Open Access Journal Article

Smarter and Sustainable Development: Evaluating the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction

by Siyu Ren a  and  Wenchao Bu b,*
a
School of International Business, Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, Shanghai, China
b
Center for Transnationals' Studies of Nankai University, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
JIE  2024 2(3):35; https://doi.org/10.58567/jie02030004
Received: 24 November 2024 / Accepted: 31 December 2024 / Published Online: 8 January 2025
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Abstract

Improving energy conservation and emission reduction (ECER) efficiency is a virtuous cycle of economic development and environmental protection, promoting countries around the world towards sustainable development. As a strategic technology leading a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, the large-scale application of artificial intelligence (AI) is driving the transformation of manufacturing production methods, which is increasingly essential for improving the effectiveness of environmental governance. This study aims to analyze the impact of AI technology on ECER in the manufacturing industry, as well as the specific impact paths and heterogeneity. We contribute to previous literature by measuring ECER of Chinese manufacturing sector using the EBM model. The mediation effect model is used to analyze the impact mechanism between AI technology and ECER. The results indicate that AI promotes the ECER efficiency in the manufacturing sector. The positive effects are attributed to the development of energy consumption structure and technological innovation. The impact of AI on ECER exhibits an evident heterogeneous effect across industries with different pollution intensity, R&D intensity and labor intensity, and ownership dominant industry. Additionally, higher levels of environmental regulation lead to an increase in the positive effects of robot promotion on ECER. The research conclusions provide important reference for understanding the relationship between AI technology and ECER, and contribute a new way to promote environmental governance and carbon neutrality.

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction; Technological Innovation; Sustainable Development;
Copyright: © 2025 by Ren and Bu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

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ACS Style
Ren, S.; Bu, W. Smarter and Sustainable Development: Evaluating the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction. Journal of Information Economics, 2024, 2, 35. https://doi.org/10.58567/jie02030004
AMA Style
Ren S, Bu W. Smarter and Sustainable Development: Evaluating the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction. Journal of Information Economics; 2024, 2(3):35. https://doi.org/10.58567/jie02030004
Chicago/Turabian Style
Ren, Siyu; Bu, Wenchao 2024. "Smarter and Sustainable Development: Evaluating the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction" Journal of Information Economics 2, no.3:35. https://doi.org/10.58567/jie02030004
APA style
Ren, S., & Bu, W. (2024). Smarter and Sustainable Development: Evaluating the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction. Journal of Information Economics, 2(3), 35. https://doi.org/10.58567/jie02030004

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