Internet Usage, Human Capital and CO 2 Emissions: A Global Perspective

Under the background of dealing with global warming, the widespread use of the internet provides a new idea for countries to develop a low-carbon economy at the right time. Based on the panel data of 70 countries from 1995–2018, this paper empirically analyzes the relationship between internet usage, human capital, and CO 2 emissions under different levels of economic development by using system GMM and a threshold regression model. The results show that internet usage and human capital are essential drivers of low-carbon economy development, and human capital can inversely regulate the impact of internet usage on CO 2 emissions. Internet usage can increase CO 2 emissions when human capital is below the threshold value, and it can significantly inhibit CO 2 emissions when human capital exceeds the threshold value. In other words, with the accumulation of human capital, the effect of internet usage on CO 2 emissions has an inverted U-shaped nonlinear relationship. Furthermore, the empirical analysis of high-income and middle- and low-income countries indicates the hindrance effect of internet usage on CO 2 emissions is more evident in high-income countries. For both the high-income and middle- and low-income countries, the relationship between internet usage and CO 2 emissions generally shows an inverted “U-shaped” relationship, first rising and then falling as human capital accumulates.