IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/tefoso/v212y2025ics0040162525000149.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Impact of green credit policy on energy efficiency: Empirical evidence from heavily polluting enterprises

Author

Listed:
  • Pan, Ting
  • Lin, Boqiang

Abstract

Improving energy efficiency (EE) is an important way to realize the low-carbon transformation of heavily polluting enterprises (HPEs). Green credit policy (GCP) environmental governance has emerged as a key energy-saving strategy. The impact and primary mechanisms of GCP on HPEs' EE are examined in this research using a DID model and data from a Chinese corporate tax survey. It also compares how the decisions of relevant stakeholders from local governments, financial markets, and the public affect the correlation between GCP and EE. Research has found that: (1) HPEs' EE can be successfully increased with GCP. (2) The positive relationship between GCP and EE can be positively regulated by the degree of financial market growth and public environmental awareness, while local government environmental regulations play a negative regulatory role. (3) The GCP improves EE through three main channels: reducing energy use, improving environmental information disclosure, and encouraging technological innovation. (4) In areas with high marketization, high energy intensity, and large firms, the impact of GCP is more significant. By assessing the impact of GCP implementation, the paper offers specific recommendations for enhancing the green finance system and encouraging sustainable green development of businesses.

Suggested Citation

  • Pan, Ting & Lin, Boqiang, 2025. "Impact of green credit policy on energy efficiency: Empirical evidence from heavily polluting enterprises," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 212(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:212:y:2025:i:c:s0040162525000149
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2025.123983
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162525000149
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.techfore.2025.123983?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 search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dasgupta, Susmita & Hong, Jong Ho & Laplante, Benoit & Mamingi, Nlandu, 2006. "Disclosure of environmental violations and stock market in the Republic of Korea," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(4), pages 759-777, July.
    2. Kennedy, Christopher, 2022. "Capital, energy and carbon in the United States economy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 314(C).
    3. Zhang, Shengling & Wu, Zihao & He, Yinan & Hao, Yu, 2022. "How does the green credit policy affect the technological innovation of enterprises? Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    4. Zhu, Junpeng & Lin, Boqiang, 2022. "Economic growth pressure and energy efficiency improvement: Empirical evidence from Chinese cities," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 307(C).
    5. Zhang, Xu & Wang, Pengmian & Xu, Qiuxiang, 2024. "Corporate environmental governance under the coordination of fiscal and financial policies: The case of green credit subsidy policy," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    6. Zhou, Guangyou & Zhu, Jieyu & Luo, Sumei, 2022. "The impact of fintech innovation on green growth in China: Mediating effect of green finance," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    7. Yu, Weihua & Peng, Yiwen & Yao, Xin, 2022. "The effects of China's supporting policy for resource-exhausted cities on local energy efficiency: An empirical study based on 284 cities in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    8. Ren, Yangqiu & Hu, Guoliu & Wan, Qing, 2024. "Environmental Protection tax and diversified transition of heavily polluting enterprises: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 1570-1592.
    9. Guo, Shu & Zhang, ZhongXiang, 2023. "Green credit policy and total factor productivity: Evidence from Chinese listed companies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    10. Li, Shan & Liu, Jianjiang & Shi, Daqian, 2021. "The impact of emissions trading system on corporate energy efficiency: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 233(C).
    11. Song, Malin & Xie, Qianjiao & Shen, Zhiyang, 2021. "Impact of green credit on high-efficiency utilization of energy in China considering environmental constraints," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    12. Zhang, Yixiang & Xiong, Yali & Li, Feng & Cheng, Jinhua & Yue, Xiaochen, 2020. "Environmental regulation, capital output and energy efficiency in China: An empirical research based on integrated energy prices," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    13. Hussain, Shahid & Xuetong, Wang & Maqbool, Rashid & Hussain, Mustansar & Shahnawaz, Muhammad, 2022. "The influence of government support, organizational innovativeness and community participation in renewable energy project success: A case of Pakistan," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PC).
