How the Digital Economy Shapes Green and Low-Carbon Development in the Yangtze River Economic Belt

Faced with increasingly severe resource shortages and environmental pressures, exploring the impact of the digital economy on green and low-carbon development and its potential mechanisms is of great significance. Drawing on a comprehensive panel dataset spanning the decade from 2014 to 2023, this study examines 11 provincial administrative regions situated within the Yangtze River Economic Belt in China, systematically examining the effects and underlying pathways of the digital economy on green and low-carbon development. We construct an evaluation index system for the digital economy and green and low-carbon development, and use a two-way fixed effects model, a moderating effect model, and a threshold regression model for empirical analysis. Empirical results show that the digital economy significantly promotes green and low-carbon development, and this conclusion remains robust after a series of robustness tests. Mechanism analysis indicates that green technology innovation plays a significant moderating role, amplifying the environmental benefits of the digital economy; industrial structure upgrading exhibits a double threshold effect, with the promoting effect of the digital economy on green and low-carbon development increasing as the threshold is exceeded. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the ecological effects of the digital economy are significant in the midstream and southwest cluster and in areas with high factor allocation efficiency. We conclude that optimizing the environment for digital economic development, emphasizing innovation in digital green technologies, and implementing differentiated regional and structural policies can achieve a coordinated advancement of digital transformation and green and low-carbon development, providing valuable empirical evidence and policy implications for regional sustainable development.