IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/eneeco/v121y2023ics0140988323001731.html

Towards net-zero emissions: Can green bond policy promote green innovation and green space?

Author

Listed:
  • Lee, Chien-Chiang
  • Wang, Fuhao
  • Chang, Yu-Fang

Abstract

In the context of the worsening global climate change crisis, recent studies have highlighted the topic of net-zero emissions. Green bond policy as an important course of action to promote the green energy market is also attracting growing attention. This research thus focuses on whether green bond policy stimulates green innovation and green space, thus helping to achieve net-zero emissions. Based on data of cities in China, an empirical study is carried out and offers the following findings. First, green bond policy does directly foster green innovation and green space, and the results of robust tests show that the basic conclusion is reliable. This effect is also heterogeneous. Second, green bond policy encourages green innovation in different types of cities, but only does so for green space in cities with middle-level and high-level economic size and openness. Third, green bond policy indirectly promotes green innovation and green space by driving economic growth and increasing disposable income. Moreover, this effect is spatial. Fourth, green bond policy upholds local green innovation and green space, but hinders them in surrounding cities. Considering the direct effect and spillover effect together, the total effect is significantly positive. Lastly, the subsequent high-quality implementation of green bond policy is the key to further fostering green innovation and green space.

Suggested Citation

  • Lee, Chien-Chiang & Wang, Fuhao & Chang, Yu-Fang, 2023. "Towards net-zero emissions: Can green bond policy promote green innovation and green space?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:121:y:2023:i:c:s0140988323001731
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2023.106675
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988323001731
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eneco.2023.106675?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lee, Chi-Chuan & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2022. "How does green finance affect green total factor productivity? Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    2. Lv, Chengchao & Shao, Changhua & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2021. "Green technology innovation and financial development: Do environmental regulation and innovation output matter?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    3. Rong Guo & Xiaoya Song & Peiran Li & Guangming Wu & Zhiling Guo, 2020. "Large-Scale and Refined Green Space Identification-Based Sustainable Urban Renewal Mode Assessment," Mathematical Problems in Engineering, Hindawi, vol. 2020, pages 1-12, September.
    4. Sinha, Avik & Mishra, Shekhar & Sharif, Arshian & Yarovaya, Larisa, 2021. "Does Green Financing help to improve the Environmental & Social Responsibility? Designing SDG framework through Advanced Quantile modelling," MPRA Paper 108150, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2021.
    5. Sangiorgi, Ivan & Schopohl, Lisa, 2021. "Why do institutional investors buy green bonds: Evidence from a survey of European asset managers," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    6. Naeem, Muhammad Abubakr & Appiah, Michael & Karim, Sitara & Yarovaya, Larisa, 2023. "What abates environmental efficiency in African economies? Exploring the influence of infrastructure, industrialization, and innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 186(PB).
    7. Contesse, Maria & van Vliet, Bas J.M. & Lenhart, Jennifer, 2018. "Is urban agriculture urban green space? A comparison of policy arrangements for urban green space and urban agriculture in Santiago de Chile," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 566-577.
    8. Clarence Tolliver & Hidemichi Fujii & Alexander Ryota Keeley & Shunsuke Managi, 2021. "Green Innovation and Finance in Asia," Asian Economic Policy Review, Japan Center for Economic Research, vol. 16(1), pages 67-87, January.
    9. Zhiyong Li & Ying Tang & Jingya Wu & Junfeng Zhang & Qi Lv, 2020. "The Interest Costs of Green Bonds: Credit Ratings, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Certification," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(12), pages 2679-2692, September.
    10. Jafar Hussain & Chien‐Chiang Lee, 2022. "A green path towards sustainable development: Optimal behavior of the duopoly game model with carbon neutrality instruments," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(6), pages 1523-1541, December.
    11. Jingyan Fu & Artie W. Ng, 2021. "Scaling up Renewable Energy Assets: Issuing Green Bond via Structured Public-Private Collaboration for Managing Risk in an Emerging Economy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-16, May.
    12. Xiao Yu & Yingdong Xu & Jian Zhang & Yue Sun, 2022. "The Synergy Green Innovation Effect of Green Innovation Subsidies and Carbon Taxes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-27, March.
    13. Gu, Yan & Ho, Kung-Cheng & Yan, Cheng & Gozgor, Giray, 2021. "Public environmental concern, CEO turnover, and green investment: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    14. Jeonghee Choi & Gunwoo Kim, 2022. "History of Seoul’s Parks and Green Space Policies: Focusing on Policy Changes in Urban Development," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-28, March.
    15. Wang, Chih-Wei & Lee, Chien-Chiang & Wu, Lin-Tan, 2023. "The relationship between cash flow uncertainty and extreme risk: International evidence," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    16. Gyula Kothencz & Ronald Kolcsár & Pablo Cabrera-Barona & Péter Szilassi, 2017. "Urban Green Space Perception and Its Contribution to Well-Being," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-14, July.
    17. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Lou, Runchi & Wang, Fuhao, 2023. "Digital financial inclusion and poverty alleviation: Evidence from the sustainable development of China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 418-434.
