From Growth to Green: Do Finance and Digitalization Reshape Carbon Emissions in the United States?

This study investigates the underlying determinants of carbon emissions in the United States by focusing on the combined roles of economic growth, energy efficiency, financial accessibility, information and communication technology, and urbanization. Using annual time series data spanning 1990 to 2022, the analysis applies the autoregressive distributed lag framework to explore both long-run equilibrium relationships and short-run adjustments among the variables. The empirical findings indicate that economic expansion continues to exert upward pressure on emissions, reflecting the persistence of energy-intensive production and consumption structures. In contrast, improvements in energy efficiency significantly reduce emissions by lowering energy intensity and enhancing technological performance. Financial accessibility also contributes to environmental improvement by facilitating investment in cleaner technologies and sustainable infrastructure. Similarly, the expansion of digital technologies supports emission reduction through improved resource allocation, operational efficiency, and energy management systems. Urbanization shows mixed effects, with short-run pressures on emissions but a weaker long-run influence. The error-correction mechanism confirms a stable long-run relationship, indicating that short-term deviations gradually converge toward equilibrium. Overall, the findings highlight that financial and digital development, when aligned with efficiency improvements, can play a crucial role in promoting a low-carbon transition. These results provide important insights for designing integrated policies that balance economic progress with environmental sustainability.