    14. Zhu, Junpeng & Lin, Boqiang, 2020. "Convergence analysis of city-level energy intensity in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    15. Ding, Jinxiu & Lu, Zhe & Yu, Chin-Hsien, 2022. "Environmental information disclosure and firms’ green innovation: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 147-159.
    16. Meng, Weidong & Ma, Miaomiao & Li, Yuyu & Huang, Bo, 2022. "New energy vehicle R&D strategy with supplier capital constraints under China's dual credit policy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    17. Ma, Yechi & Sha, Yezhou & Wang, Zilong & Zhang, Wenjing, 2023. "The effect of the policy mix of green credit and government subsidy on environmental innovation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    18. Ma, Dan & He, Yuhang & Zeng, Linggang, 2024. "Can green finance improve the ESG performance? Evidence from green credit policy in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    19. Sung, Bongsuk & Soh, Jin Young & Park, Chun Gun, 2022. "Comparing government support, firm heterogeneity, and inter-firm spillovers for productivity enhancement: Evidence from the Korean solar energy technology industry," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).
    20. Li, Ruiqian & Ramanathan, Ramakrishnan, 2024. "The interactive effect of environmental penalties and environmental subsidies on corporate environmental innovation: Is more better or worse?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    21. Wang, Yi & Wang, Huiping, 2023. "Spatial spillover effect of urban sprawl on total factor energy ecological efficiency: Evidence from 272 cities in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 273(C).
    22. Gu, Yan & Ho, Kung-Cheng & Xia, Senmao & Yan, Cheng, 2022. "Do public environmental concerns promote new energy enterprises' development? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    23. Smirnova, Elena & Kot, Sebastian & Kolpak, Eugeny & Shestak, Viktor, 2021. "Governmental support and renewable energy production: A cross-country review," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    24. Xu, Zhe & Meng, Lu & He, Dan & Shi, Xiaoliang & Chen, Ke, 2022. "Government Support's signaling effect on credit financing for new-energy enterprises," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    25. Wiskich, Anthony, 2021. "A comment on innovation with multiple equilibria and "The environment and directed technical change"," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    26. Lin, Boqiang & Pan, Ting, 2024. "Whether green credit is effecitve: a study based on stock market," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 261-274.
    27. Jiang, Zhujun & Lin, Boqiang, 2012. "China's energy demand and its characteristics in the industrialization and urbanization process," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 608-615.
    28. Yi, Hongtao, 2014. "Green businesses in a clean energy economy: Analyzing drivers of green business growth in U.S. states," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 922-929.
    29. Zheng, Huan & Wu, Shaofan, 2024. "The spatial effect of financial openness on high-quality economic development: Evidence from provincial-level data in China," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    30. Jin, Wei & Shi, Xunpeng & Zhang, Lin, 2021. "Energy transition without dirty capital stranding," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    31. Wen, Huwei & Lee, Chien-Chiang & Zhou, Fengxiu, 2021. "Green credit policy, credit allocation efficiency and upgrade of energy-intensive enterprises," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    32. Xing, Chao & Zhang, Yuming & Tripe, David, 2021. "Green credit policy and corporate access to bank loans in China: The role of environmental disclosure and green innovation," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    33. Lu, Zhiqiang & Li, Hongyu, 2023. "Does environmental information disclosure affect green innovation?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 47-59.
    34. Tan, Xiujie & Xiao, Ziwei & Liu, Yishuang & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad & Wang, Banban & Dong, Hanmin, 2022. "The effect of green credit policy on energy efficiency: Evidence from China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    35. Li, Youwei & Liao, Ming & Liu, Yangke, 2023. "How does green credit policy affect polluting firms' dividend policy? The China experience," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    36. Liao, Xianchun & Shi, Xunpeng (Roc), 2018. "Public appeal, environmental regulation and green investment: Evidence from China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 554-562.
    37. Xuan, Siyuan & Ge, Wenfeng & Yang, Ping & Zhang, Yunfeng, 2024. "Exploring digital finance, financial regulations and carbon emission nexus: New insight from resources efficiency, industrial structure and green innovation in China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    38. Zhou, Xiaoxiao & Dai, Mengsi & Liu, Li, 2024. "Green credit, carbon emission trading and corporate green innovation: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    39. Liu, Yang & Pham, Ha & Mai, Yong, 2024. "Green investment policy and maturity mismatch of investment and financing in China's heavily polluting enterprises," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PB), pages 1145-1158.
