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All roads lead to Rome? The impact of heterogeneous green finance on carbon reduction of Chinese manufacturing enterprises

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Abstract

Based on the system theory and Pareto efficiency theory, this paper, based on the data of listed companies in China’s A-share manufacturing industry in 2011–2022, explores the impact of market-driven green finance and government-guided green finance on the carbon emission intensity of manufacturing enterprises, and analyzes the intermediary role of debt financing cost. A negative “U” relationship exists in market-driven green finance/government-guided green finance and the carbon emission intensity of manufacturing enterprises. Further research shows that under the higher debt financing cost, market-driven green finance played a weaker carbon reduction effect. The heterogeneity analysis found that market-driven green finance can have a significant non-linear impact of “promoting growth first and weakening later” on the carbon emissions of energy-saving and environmental protection enterprises, large enterprises, and enterprises with high human capital levels. Government-guided green finance has a significant non-linear impact on non-energy-saving and environmental protection enterprises and small enterprises. This paper provides the theoretical basis and practical inspiration for the government to formulate relevant low-carbon development policies and promote the innovation of green financial tools in the financial market.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the reviewers and editors for their constructive comments. Hope Miss.Zhang can enjoy her studying journey and find the meaning of life.

Funding

This study received financial support from the National Social Science Foundation of China (No. 21XRK007) and the Graduate Research and Innovation Project of Xinjiang Autonomous Regions (XJ2023G009).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Economics and Management, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, 830002, China

    Jiaoning Zhang, Xiaoyu Ma, Jiamin Liu & Sisi Zhang

  2. Center for Innovation Management Research of Xinjiang, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, 830002, China

    Xiaoyu Ma

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  1. Jiaoning Zhang
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  2. Xiaoyu Ma
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  3. Jiamin Liu
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  4. Sisi Zhang
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Contributions

Jiaoning Zhang is the corresponding author. Jiaoning Zhang: visualization, formal analysis, writing—original draft. Xiaoyu Ma: conceptualization, supervision, funding acquisition. Jiamin Liu: review and editing. Sisi Zhang: methodology and data resources. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Jiaoning Zhang.

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Zhang, J., Ma, X., Liu, J. et al. All roads lead to Rome? The impact of heterogeneous green finance on carbon reduction of Chinese manufacturing enterprises. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 116147–116161 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-30524-6

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