Can Digital Finance Enhance the Carrying Capacity of the Ecological Environment?

Enhancing the carrying capacity of the ecological environment serves as a pivotal pathway to achieving sustainable development and also constitutes a concrete response to the UN SDGs. Based on a provincial panel dataset covering 30 Chinese provinces spanning 2011–2023, the present work examines how digital finance shapes EECC and explores the corresponding transmission mechanisms. Findings from the empirical analysis confirm that digital finance exerts a significant positive effect in boosting ecological environmental carrying capacity. Heterogeneity tests further show that this catalytic influence is most salient in eastern China, while it lacks statistical significance or even turns negative in the central and western areas. Meanwhile, the catalytic function of digital finance becomes more distinct in highly urbanized areas. Mechanism analysis verifies that digital finance assumes a partial mediating function by cutting down energy consumption intensity and boosting human capital accumulation. Further analysis reveals that as digital finance matures, the above impact exhibits increasing marginal returns. Our spatial spillover assessment further indicates that digital finance contributes to stronger EECC within host provinces, while also facilitating coordinated improvements in this key indicator across neighboring jurisdictions. Accordingly, we propose that economies speed up the building of digital-related infrastructure, expand the outreach of digital finance, and properly steer the orderly movement of population, thus facilitating the eco-friendly sustainable advancement of the natural environment.