电子商务与碳排放关系研究综述：进展、争议与未来展望

A Review of the Relationship between E-Commerce and Carbon Emissions: Progress, Controversy and Future Prospects

摘要: 随着数字经济的蓬勃发展，电子商务已成为全球经济增长的重要引擎，深刻改变了生产、消费和流通模式。然而，其快速扩张也引发了对环境影响的广泛关注，特别是与碳排放之间的复杂关系。本研究旨在通过对近年来国内外核心期刊进行系统性综述，深入探讨电子商务与碳排放之间的关系，梳理当前研究的进展、存在的争议以及未来的研究方向。研究发现，电子商务对碳排放的影响呈现出双重性：一方面，通过促进产业结构升级、提升资源配置效率、推动绿色技术创新和优化物流配送等机制，电子商务展现出显著的碳减排潜力；另一方面，其带来的消费规模扩张、物流活动增加、包装废弃物激增以及数字基础设施能耗等问题，也可能导致碳排放的增加。本综述不仅总结了现有研究的主要发现，还识别了当前研究的局限性与争议点，如区域异质性、测算方法差异以及长期效应的不确定性，并在此基础上展望了未来研究的重点，包括深化作用机制分析、完善碳足迹核算体系、探索新兴技术应用，以期为实现“双碳”目标和推动电子商务可持续发展提供理论支撑与政策启示。

Abstract: With the booming development of the digital economy, e-commerce has become a vital engine for global economic growth, profoundly transforming production, consumption, and distribution models. However, its rapid expansion has also sparked widespread concern about environmental impacts, particularly the complex relationship with carbon emissions. This study aims to systematically review core domestic and international journals in recent years to explore the relationship between e-commerce and carbon emissions, outlining current research progress, existing controversies, and future research directions. The findings reveal a dual nature in e-commerce’s impact on carbon emissions: On one hand, e-commerce demonstrates significant carbon reduction potential through mechanisms such as promoting industrial structure upgrading, improving resource allocation efficiency, driving green technological innovation, and optimizing logistics distribution. On the other hand, it may also lead to increased carbon emissions due to expanded consumption scale, increased logistics activities, surging packaging waste, and energy consumption in digital infrastructure. This review not only summarizes key findings from existing research but also identifies current limitations and controversies, including regional heterogeneity, methodological differences, and uncertainties in long-term effects. It further outlines future research priorities, such as deepening mechanism analysis, improving carbon footprint accounting systems, and exploring emerging technology applications, aiming to provide theoretical support and policy insights for achieving the “dual carbon” goals and promoting sustainable e-commerce development.