The impact of digital finance on residential carbon emissions: Evidence from China

Reducing residential carbon emissions is important for all countries to achieve carbon neutrality. For such task, the impact of digital development of finance on residential carbon emissions cannot be ignored. This paper estimates residential carbon emissions in 186 Chinese cities from 2011 to 2019 and examines the effects and mechanisms of digital finance on residential carbon emissions. The results show that digital finance exacerbates residential carbon emissions in China. In terms of the structural composition of carbon emissions, digital finance mainly increases residential carbon emissions by affecting electricity consumption and transportation in China. Mechanism analysis shows that digital finance can increase residential carbon emissions through the consumption effect and employment effect.(c) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.