The Influencing Mechanism of Intelligent Production on Carbon Emission Efficiency of Equipment Manufacturing Industry in China

Intelligent production has changed the traditional mode of production. However, how to achieve an improvement in carbon emission efficiency via intelligent production needs to be further explored. This study focuses on the mechanism of how production intelligence affects the equipment manufacturing sector’s carbon emission efficiency. Using data from 247 businesses in the equipment manufacturing sector between 2015 and 2021, this study applies fixed-effects models and statistical analysis methods to explore the correlation between production intelligence and the equipment manufacturing sector’s carbon emission efficiency. The results indicate that intelligent production can effectively improve the carbon emission efficiency of equipment manufacturing businesses and improve the carbon emission efficiency by enhancing the energy utilization rate of enterprises. Environmental regulation has a regulating function in the connection between the production intelligence and carbon emission efficiency of equipment manufacturing enterprises. There are also regional and industrial differences in the effect of intelligent production on carbon emission efficiency. Based on these findings, our study proposes three policy suggestions for policymakers.