The Impact of Green Financial Development on Environmental Pollution——Evidence from 244 Prefecture-Level Cities in China

Zhuofei Wu; Yixuan Zhu

doi:10.54097/3wwx9509

Authors

Zhuofei Wu
Yixuan Zhu

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54097/3wwx9509

Keywords:

Green Financial Development, Environmental Pollution, Prefecture-Level Cities, Greenwashing.

Abstract

Considering the call for "pollution and emission reduction" of China, it’s of great significance to explore whether the development of sustainable finance contributes to the improvement of ecological and environmental quality is of great significance. Therefore, based on the panel data of 244 prefecture-level cities in China from 2016 to 2023, this paper uses a two-way fixed effects model (TFE) to empirically examine the influence of green financial development on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions. The research results show that the development of green finance has a promoting effect on PM2.5 emissions, indicating a greenwashing phenomenon. This promoting effect remained robust after a set of robustness tests. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the effect of green finance is more evident in less developed regions and central regions.

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