    18. R. Pace & James LeSage, 2009. "A sampling approach to estimate the log determinant used in spatial likelihood problems," Journal of Geographical Systems, Springer, vol. 11(3), pages 209-225, September.
    19. Philippe Aghion & Jing Cai & Mathias Dewatripont & Luosha Du & Ann Harrison & Patrick Legros, 2022. "Industrial Policy and Competition," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Globalization, Firms, and Workers, chapter 15, pages 349-380, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    20. Zeng, Jingjing & Liu, Ting & Feiock, Richard & Li, Fei, 2019. "The impacts of China's provincial energy policies on major air pollutants: A spatial econometric analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 392-403.
    21. Wan, Jianjun & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2023. "Corporate investment and the dilemma of the monetary policy: Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 106-121.
    22. Yahya, Farzan & Abbas, Ghulam & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2023. "Asymmetric effects and volatility transmission from metals markets to solar energy stocks: Evidence from DCC, ADCC, and quantile regression approach," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    23. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Hussain, Jafar & Chen, Yongxiu, 2022. "The optimal behavior of renewable energy resources and government's energy consumption subsidy design from the perspective of green technology implementation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 670-680.
    24. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Wang, Fuhao & Lou, Runchi & Wang, Keying, 2023. "How does green finance drive the decarbonization of the economy? Empirical evidence from China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 671-684.
    25. Wang, Rui & Luo, Hang (Robin), 2022. "How does financial inclusion affect bank stability in emerging economies?," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(PA).
    26. Min Liu & Wei‐Chong Choo & Chi‐Chuan Lee & Chien‐Chiang Lee, 2023. "Trading volume and realized volatility forecasting: Evidence from the China stock market," Journal of Forecasting, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(1), pages 76-100, January.
    27. Corey A. DeAngelis & Angela K. Dills, 2020. "Does Compulsory Schooling Affect Innovation? Evidence from the United States," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 101(5), pages 1728-1742, September.
    28. Rennings, Klaus, 2000. "Redefining innovation -- eco-innovation research and the contribution from ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 319-332, February.
    29. Sitara Karim & Shabeer Khan & Nawazish Mirza & Suha M. Alawi & Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary, 2022. "Climate Finance In The Wake Of Covid-19: Connectedness Of Clean Energy With Conventional Energy And Regional Stock Markets," Climate Change Economics (CCE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 13(03), pages 1-25, August.
    30. Carlino, Gerald A. & Chatterjee, Satyajit & Hunt, Robert M., 2007. "Urban density and the rate of invention," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(3), pages 389-419, May.
    31. Lin, Boqiang & Zhou, Yicheng, 2022. "Measuring the green economic growth in China: Influencing factors and policy perspectives," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    32. Kanamura, Takashi, 2020. "Are green bonds environmentally friendly and good performing assets?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    33. Jianming Zhang & Gongqian Liang & Taiwen Feng & Chunlin Yuan & Wenbo Jiang, 2020. "Green innovation to respond to environmental regulation: How external knowledge adoption and green absorptive capacity matter?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 39-53, January.
    34. Naeem, Muhammad Abubakr & Yousaf, Imran & Karim, Sitara & Tiwari, Aviral Kumar & Farid, Saqib, 2023. "Comparing asymmetric price efficiency in regional ESG markets before and during COVID-19," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    35. Chungwon Woo & Yanghon Chung & Dongphil Chun & Seunghun Han & Dukhee Lee, 2014. "Impact of Green Innovation on Labor Productivity and its Determinants: an Analysis of the Korean Manufacturing Industry," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(8), pages 567-576, December.
    36. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Wang, Fuhao, 2022. "How does digital inclusive finance affect carbon intensity?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 174-190.
    37. Hongzan Jiao & Chengcong Li & Yang Yu & Zhenghong Peng, 2020. "Urban Public Green Space Equity against the Context of High-Speed Urbanization in Wuhan, Central China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-21, November.
    38. Zhiyong Li & Ying Tang & Jingya Wu & Junfeng Zhang & Qi Lv, 2020. "The Interest Costs of Green Bonds: Credit Ratings, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Certification," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(12), pages 2679-2692, September.
    39. Xiaoguang Zhou & Yadi Cui, 2019. "Green Bonds, Corporate Performance, and Corporate Social Responsibility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-27, December.
    40. Zhang, Ran & Li, Yanru & Liu, Yingzhu, 2021. "Green bond issuance and corporate cost of capital," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    41. Abakah, Emmanuel Joel Aikins & Nasreen, Samia & Tiwari, Aviral Kumar & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2023. "U.S. leveraged loan and debt markets: Implications for optimal portfolio and hedging," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    42. Wu, Zhen & Chen, Ruishan & Meadows, Michael E. & Sengupta, Dhritiraj & Xu, Di, 2019. "Changing urban green spaces in Shanghai: trends, drivers and policy implications," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    43. Yuegang Song & Feng Hao & Xiazhen Hao & Giray Gozgor, 2021. "Economic Policy Uncertainty, Outward Foreign Direct Investments, and Green Total Factor Productivity: Evidence from Firm-Level Data in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-16, February.
