Impact of Digitalization on Carbon Emissions in Guangdong’s Manufacturing Sector: An Input-Output Perspective

As global pressure to reduce emissions intensifies, China is increasingly turning to digital technologies to drive sustainable industrial development, aiming to boost pro-duction while keeping carbon emissions in check. This study takes a micro-level ap-proach by dividing the industry into 17 sectors and applying an Environmental-ly-extended input-output (EEIO) model combined with structural decomposition analysis (SDA) to quantify the impact of digital transformation on carbon emissions across sectors. The results indicate that: (1) Technological improvements driven by digitalization play a key role in reducing industrial carbon emissions; and (2) While high-carbon sectors show substantial emission reductions due to digital transfor-mation, industries such as textiles—where digital adoption is more challeng-ing—exhibit only limited improvements. These findings underscore the need to fur-ther advance technological upgrading and transformation in less digitally integrated sectors.