollution abatement, carbon mitigation, and economic expansion. It also investigates how DIE drives GLD and its underlying influencing mechanisms, as well as the synergistic effects of DIE with government governance (GGT) and public participation (PPR). The results indicate that DIE can drive GLD, primarily by stimulating green technological innovation and reducing energy intensity. Furthermore, when DIE synergizes with government governance capacity and effectiveness, its positive impact on GLD is significantly amplified, reaching 3.3 times and 3.1 times that of its standalone effect, respectively. Public environmental concern also demonstrates certain synergistic promotion effects, but compared to GGT, its effectiveness is relatively weaker, while the synergistic promotion effects of public environmental supervision have not yet been significantly manifested. These findings lay a foundation for formulating GLD-related policies, highlight the critical role of the government in leading GLD transitions in the DIE era, and underscore the necessity of PPR.