Effects of green finance and financial innovation on environmental quality: new empirical evidence from China

Sustainable development pursues equilibrium between the environment, economic growth, and quality of life. Currently, in many economies, environmental pollution has become a critical issue. The financial sector development has played a crucial role in developing every sector of the economy by providing necessary funds, and the environment sector is no exception. Therefore, we aim to investigate the impact of green finance and financial innovation on the environmental status in China from 1996 to 2020. To analyze the finance-environment nexus, we have employed the ARDL model. Findings of the ARDL model confirm that the long-run estimates attached to green finance are significantly negative in both the CO2 emissions and GHGs models. Similarly, the long-run estimates of financial innovation are negative and significant in the CO2 emissions and GHGs models. These results imply that an increase in green finance and financial innovation reduces China's CO2 emissions and GHGs emissions. Thus, environmental performance improves. In the short run, only the green finance impact is significant and negative on CO2 emissions and GHGs models. The results recommend some vital policy implications.