    40. Finger, Maya & Gavious, Ilanit & Manos, Ronny, 2018. "Environmental risk management and financial performance in the banking industry: A cross-country comparison," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 240-261.
    41. Hu, Guoqiang & Wang, Xiaoqi & Wang, Yu, 2021. "Can the green credit policy stimulate green innovation in heavily polluting enterprises? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    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. Ting Pan & Boqiang Lin, 2025. "Is the green credit policy useful for improving energy intensity? Evidence from cities in China," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 11(1), pages 1-29, December.
    2. Peng, Changhong & Zhang, Shuqin & Rong, Xueyun & Chen, Dongjing, 2024. "Is China's green credit policy effective? -Based on the perspective of enterprise environmental performance and economic performance," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    3. Tian, Jinfang & Sun, Siyang & Cao, Wei & Bu, Di & Xue, Rui, 2024. "Make every dollar count: The impact of green credit regulation on corporate green investment efficiency," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    4. Huang, Hongyun & Mbanyele, William & Wang, Fengrong & Song, Malin & Wang, Yuzhang, 2022. "Climbing the quality ladder of green innovation: Does green finance matter?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    5. Ma, Yanbai & Lu, Ling & Cui, Jingbo & Shi, Xunpeng, 2024. "Can green credit policy stimulate firms’ green investments?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 123-137.
    6. Li, Chen & Liu, Zhao & Song, Rong & Zhang, Yue-Jun, 2024. "The impact of green credit guidelines on environmental performance: Firm-level evidence from China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    7. Tan, Ruipeng & Zhu, Wenjun & Xu, Mengmeng & Zhang, Zixuan, 2025. "From voluntary to mandatory implementation: The impact of green credit policy on de-zombification in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    8. Ge, Shilong & Luo, Xiaodan & Li, Yuangang & Zheng, Lanxing, 2024. "The impact of green credit policy on total factor productivity of enterprises," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    9. Xiaoling Wang & Yiting Han & Baofeng Shi & Mohammad Zoynul Abedin, 2025. "The impacts of green credit guidelines on total factor productivity of heavy-polluting enterprises: A quasi-natural experiment from China," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 347(1), pages 41-68, April.
    10. Huang, Xiaobing & Xie, Jiawei, 2024. "Impact of green credit policies on the global value chain position of heavy polluting enterprises," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    11. Zhang, Jie & Wei, Huiru & Yuan, Kuiran & Yang, Xiaodong, 2024. "New industrial policy and corporate digital transformation: Empowering or impairing? Emerging evidence from green credit policy," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    12. Sun, Chuanwang & Zeng, Yingfang, 2023. "Does the green credit policy affect the carbon emissions of heavily polluting enterprises?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    13. Lin, Boqiang & Pan, Ting, 2024. "The impact of green credit on green transformation of heavily polluting enterprises: Reverse forcing or forward pushing?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    14. Hu, Yi & Jin, Shuchang & Ni, Juan & Peng, Kai & Zhang, Lei, 2023. "Strategic or substantive green innovation: How do non-green firms respond to green credit policy?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    15. Tao, Miaomiao & Wang, Jianda & Wu, Sihong & Wang, Guanghao, 2024. "Can climate-related information disclosures strengthen green innovation capacity? Firm-level evidence using textual analysis," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    16. Peng, Changhong & Chen, Dongjing & Jia, Daizheng & Liu, Qiao & Xu, Xin, 2025. "Can green credit policies reduce enterprise risk? Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    17. Qianyi Du & Haoran Pan & Shuang Liang & Xiaoxue Liu, 2023. "Can Green Credit Policies Accelerate the Realization of the Dual Carbon Goal in China? Examination Based on an Endogenous Financial CGE Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-26, March.
    18. Jiang, Jiatong & Pei, Jiansuo & Zhang, Meng, 2024. "Green credit and firms’ span of global production stages," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    19. Li, Shibin & Wang, Qian, 2023. "Green finance policy and digital transformation of heavily polluting firms: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 55(PA).
    20. Wu, Shanshan & Zhang, Jing & Elliott, Robert J.R., 2023. "Green securities policy and the environmental performance of firms: Assessing the impact of China's pre-IPO environmental inspection policy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).

    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:tefoso:v:212:y:2025:i:c:s0040162525000149. 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.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00401625 .

    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.