Environmental regulation, import trade, and green technology innovation

Effects of carbon emission trading system on corporate green total factor productivity: Does environmental regulation play a role of green blessing?

Extant studies focus on the impact of environmental regulation on regional economic growth or environmental pollution, and a lot of research outcomes have been made. However, from the perspective of corporate green sustainable development, the question of whether carbon emission trading represents a "green blessing" remains unclear. To address this issue, we employ a staggered difference-in-differences model to investigate the effects and mechanisms of the carbon emissions trading pilot policy (CETPP) on the green total factor productivity (GTFP) of listed manufacturing companies in China. Our results demonstrate that: a) CETPP can effectively promote corporate GTFP, and the robustness of this result is verified through a series of checks; b) the mediating role of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance is critical in the relationship between CETPP and corporate GTFP, with environmental and governance performance serving as two key transmission channels; and c) CEO green experience and public environmental concern both play the moderating roles on the relationship between CETPP and GTFP; d) CETPP has a stronger positive impact on GTFP of private enterprises and enterprises in the maturity life cycle; and e) CETPP has a spatial spillover effect on GTFP, and the effect will decay as spatial distance increases. Our study offers both theoretical and practical implications for enterprises to achieve their green economic development objectives, so as to promote China's high-quality development.

How does trade policy uncertainty affect green innovation in the USA and China? A nonlinear perspective

Green innovations are the most critical factor in promoting environmental sustainability worldwide. Trade can speed up the adoption of green innovations by facilitating the transfer of information, skills, and technology. However, trade policy uncertainty can create significant challenges for businesses investing in eco-innovations, leading to increased risk, reduced investment, and slower progress toward sustainable technologies. Recently, a growing number of researchers have shown their interest in finding the factors that can impact green innovations, but none have investigated the influence of trade policy uncertainty on green innovations in the USA and China. In addition, none of the past studies has relied on the nonlinear assumption. This analysis fills these gaps by examining the nonlinear impacts of trade policy uncertainty on eco-innovations in China and the USA over 2000Q1-2021Q4 by employing a nonlinear ARDL model. The finding reveals that a positive shock in trade policy uncertainty results in a decrease in green innovation in the USA and China, while a negative shock in trade policy uncertainty leads to an increase in green innovation in the USA over the long run. The nonlinear models also indicate that a positive shock in trade policy uncertainty harms green innovation in both the USA and China in the short run. The robustness of these results is confirmed by the NQARDL model, which confirms that an upsurge in trade policy uncertainty lowers green innovation in most quantiles in the USA and China in the short and long run. Conversely, negative shocks in trade policy uncertainty stimulate green innovation at most quantiles in both China and the USA, in the short and long run. Thus, policymakers need to consider the potential impact of trade policies on eco-innovations and work to create stable and predictable trade environments that support the growth of renewable technologies and other sustainable solutions.

Determining the green technology innovation accelator and natural resources towards decarbonization for the EU countries: evidence from MMQR

Gearing up for green technology innovation (GTI) and natural resources has become even more important in the transition to a zero-emission life, a green economy, and sustainable development goals. This attempt has become a situation that needs to be overpowered much sooner by the European countries, which have encountered challenges in many ways, especially regarding natural resources, energy supply, and the climate crisis. In this vein, the current study follows the novel, robust Method of Moment Quantile-Regression (MM-QR), which successfully yields heterogeneous information structure across quantiles, to examine the determinants of GTI for 15 EU countries over the period of 2003-2018. MM-QR estimation results indicate that the determinants of green technology innovation are heterogeneous across the EU countries. While green growth (GG) has an adverse impact on GTI in middle- and high-GTI countries, the effect of ecological footprint on GTI is positive for countries in the highest-GTI countries. The positive effects of financial development (FD) on GTI are revealed for all countries. Remarkably, environmental taxes have an adverse and positive influence on GTI in the lowest and highest quantile countries, respectively. Finally, renewable energy and greenfield FDI have no effect on GTI. Governments can promote GTI by providing financial resources, in the most immaculate way, to firms that engage in green technology projects, as well as by encouraging these through environmental taxes.

