A Study on the Effect of Green Finance on Promoting Emission Reduction of Heavy-polluting Enterprises
Based on the samples of Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies from 2012 to 2022,the paper uses the first batch of green finance reform and innovation pilot zones established in 2017 as quasi-natural tests,and uses a triple difference method to test the impact of green finance pilot policies on corporate pollution reduction by comparing before and after the implementation of the green finance pilot policy,and the pilot areas relative to non-pilot areas,heavily polluting industries relative to non-heavily polluting indus-tries,whether corporate carbon emissions change.The results show that the green finance pilot policy has effectively reduced the carbon emissions levels of heavily polluting enterprises in the pilot areas,and this conclusion still holds after a series of robustness tests.The mechanism indicates that end-of-pipe environmental governance,financing constraints and production scale are three important channels for the policy to effectively reduce corporate carbon emissions.Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the carbon emission reduction effect of green finance pilot policies is more significant for state-owned enterprises,enterprises highly dependent on external financing,cap-ital-intensive industries and enterprises in areas with strict environmental regulations.The conclusions of this research not only provide empirical evidence for evaluating the implementation effect of green finance pilot policies,but also have practical significance for repli-cating and promoting the green finance reform and innovation pilot zone.
Green Finance PolicyPollutant EmissionsEnvironmental GovernanceFinancing Constraints