The Impact of New-Type Urbanization on the Decoupling Between Energy Consumption and Economic Growth in China: The Role of Digital Economy Platforms

China’s urbanization has entered a stage of high-quality development, yet persistent urban expansion and the rapid rise of the digital platform economy have driven up energy consumption, making the decoupling of energy use from economic growth increasingly urgent. To address this challenge, this study examines how new urbanization influences the decoupling of energy consumption from economic growth in China and explores its underlying mechanisms. Using panel data from 30 Chinese provinces spanning 2014–2023, we employ a two-way fixed-effects model to test our hypotheses. The results indicate that new urbanization significantly suppresses energy-growth decoupling: a 1% increase in the new urbanization index reduces the decoupling index by 0.686 units. The expansion of the digital platform economy intensifies this suppression effect. Concurrently, technological innovation and government support play mediating roles. The study thus concludes that promoting high-quality new urbanization, accelerating technological progress, and strengthening government investment are key pathways to advancing decoupling.