The impact of market-based environmental regulation on corporate ESG performance: A quasi-natural experiment based on China's carbon emission trading scheme

At present, there are few studies exploring the impact of market-based environmental regulation on ESG performance based on the perspective of carbon emission trading scheme (CETS). This paper aims to supplement this research field through empirical analysis. Taking Shanghai-Shenzhen A-share listed companies from 2012 to 2022 as the research object, this paper studies the impact of CETS, a market-based environmental regulation tool, on the ESG performance of enterprises by constructing a time-varying DID model and examines the mediating roles of green technology innovation, agency cost and analyst attention. The results show that the implementation of CETS can significantly boost ESG performance, and green technology innovation, agency cost, and analyst attention play a partial intermediary role between the two, while the mediating effects of green total factor productivity and green total factor energy efficiency are not significant. In terms of heterogeneity analysis, the study shows that CETS implementation has a more substantial promotion effect on ESG performance in non-state-owned enterprises, non-politically connected enterprises and non-high-tech enterprises. In this paper, the robustness test was carried out through PSM-DID, placebo test and replacement of explained variables, and the test results further supported the hypothesis in this paper. This study enriched the research on the impact of market-based environmental regulation on ESG from the perspective of CETS. It provided enlightenment for enterprises to improve ESG performance to a strategic level, improve the level of green technology innovation, and the government to implement differentiated environmental governance policies.

Can greater openness improve green economy efficiency of countries along the Belt and Road Initiative?

Openness is the core concept of the Belt and Road initiative (BRI), which plays a significant role in promoting the sustainable economic development of countries along the BRI. This study uses the entropy method to measure openness based on six dimensions: trade, investment, finance, tourism, technology, and information. Simultaneously, a super-SBM model with undesired output is proposed to measure green economy efficiency (GEE). Using the panel data of 66 countries along the BRI from 2008 to 2019, we empirically examine the impact of openness on GEE. The results are as follows: (1) The openness level of countries along the BRI is generally increasing, but the relative differences between countries tend to widen. (2) Openness has a significant U-shaped nonlinear effect on GEE, and the conclusion is still valid after considering the robustness test; (3) The spatial econometric model shows that openness not only affects the GEE of the local country, but also has a spillover effect on neighboring countries. Therefore, we believe that BRI countries should strengthen policy communication, break down border barriers, actively promote the orderly flow and diffusion of openness elements, and pay attention to the quantity and quality of openness development, which is key to the high-quality construction of the BRI.

Can environmental information disclosure spur corporate green innovation?

How can the disclosure of environmental information (EID) stimulate corporate green innovation (CGI)? This research challenges the prevailing assumption that environmental regulations impact CGI by influencing corporate compliance costs. Instead, it offers a fresh theoretical framework to explain how EID affects CGI. This study combines signal theory and resource dependence theory to develop a moderated mediation model, illustrating how EID reduces information asymmetry and alleviates corporate financial constraints (CFC). To test these hypotheses, this study utilized data from A-share listed companies spanning the period 2004 to 2017. This study considered the year 2009 as a crucial point of analysis, marking the period before and after the implementation of China's first EID policy in 2008. This study employed a Difference-in-Differences (DID) model. The results reveal that EID has a positive impact on CGI by mitigating CFC, with non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs) exhibiting a more pronounced mediating effect. These findings remain robust even when the parallel trend assumption was tested to eliminate interference from other factors. This study unveils the mechanism through which voluntary environmental regulation, represented by EID, influences CGI by mitigating information asymmetry and alleviating CFC. These results deviate from the predictions of compliance cost theory and Porter's hypothesis regarding the impact of traditional environmental regulations on CGI, providing a fresh perspective on the role of voluntary environmental regulation in driving CGI.

Can green bonds empower green technology innovation of enterprises?

