IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/mgtdec/v44y2023i6p3485-3499.html

Has the level of green finance development improved carbon emission performance?—Empirical evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Chunxiao Yan
  • Qi Tan

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of green finance and carbon emission performance, as well as the mechanisms, using data from 30 Chinese provinces for the time frame of 2008–2018. The findings show that (1) the level of green finance development significantly enhances carbon emission performance, where industrial structure, foreign direct investment, and population density are all important control variables affecting carbon emission performance. (2) Energy consumption structure, green industry, and green patented technology are all mediating variables for the level of green finance development to enhance carbon emission performance. Meanwhile, the effects of green finance development on carbon emission performance are nonlinear under varying economic growth, industrial structure, and urbanization levels. (3) After addressing the spatial autocorrelation of carbon emission performance, the level of green finance development still significantly enhances carbon emission performance. (4) The level of green finance development in China's eastern provinces, pilot provinces of carbon emission trading, and provinces with abundant coal resources can more significantly enhance carbon emission performance. On this basis, this paper makes specific suggestions for green finance to enhance carbon emission performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Chunxiao Yan & Qi Tan, 2023. "Has the level of green finance development improved carbon emission performance?—Empirical evidence from China," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(6), pages 3485-3499, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:mgtdec:v:44:y:2023:i:6:p:3485-3499
    DOI: 10.1002/mde.3891
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/mde.3891
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/mde.3891?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Clark, Robyn & Reed, James & Sunderland, Terry, 2018. "Bridging funding gaps for climate and sustainable development: Pitfalls, progress and potential of private finance," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 335-346.
    2. W. Liu & W. Meng & X. Li & D. Zhang, 2010. "DEA models with undesirable inputs and outputs," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 173(1), pages 177-194, January.
    3. Ahmad, Najid & Du, Liangsheng & Lu, Jiye & Wang, Jianlin & Li, Hong-Zhou & Hashmi, Muhammad Zaffar, 2017. "Modelling the CO2 emissions and economic growth in Croatia: Is there any environmental Kuznets curve?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 164-172.
    4. Ling-Yun He & Li Liu, 2018. "Stand by or Follow? Responsibility Diffusion Effects and Green Credit," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(8), pages 1740-1760, June.
    5. Yongming Huang & Lian Xue & Zeeshan Khan, 2021. "What abates carbon emissions in China: Examining the impact of renewable energy and green investment," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(5), pages 823-834, September.
    6. Zhou, P. & Ang, B.W. & Wang, H., 2012. "Energy and CO2 emission performance in electricity generation: A non-radial directional distance function approach," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 221(3), pages 625-635.
    7. Salahuddin, Mohammad & Gow, Jeff, 2014. "Economic growth, energy consumption and CO2 emissions in Gulf Cooperation Council countries," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 44-58.
    8. Zhang, Ning & Yu, Keren & Chen, Zhongfei, 2017. "How does urbanization affect carbon dioxide emissions? A cross-country panel data analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 678-687.
    9. Jiancheng Bai & Zhonglu Chen & Xiang Yan & Yueyan Zhang, 2022. "Research on the impact of green finance on carbon emissions: evidence from China," Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(1), pages 6965-6984, December.
    10. Wenjie Zhang & Mingyong Hong & Juan Li & Fuhong Li, 2021. "An Examination of Green Credit Promoting Carbon Dioxide Emissions Reduction: A Provincial Panel Analysis of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-21, June.
    11. 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).
    12. Zhang, Wei & Li, Ke & Zhou, Dequn & Zhang, Wenrui & Gao, Hui, 2016. "Decomposition of intensity of energy-related CO2 emission in Chinese provinces using the LMDI method," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 369-381.
    13. Jan Christoph Steckel & Michael Jakob & Christian Flachsland & Ulrike Kornek & Kai Lessmann & Ottmar Edenhofer, 2017. "From climate finance toward sustainable development finance," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(1), January.
    14. Isaac Akomea-Frimpong & David Adeabah & Deborah Ofosu & Emmanuel Junior Tenakwah, 2022. "A review of studies on green finance of banks, research gaps and future directions," Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(4), pages 1241-1264, October.
    15. Li Li & Di Liu & Jian Hou & Dandan Xu & Wenbo Chao, 2019. "The Study of the Impact of Carbon Finance Effect on Carbon Emissions in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region—Based on Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index Decomposition Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-12, March.
    16. He, Lingyun & Liu, Rongyan & Zhong, Zhangqi & Wang, Deqing & Xia, Yufei, 2019. "Can green financial development promote renewable energy investment efficiency? A consideration of bank credit," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 974-984.
    17. Xu, Le & Fan, Meiting & Yang, Lili & Shao, Shuai, 2021. "Heterogeneous green innovations and carbon emission performance: Evidence at China's city level," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    18. Al-Mulali, Usama & Saboori, Behnaz & Ozturk, Ilhan, 2015. "Investigating the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis in Vietnam," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 123-131.
    19. Xi Chen & Zhigang Chen, 2021. "Can Green Finance Development Reduce Carbon Emissions? Empirical Evidence from 30 Chinese Provinces," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-18, November.
    20. Li, Rui & Chen, Yiwen, 2022. "The influence of a green credit policy on the transformation and upgrading of heavily polluting enterprises: A diversification perspective," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 539-552.
    21. Wu, Linfei & Sun, Liwen & Qi, Peixiao & Ren, Xiangwei & Sun, Xiaoting, 2021. "Energy endowment, industrial structure upgrading, and CO2 emissions in China: Revisiting resource curse in the context of carbon emissions," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yang, Bingqing & Liu, Yue, 2025. "Green finance reform, environmental regulation, and regional green and low-carbon development," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 85(PC).
    2. Zhang, Jintao & Lei, Xinghui & Su, Taoyong & Li, Ziyao, 2025. "Credit availability of energy-intensive industries in emerging economies: Do financially established firms have better access to credit?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    3. Lin Wang & Yuning Li & Huixiang Zeng, 2025. "The Impact of Green Finance on Enterprise Environmental Strategies: Source Prevention or End‐Of‐Pipe Treatment?," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 46(4), pages 2583-2602, June.
    4. Yunping Hao & Bing Zhang & Dongying Du, 2026. "Green finance, FinTech and high-quality agricultural development," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 28(4), pages 9335-9365, April.
    5. Shivam Kushwaha & Anand Venkatesh & Shankar Prawesh, 2024. "A decentralized production approach to measure fuel performance of bus transportation systems," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 45(6), pages 4157-4172, September.

