Green Finance and Industrial Low-Carbon Transition: Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment in China

Abstract

Under the constraints of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, research on effective policies for China’s industrial low-carbon transition is of both theoretical and practical importance. This study conducts a difference-in-differences strategy to investigate whether the green finance pilot policy (GFPP) promotes industrial low-carbon transition based on a provincial panel dataset. Our results show: (1) The GFPP has decreased the industrial carbon intensity of pilot zones by 4.09% on average, which still holds after several robustness checks. (2) This negative effect of the GFPP varies by geographic location (east, central, and west regions) and population size (high and low population groups). (3) The GFPP mainly promotes the low-carbon transition of industrial enterprises in the pilot zones by promoting energy transition rather than developing short-term emission reduction technologies. Finally, we propose some corresponding policy recommendations.