Green bonds, a new green financial instrument, encourage enterprises to achieve high-quality development through green technology innovation. However, a lack of research is currently being conducted into the effect of green bond issuance in China. Can green bonds effectively empower enterprises to green innovation? What is the underlying mechanism? In the context of carbon-neutral strategies, it is significant to answer these questions scientifically. This paper uses a quasi-natural experiment of the launch of the green bond market in China in 2016 to conduct empirical studies based on the panel data of 1 558 non-financial Chinese-listed enterprises from 2015 to 2020 with the multi-period difference-in-difference model. The results show that ① issuing green bonds can significantly empower enterprises' green technology innovation. The empowering effect is mainly for green utility patents rather than green invention patents. This result remains after dynamic heterogeneity analysis, placebo test, and other tests. In addition, the effect has a lag. ② Heterogeneity tests show that this empowerment effect varies across enterprises with different property rights, industries, and regions. ③ In terms of the mechanism of action, green bonds can enhance enterprises' ability to innovate green technology by increasing the proportion of long-term loans and improving their debt structure. This paper broadens the relevant literature on the economic consequences of green bonds and the influencing factors of enterprises' green technology innovation and provides policy suggestions for further improving the analysis of green bonds.

The impact of energy imports on green innovation in the context of the Russia-Ukraine war

This research paper examines the implications of energy imports on green innovation within the context of the Russia-Ukraine war. It utilizes panel data spanning EU countries from 1999 to 2022. Initially, the study explores the influence of natural gas and oil imports on the advancement of green innovation. Specifically, it reveals that the importation of natural gas facilitates progress in this area, whereas the importation of oil can impede such advancement. Following the Russia-Ukraine war, the role of gas imports in fostering green innovation within EU countries has grown, simultaneously exacerbating the adverse effects of oil imports on green innovation. Secondly, by employing a panel threshold model, the study identifies that higher energy prices make natural gas and oil imports unfavorable for the progress of green innovation in EU nations. Thirdly, an analysis of heterogeneity demonstrates that, as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war, natural gas imports have a more significant detrimental effect on the development of green innovation in EU nations with a natural gas dependency ranging from 10% to 90%. In the case of oil imports, EU nations with a dependence on Russian oil exceeding 50% experience a more pronounced negative impact on the development of green innovation. Fourthly, a mechanistic study elucidates that natural gas imports indirectly stimulate green innovation through the mechanism of energy transition, while oil imports hinder the development of green innovation by exacerbating carbon emissions. The empirical findings of this paper carry substantial policy implications for EU nations, urging the acceleration of energy transition in response to the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on green innovation. Moreover, these findings have broader implications for global environmental management and the collective endeavor to combat climate change.

Dynamic simulation of green technology innovation in large construction companies

The construction sector plays an important role in environmental sustainable development and the green economy. Green technology innovation in the construction sector can improve the energy, cost, and environmental performance of the industry. The lagging effects of influential factors for green technology innovation have yet to be fully understood. This study aims to explore the process of green technology innovation in large construction companies based on the innovation value chain theory and through a system dynamics (SD) approach. The results revealed the dynamic interaction between various influencing factors of green technology innovation in the construction industry. The effects of different knowledge bases and market shares show heterogeneity when the influencing factors are considered as an integrated system. The study helps researchers and practitioners gain a better understanding of the nature of green technology innovation from a systematic view. Suggestions are provided for decision-makers and practitioners to better manage green technology innovation.

Analysis of low-carbon technology innovation efficiency and its influencing factors based on triple helix theory: Evidence from new energy enterprises in China

Background and aim

Low-carbon technology innovation(L-CTI) is an essential way to realize the socio-economic transition to a low-carbon model. However, relatively few studies have been conducted on the calculation of low-carbon technology innovation efficiency(L-CTIE) and the identification of factors influencing it. The study intends to assess the L-CTIE of new energy enterprises(L-CTI-NEEs) and to analyze its influencing factors, so as to further improve the L-CTIE capability.

Methods

Using the panel data of new energy enterprises(NEEs) in 2010-2020, DEA(BCC)-Malmquist-Tobit method is constructed to static and dynamic evaluate the L-CTIE of new energy enterprises(L-CTIE-NEEs), and analyze its influencing factors with triple helix theory.