    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. Pengcheng Wang & Shanyue Jin, 2025. "Can Green Funds Improve Corporate Carbon Performance? Firm-Level Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-19, June.
    2. Wenjie Zhang & Mingyong Hong & Juan Li & Fuhong Li, 2021. "An Examination of Green Credit Promoting Carbon Dioxide Emissions Reduction: A Provincial Panel Analysis of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-21, June.
    3. Wang, Mei Ling, 2023. "Effects of the green finance policy on the green innovation efficiency of the manufacturing industry: A difference-in-difference model," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    4. Lei Nie & Purong Chen & Xiuli Liu & Qinqin Shi & Jing Zhang, 2022. "Coupling and Coordinative Development of Green Finance and Industrial-Structure Optimization in China: Spatial-Temporal Difference and Driving Factors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-22, September.
    5. Yu, Bo & Liu, Lu & Chen, Hong, 2023. "Can green finance improve the financial performance of green enterprises in China?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 1287-1300.
    6. Xu, Le & Fan, Meiting & Yang, Lili & Shao, Shuai, 2021. "Heterogeneous green innovations and carbon emission performance: Evidence at China's city level," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    7. Zhang, Wei & Liu, Xuemeng & Zhao, Shikuan & Tang, Tian, 2024. "Does green finance agglomeration improve carbon emission performance in China? A perspective of spatial spillover," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 358(C).
    8. Sun, Yunpeng & Li, Tonxin & Mehmood, Usman, 2025. "Balancing acts: Assessing the roles of renewable energy, economic complexity, Fintech, green finance, green growth, and economic performance in G-20 countries amidst sustainability efforts," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 378(PA).
    9. Kassi, Diby Francois & Li, Yao, 2025. "Does green financing benefit the development of renewable energy capacities and environmental quality? Evidence from Chinese provinces," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    10. Pang, Lidong & Zhu, Meng Nan & Yu, Haiyan, 2022. "Is green finance really a blessing for green technology and carbon efficiency?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    11. An, Xin & Ding, Yue & Wang, Yao, 2023. "Green credit and bank risk: Does corporate social responsibility matter?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PA).
    12. 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).
    13. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Wang, Chang-song & He, Zhiwen & Xing, Wen-wu & Wang, Keying, 2023. "How does green finance affect energy efficiency? The role of green technology innovation and energy structure," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 219(P1).
    14. Su, Chi-Wei & Li, Wenhao & Umar, Muhammad & Lobonţ, Oana-Ramona, 2022. "Can green credit reduce the emissions of pollutants?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 205-219.
    15. Bhavesh Kumar & Love Kumar & Avinash Kumar & Ramna Kumari & Uroosa Tagar & Claudio Sassanelli, 2024. "Green finance in circular economy: a literature review," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(7), pages 16419-16459, July.
    16. Xiangdong Cao & Fuyi Ci, 2023. "Study on the Coupling Development of Industry, City and Population in the Yellow River Basin from the Perspective of Green Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-13, June.
    17. Liu, Xiaoqian & Cifuentes-Faura, Javier & Wang, Chang'an & Wang, Long, 2025. "Can green finance policy reduce corporate carbon emissions? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 57(5).
    18. Luo, Sumei & Yu, Shenghui & Zhou, Guangyou, 2021. "Does green credit improve the core competence of commercial banks? Based on quasi-natural experiments in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    19. 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).
    20. Cheng, Xiaoqiang & Yao, Dingjun & Qian, Yuanyuan & Wang, Bin & Zhang, Deliang, 2023. "How does fintech influence carbon emissions: Evidence from China's prefecture-level cities," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).

    More about this item

    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:wly:mgtdec:v:44:y:2023:i:6:p:3485-3499. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jhome/7976 .

    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.