Mitigating <scp>CO₂</scp> Emissions: China‐East Asia Trade, Digitalization, and Geography's Impact on Sustainable Environmental Development

ABSTRACT Technological advancement and favorable geographical factors significantly increase environmental development. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by examining the impact of China‐East Asia trade, geography, and digitalization on CO 2 emissions, aiming to assess sustainable environmental development in East Asia from 1990 to 2021. The analysis employs Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) and the Dumitrescu and Hurlin (DH) causality tests to provide comprehensive insights. The findings reveal that China‐East Asia trade positively contributes to sustainable environmental development in East Asia by promoting economic integration and cleaner technological practices. However, the direct impact of geographical factors worsens sustainable environmental development, likely due to challenges related to distance, terrain, and natural resource distribution. Furthermore, the results highlight that digitalization significantly reduces CO 2 emissions, enhancing sustainable environmental development. Additionally, the threshold effect indicates that digitalization plays a crucial role in either amplifying or mitigating the impact of trade and geography by enhancing technological efficiency and facilitating information exchange, ultimately contributing to sustainable environmental development. The DH causality test results confirm that China‐East Asia trade, geography, and digitalization exhibit predictive power for sustainable environmental development, highlighting their interconnected roles in shaping environmental outcomes. This study concludes with key policy recommendations aimed at promoting sustainable environmental development by strengthening digitalization and refining trade policies to mitigate geographical constraints.