Results

During the study period, the L-CTIE among NEEs was quite different, and the Malmquist index change trend had phased characteristics. From the perspective of factors influencing innovation efficiency, technology integration capacity of enterprises, support intensity of government and cooperation scale of government-enterprises-universities & research institutions play a crucial part in promoting the EEFCH, PECH and SECH of L-CTIE-NEEs, while resource conversion capacity of universities & research institutions only promotes PECH.

Conclusion

According to the research results, a triple helix model of L-CTI-NEEs is constructed to enhance its L-CTIE level.

Testing for quadratic impact of industrial robots on environmental performance and reaction to green technology and environmental cost

Industrial robots play a crucial role in enhancing productivity but their impact on the environment has produced debates. Some researchers have focused on the relation between industrial robots and energy efficiency (or environmental performance), such as Huang et al. (Energy Econ 107:105837, 2022) and Luan et al. (Sustain Prod Consum 30:870-888, 2022). However, their arguments mainly depend on the assumption of linear relationship between the two. This study infers that there is a nonlinear relationship between them from the theories of energy-saving effect, rebound effect, and scale effect. Our research, using data from 74 countries and regions worldwide between 1997 and 2020, reveals an inverted U-shaped relationship between the use of robots and their environmental impact. This means that the environment benefits from robot use up to a certain point, beyond which it starts to incur damage. Two moderating factors, green technology and environmental cost, are analyzed and tested. Our findings suggest that the high-green-tech left shifts and steepens the inverted U-shaped relationship whereas the high cost right shifts and flattens the relationship. This study explains the influencing mechanism of industrial robots on environmental performance by integrating the energy-saving effect, the rebound effect, and the scale effect. Our findings enrich the understanding of the robot-environment nexus and emphasize the importance of government in balancing robot use and environmental protection.

Is carbon emission trading a green blessing or a curse for firm performance in China? A quasi-experiment design and exploring the spatial spillover effect

This paper conducts quasi-experiment design with Chinese listed companies microdata to investigate the effect and mechanism of corporate participation in carbon emission trading market on firm financial performance by using the staggered difference-in-differences method. We show that: a) corporate participation in carbon emission trading market can enhance firm financial performance; b) an increase in green innovation ability and a decrease in strategic choice variance both partially mediate the relationship between carbon emission trading and firm performance; c) executive background heterogeneity and external environmental uncertainty moderate the relationship between carbon emission trading and firm performance in different directions; d) our further study indicates that carbon emission trading pilot policy has a spatial spillover effect on firm financial performance in the neighboring provinces. Therefore, we recommend that the government and enterprises make an effort to further stimulate the vitality of corporate participation in carbon emission trading market.

Can data center green reform facilitate urban green technology innovation? Evidence from China

With the expansion of the digital information industry, the size of global data centers is exploding. As part of a high-energy-consuming industry, data centers can support sustainable urban development through green transformation. This study uses a quasi-natural experiment of China's national green data center pilot policy implemented in 2015 to examine the impact of data center green transformation on green technology innovation in cities. Using a difference-in-difference (DID) analysis, this study finds that the national green data center pilot policy leads to higher levels of green technology innovation in cities, but the spillover effect of the policy on neighboring cities is insignificant. The mechanism test showed that the national green data center pilot policy could facilitate urban green technological innovation through capital deepening, market competition, and industrial agglomeration. In addition, the policy impact is more pronounced for cities with poorer environments, less civilization, high levels of network infrastructure, and more innovative endowments. The findings can provide new guidance for cleaner regional production from the standpoint of data center green development.

Environmental regulations and green innovation of enterprises: quasi-experimental evidence from China

Whether environmental regulations are conducive to improving green innovation in water pollution-intensive enterprises (WPIEs) is of guiding significance for China's protection of the water ecosystem environment and sustainable economic development. This study regards the implementation of the "Ten-point Water Plan" (TWP) policy in 2015 as a purely exogenous event for enterprises and employs a quasi-experimental method to fill this gap based on the panel data of Chinese listed companies from 2010 to 2019. The results reveal that TWP policy has significant negative effects on the green innovation of WPIEs, the main mechanism of which is increased compliance costs. In addition, a heterogeneity analysis shows that the negative effect is stronger for green innovation activities with higher costs and for WPIEs subject to stricter environmental regulations. This paper provides new evidence against the weak Porter hypothesis and implies that WPIEs are likely to purchase technologies and equipment to reduce wastewater emissions rather than green innovation, which means incentive-based measures should be taken to foster green innovation in the environmental policymaking process.

