Green Finance and Energy Structure Transition: Evidence from China

Wenhua Xu (), Qixiang Yuan, Naixin Chen and Jian Ye
Additional contact information
Wenhua Xu: School of Economics and Management, East China Jiaotong University, Nanchang 330013, China
Qixiang Yuan: School of Economics and Management, East China Jiaotong University, Nanchang 330013, China
Naixin Chen: School of Economics and Management, East China Jiaotong University, Nanchang 330013, China
Jian Ye: School of Economics and Management, Jiangxi Teachers College, Yingtan 335000, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 11, 1-20

Abstract: To achieve high-quality development, the Chinese government has proposed the establishment of Green Finance Reform and Innovation Pilot Zones (GFRIPZs). Green finance enhances environmental governance, guides capital flows, and supports sustainable economic growth. Against the backdrop of the “dual carbon” goals (carbon peaking and carbon neutrality), this study examines whether green finance significantly drives urban energy structure transition and explores its underlying mechanisms. Leveraging the GFRIPZ policy as a quasi-natural experiment, we construct a multi-period Difference-in-Differences (DID) model to systematically analyze the impact of green finance on energy structure transition. The findings reveal that the GFRIPZ policy significantly accelerates urban energy structure transition, with stronger effects observed in resource-based cities, central and western regions, and cities with higher administrative levels. Green finance drives this transition through the mediating effects of green technological innovation and resource allocation efficiency, while the digital economy further amplifies its positive impact. This study concludes that green finance effectively promotes urban energy structure transition and supports high-quality economic development. These findings provide empirical evidence and policy insights for advancing China’s energy revolution and achieving its climate objectives.

Keywords: green finance; energy structure transition; dual carbon goals; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/11/4838/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/11/4838/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:11:p:4838-:d:1663682

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().