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The impact of financial technology on China’s low-carbon transformation of energy and mechanism analysis

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Abstract

Financial technology provides strong support for the low-carbon transformation of energy through digital technology. There is limited research on the relationship between financial technology and low-carbon transformation of energy, and the information transmission and connection between the two entities are still unclear. Therefore, this paper innovatively conducts in-depth research on the spatial effect between financial technology and low-carbon transformation of energy and further analyzes the intermediary role of green finance in it. Firstly, the spatial Durbin model and spatial intermediary effect model between financial technology and low-carbon transformation of energy are constructed. Then, based on the Moran coefficient, the spatial effects of low-carbon transformation in financial technology and energy were analyzed. Finally, an empirical study was conducted using the panel data of China’s provinces from 2011 to 2020. The results show that financial technology can effectively promote the energy transformation, and financial technology and the degree of low-carbon transformation of energy have significant spatial effects. From the perspective of intermediary effect, financial technology can effectively improve the green finance structure and promote low-carbon transformation of energy. From the perspective of spatial intermediary effect, while promoting the development of green finance in the local area, financial technology will also suppress the development of green finance in surrounding areas, thereby inhibiting the low-carbon transformation of energy in the surrounding areas. Therefore, China should strengthen the development of financial science and technology, guide the transformation of traditional finance, improve the coverage of green finance, and realize the low-carbon transformation of national energy.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the editor and anonymous reviewers for their work.

Funding

This study was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2020MS048) and the general project of Humanities and Social Sciences Research of the Ministry of Education (23YJA790024).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. North China Electric Power University, Beijing, 102206, China

    Kaiwen Zhang & Sen Guo

  2. School of Data Science, Fudan University, Yangpu District, Shanghai, 200433, China

    Guolei Liu

Authors
  1. Kaiwen Zhang
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  2. Sen Guo
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  3. Guolei Liu
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Contributions

SG: methodology and conceptualization. KZ: conceptualization, writing—original draft, and preparation. GL: data curation, reviewing, and editing.

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Correspondence to Sen Guo.

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Zhang, K., Guo, S. & Liu, G. The impact of financial technology on China’s low-carbon transformation of energy and mechanism analysis. Environ Sci Pollut Res 31, 5190–5208 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-31288-9

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