Ziyuan Kexue (Apr 2023)
The carbon emission reduction effect of green finance development
Abstract
[Objective] How to effectively release the “carbon reduction dividend” of green finance development is a major choice for China to implement the “dual carbon” strategy under the new development pattern. [Methods] On the basis of systematically explaining the three-dimensional mechanism of green finance assisting carbon emission reduction, an empirical study was conducted by using panel mediation effect, quantile, and other methods and provincial panel data. [Results] The study found that: (1) The rapid development of green finance has significantly inhibited China’s carbon emissions and can become a new momentum for China to accelerate the achievement of the “dual carbon” goals, and this result still holds after a series of robustness tests. (2) Green finance not only can provide direct impetus for carbon reduction, but also have a positive impact indirectly on carbon emission reduction by accelerating industrial upgrading and driving green technological innovation. However, the direct carbon reduction effect of the development of green finance at this stage far exceeds the indirect effect. (3) Actively guiding private capital to effectively contribute to carbon emission reduction is the key link of green financial policy, but at the present, the path has not been smooth and the effect of carbon reduction is extremely limited, which indicates that the government should further optimize the top-level design and strengthen the guidance of the system. (4) The actual impact of green finance on carbon emission reduction is not invariable, but has obvious phased “structural transformation” characteristics, that is, with the continuous reduction of carbon emission level, the carbon reduction effect of green finance development will be enhanced gradually, and the carbon emission reduction effect of green finance development will be more obvious under the low-level carbon emission situation. [Conclusion] This study confirmed the effectiveness and necessity of providing green financial support in the process of achieving the “dual carbon” goals, and also found that phased, focused, and dynamic green financial strategy is more conducive to playing the leading and driving role of carbon reduction. The above findings have certain reference value for the future implementation and optimization of the “dual carbon” goals related policies in the country.
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