Digital economy-driven decarbonization pathways: analyzing how digital economy and globalization impact climate change in the top-10 digital economies

In light of rising ecological challenges, the debate surrounding the digital economy and globalization in climate change has become prominent in formulating stringent environmental and sustainable policies. The current research debates environmental outcomes by analyzing the nexus between climate change, digital economy, globalization, industrial value addition, and urbanization in the top-10 digital economies. We use extensive empirical and econometric analysis to confirm the inverted U-shaped EKC hypothesis for gross domestic product and further report that the digital economy is integral to combating climate change. However, globalization, industrial value addition, and urbanization degrade ecological sustainability. Our strong theoretical and empirical analysis allows the current study to report novel policy suggestions aimed at promoting digital economic development and environmental sustainability.