Is digital-green synergy the future of carbon emission performance?

Amid the new industrial revolution, digital technology and green finance play pivotal roles in shifting towards a low-carbon economy. This paper establishes a coherent research framework by integrating digital technology, green financing, and carbon emission performance. Utilizing a multifaceted dataset that combines provincial panel data with corporate listings databases, this study evaluates the development of green finance using a hybrid weighing methodology that merges the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) with the spatial-temporal entropy weight method. This work empirically analyzes the effects and mechanisms through which these factors influence carbon emission performance, employing instrumental variables and models with two-way fixed effects. The results show that: (1) Green finance (green) and digital technology both have a significant and direct impact on enhancing carbon emission performance (cep). (2) The synergistic effect is particularly pronounced in the central and western regions, as well as in areas characterized by lenient environmental regulations and weaker commercial credit systems. (3) This synergy is primarily achieved through promoting industrial upgrades, alleviating financial mismatches, and reducing information asymmetry. The study also shows that synergy shapes threshold features in the positive effect of synergy on cep when combined with regulatory actions and economic growth. (4) While the digitalization of businesses may initially increase carbon emissions, the combined impact of digital technology and green effectively mitigates these increases and leads to a substantial reduction in emissions. These findings suggest designing policy initiatives that are both unique and flexible, and increasing the extent and complexity of the integration between digital technology and green. The outcomes of this study offer significant guidance for policy development and industry practices.