How does the development of digital inclusive finance in China affect green technology innovation? A theoretical mechanism study and empirical analysis

This study employed fixed effects (FE) models, difference-in-differences (DID) methods, and mediating effect (ME) models to explore the total effect, structural effect, heterogeneous characteristics, and impact mechanism of digital inclusive finance (DIF) on green technology innovation (GTI) from 2011 to 2020. We derived the following results. First, DIF can significantly improve the level of GTI, and the positive role of internet digital inclusive finance is greater than that of traditional banks, but the three dimensions of the DIF index have different impacts on such innovation. Second, the impact of DIF on GTI has a "siphon effect," which is significantly promoted in regions with stronger economic power and inhibited in those with weaker economic power. Finally, there is an influence mechanism of "digital inclusive finance → financing constraints → green technology innovation." Our findings provide evidence to establish a lasting effect mechanism for DIF to promote GTI, and they have important reference value for other countries to develop DIF.

Achieving carbon neutrality: the effect of China pilot Free Trade Zone policy on green technology innovation

Evaluating the effect of China pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) policy on green technology innovation is important for achieving China's carbon neutrality targets. Based on the panel data of 30 provincial administrative regions in China from 2009 to 2019, this study investigates the effect of the pilot FTZ policy on green technology innovation by using the difference-in-differences method. The study's findings indicate the following: (1) The pilot FTZ policy promotes the development of green technology innovation, and there is a policy lag in a few pilot regions. (2) The mediation effect analysis shows that the pilot FTZ policy promotes the development of green technology innovation by improving the marketization process and enhancing innovative talent gathering. (3) The heterogeneity analysis shows that the pilot FTZ policy is more effective in promoting green technology innovation when implemented in regions with developed economies or higher levels of human capital. Moreover, the pilot FTZ policy mainly has a significant promoting effect on green utility model patents. Based on these results, policy recommendations are proposed to promote the development of green technology innovation and the achievement of China's carbon neutrality targets.

Hope-hype of green innovation, corporate governance index, and impact on firm financial performance: a comparative study of Southeast Asian countries

The current production and conception have impacted the environmental hazards. Green innovation (GI) is the ideal solution for sustainable production, consumption, and ecological conservation. The objective of the study is to compare comprehensive green innovation (green product, process, service, and organization) impact on firm financial performance in Malaysia and Indonesia, along with the first study to measure the moderation role of the corporate governance index. This study has addressed the gap by developing the green innovation and corporate governance index. Collected panel data from the top 188 publicly listed firms for 3 years and analyzed it using the general least square method. The empirical evidence demonstrates that the green innovation practice is better in Malaysia, and the outcome also shows that the significance level is higher in Indonesia. This study also provides empirical evidence that board composition has a positive moderation relationship betwixt GI and business performance in Malaysia but is insignificant in Indonesia. This comparative study provides new insights to the policymakers and practitioners of both countries to monitor and manage green innovation practices.

Big data analytics capabilities for reinforcing green production and sustainable firm performance: the moderating role of corporate reputation and supply chain innovativeness

The literature review lacks empirical studies on the role of big data analytics (BDA) and green technological innovation capabilities (GTICs) in promoting the sustainable performance of the manufacturing industry. The primary objective of this study is to examine the role of BDA-technology capability, GTIC, and environmental orientation toward green production and sustainable firm performance. Moreover, this research paper investigates the mediating role of green production and green competitive advantage and the moderating role of corporate reputation and supply chain innovativeness. Primary data was collected from Pakistani manufacturing firms through the survey method. Structural equation modeling was applied to measure and verify the relationship of proposed hypotheses. Empirical findings show BDA technology capability, GTIC, and environmental orientation positively contribute to green production. Moreover, green production helps achieve a green competitive advantage, and green competitive advantage positively influences sustainable firm performance. Furthermore, mediating role of green production and green competitive advantage and moderating role of corporate reputation and supply chain innovativeness was also confirmed. This study contributes by developing a comprehensive model showing the relationship between organizational capabilities, BDA technology capability, GTIC, and sustainable firm performance by considering potential mediators and moderators. Thus, this research suggests enhancing green production and sustainable firm performance through adopting BDA technology capability and GTIC by Pakistani manufacturing firms.

