The role of digital finance for the growth of renewable energy: evidence from China.

Developing renewable energy (RE) is the inevitable choice for China to achieve its climate goals. However, financing RE investments remains challenging. Meanwhile, China's digital finance (DF) is profoundly influencing the trajectory of the energy transition. This study empirically investigates the role of DF on the growth of RE, what aspects of DF matter, and its geographical attenuation process, taking both spatial and temporal dimensions into consideration. The empirical results show that DF and its coverage breadth and usage depth can facilitate RE development in both local and neighboring regions, with a comparatively limited effect of digitalization level. The impact of DF on the growth of RE is heterogeneous and has been declining over time. Specifically, this effect is observable only in the eastern regions. The spillover effects of DF on RE development vary in different spatial thresholds, which has clear boundary effects and geographical decay characteristics.

Influence of green finance on carbon emission intensity: empirical evidence from China based on spatial metrology.

Based on the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2011 to 2020, this paper empirically examines the direct effect, spatial spillover effect, and total effect of green finance on carbon emission intensity through the spatial econometric model, considering both spatial and temporal patterns. The results show the following: (1) The carbon emission intensity of each province in China shows a noticeable spatial spillover effect and a positive spatial correlation distribution of "high-high" and "low-low" agglomeration. (2) The development of green finance in China is interrelated but uneven in space, which presents a gradient strengthening trend from the west to the east. (3) Green finance development will curb the intensity of carbon emissions, and this effect has gradually been increasing over time and differs by region. Specifically, green finance will increase the carbon emission intensity of adjacent areas in the short term but will significantly reduce the local province's carbon emission intensity to a larger extent. Finally, it puts forward policy recommendations to promote the coordinated development of green finance and a low-carbon economy.

Environmental Regulation, Government Subsidies, and Green Technology Innovation-A Provincial Panel Data Analysis from China.

Economic development in the "new era" will require green innovation. To encourage the growth of green technology innovation, it has become fashionable to strengthen environmental regulation. However, the impact of environmental regulation on green technology innovation, as well as the role of government subsidies, needs to be examined. Utilizing fixed-effect models and 2SLS models to explore the impact of environmental regulation on green technology innovation in China from 2003 to 2017, this research sought to examine whether environmental regulations impact green technology innovation, as well as the role of government subsidies in the above-mentioned influence path. The findings support the Porter Hypothesis by demonstrating an inverted "U" relationship between environmental regulation and green technology innovation. The impact of environmental regulation on green technology innovation varies by region. To be specific, there is an inverted "U" relationship between environmental regulation and green technology innovation in China's central and central coast regions. In comparison, the north area, southern coast, and southwest region exhibit a "U" relationship between the two. The relationship is not significant in the Beijing-Tianjin region. Additionally, government subsidies act as an intermediate in this process, positively influencing firms to pursue green technology innovation during the earliest stages of environmental regulation strengthening. However, government subsidies above a certain level are unproductive and should be used appropriately and phased off in due course.