    44. Lee, Chi-Chuan & Lee, Chien-Chiang & Li, Yong-Yi, 2021. "Oil price shocks, geopolitical risks, and green bond market dynamics," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    45. Wenhao Song & Hongyan Yu, 2018. "Green Innovation Strategy and Green Innovation: The Roles of Green Creativity and Green Organizational Identity," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(2), pages 135-150, March.
    46. René Kemp & Babette Never, 2017. "Green transition, industrial policy, and economic development," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 33(1), pages 66-84.
    47. Lee, David S., 2008. "Randomized experiments from non-random selection in U.S. House elections," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 675-697, February.
    48. Reboredo, Juan C. & Ugolini, Andrea & Aiube, Fernando Antonio Lucena, 2020. "Network connectedness of green bonds and asset classes," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    49. Fujii, Hidemichi & Managi, Shunsuke, 2019. "Decomposition analysis of sustainable green technology inventions in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 10-16.
    50. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Wang, Fuhao & Lou, Runchi, 2022. "Digital financial inclusion and carbon neutrality: Evidence from non-linear analysis," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    51. Marie-Catherine Riekhof & Johannes Bröcker, 2017. "Does The Adverse Announcement Effect Of Climate Policy Matter? — A Dynamic General Equilibrium Analysis," Climate Change Economics (CCE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 8(02), pages 1-34, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Wang, Fuhao & Chang, Yu-Fang, 2023. "Does green finance promote renewable energy? Evidence from China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    2. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Wang, Fuhao & Lou, Runchi & Wang, Keying, 2023. "How does green finance drive the decarbonization of the economy? Empirical evidence from China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 671-684.
    3. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Ni, Wenjie & Zhang, Xiaoming, 2023. "FinTech development and commercial bank efficiency in China," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    4. Yahya, Farzan & Abbas, Ghulam & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2023. "Asymmetric effects and volatility transmission from metals markets to solar energy stocks: Evidence from DCC, ADCC, and quantile regression approach," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    5. Qiankun Wang & Mingsheng Chen & Tingwen Liu, 2024. "Research on Green Innovation Spillover Effects of Peers Issuing Green Bonds: Evidence from China’s Green Bond Market," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(4), pages 21582440241, October.
    6. Lin, Boqiang & Su, Tong, 2022. "Green bond vs conventional bond: Outline the rationale behind issuance choices in China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    7. Akhtaruzzaman, Md & Banerjee, Ameet Kumar & Ghardallou, Wafa & Umar, Zaghum, 2022. "Is greenness an optimal hedge for sectoral stock indices?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    8. Hussain, Jafar & Lee, Chien-Chiang & Hu, Danting, 2023. "Maximizing load capacity factor through a carbon-neutral environment via a simulation of carbon peak," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 746-764.
    9. Lee, Chien-Chiang & He, Zhi-Wen & Yuan, Zihao, 2023. "A pathway to sustainable development: Digitization and green productivity," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    10. Doğan, Buhari & Trabelsi, Nader & Tiwari, Aviral Kumar & Ghosh, Sudeshna, 2023. "Dynamic dependence and causality between crude oil, green bonds, commodities, geopolitical risks, and policy uncertainty," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 36-62.
    11. Cotugno, Matteo & Fiorillo, Paolo & Monferrà, Stefano & Severini, Sabrina, 2025. "ESG incidents and corporate green bond market reaction," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    12. Wan, Jianjun & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2023. "Corporate investment and the dilemma of the monetary policy: Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 106-121.
    13. Tsagkanos, Athanasios & Argyropoulou, Despoina & Androulakis, Georgios, 2022. "Asymmetric economic effects via the dependence structure of green bonds and financial stress index," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 26(C).
    14. Deng, Jing & Liu, Yejiao & Zhuang, Zhitao & Gu, Xuesong & Xing, Xiaoyun, 2024. "Do China and USA differ in the interrelationship between green bond and ESG markets?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PB), pages 919-934.
    15. Sokhanvar, Amin & Çiftçioğlu, Serhan & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2023. "The effect of energy price shocks on commodity currencies during the war in Ukraine," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    16. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Hussain, Jafar, 2023. "An assessment of socioeconomic indicators and energy consumption by considering green financing," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    17. Christnacht, Lukas & Mertzanis, Charilaos, 2025. "Foreign direct investment, technology transfer and the global issuance of green bonds," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    18. Ahuja, Mayank & Mondal, Debjeet & Mishra, D.P. & Ghosh, Sayan & Kumar, Manoj, 2023. "Assessment of financial and environmental impacts of pre-mining methane drainage in Indian scenario: A case study using Jharia coal seams," Innovation and Green Development, Elsevier, vol. 2(3).
    19. Yang, Minhua & Ma, Linkun & Gu, Yan & Wu, Wenfeng, 2025. "The impacts of green bonds on the green innovation: Evidence from the corporate green transformation in China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    20. Ruan, Qingsong & Li, Chengyu & Lv, Dayong & Wei, Xiaokun, 2025. "Going Green: Effect of green bond issuance on corporate debt financing costs," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(PA).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:121:y:2023:i:c:s0140988323001731. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/eneco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.