Environmental decentralization, environmental regulation, and green technology innovation: evidence based on China

The reform of the environmental management system and policy optimization is key to promoting green technology innovation. However, empirical studies on environmental monitoring decentralization are limited. As a result, this paper analyzes the impacts of environmental decentralization and environmental regulation on green technology innovation using China's 30 provincial administrative panel data ranging from 2008 to 2017. The study outcome denotes that environmental decentralization is not conducive to green technology innovation. Similar effects are also found for environmental administration decentralization, environmental supervision decentralization, and environmental monitoring decentralization. Secondly, there is a U-shaped relationship between environmental regulation and green technology innovation. With the strengthening of environmental administrative decentralization and environmental supervision decentralization, environmental regulation has a significant positive role in promoting green technology innovation. Furthermore, environmental decentralization reduces the inhibitory effect of environmental regulation on green technology innovation in the eastern and central regions. Environmental decentralization does not play a regulatory role in the impact of environmental regulation on green technology innovation in economically developed areas. Lastly, the impact of environmental regulation on green technology innovation shows significant threshold characteristics with the change in environmental decentralization, in which there is an optimal threshold interval for environmental decentralization. The study concluded with an important reference value for determining reasonable levels of environmental decentralization among different regions and improving relevant environmental regulation strategies.

The impact of local government competition and green technology innovation on economic low-carbon transition: new insights from China

The government-led Chinese economic development system determines that local government competition is a significant factor affecting the economic low-carbon transition. Driving an economic development mode with green technology innovation as the core is the critical path to realizing an economic low-carbon transition. Consequently, it is of significant practical relevance to investigate the impact of local government competition and green technology innovation on the economic low-carbon transition under the government-led Chinese economic development system. This paper systematically explores the nexus between green technology innovation and economic low-carbon transition in terms of local government competition perspective using the system generalized method of moments, panel threshold model, and geographically weighted regression on the basis of a dataset of 30 provincial administrative areas in China from a period of 2006-2019. The results indicate that green technology innovation significantly promotes the economic low-carbon transition. Local government competition not only significantly dampens the economic low-carbon transition but also considerably inhibits the positive effect of green technology innovation on the economic low-carbon transition. A significant N-shaped association is evident between green technology innovation and the economic low-carbon transition when green technology innovation is applied as a threshold, while such association is insignificant when local government competition is used as a threshold. Compared with high-competition intensity areas, green technology innovation promotes economic low-carbon transition weaker in low- competition intensity areas, while local government competition inhibits economic low-carbon transition stronger. However, local government competition significantly inhibits the positive effect of green technology innovation on the economic low-carbon transition in low-competition intensity areas, while insignificant in high-competition intensity areas. The geographically weighted regression technique as a whole also verified the above results. Therefore, policymakers should not only increase research and development investment in green technologies, but also develop a regionally linked low-carbon emission reduction system to avoid ineffective competition among governments to facilitate the earlier fulfillment of the "dual carbon" goal.

The spatiotemporal evolution and influencing factors of urban green innovation in China

Green innovation (GI) is an important way to build an ecological civilization and an innovative country. The study on urban green innovation (UGI) is of great significance for enriching the research on GI and rationally formulating high-quality urban development policies. The green patent data obtained using a web crawler was used to represent the level of UGI. The spatiotemporal evolution and influencing factors of UGI in China were analyzed by standard deviation ellipses, spatial autocorrelation, and Geodetector. The research shows that: From 2005 to 2020, the level of UGI in China tended to rise rapidly. The center of gravity of UGI in China was located in the southeast of China's geometric center and tended to move to the south and west. The standard deviation ellipse was distributed in a "northeast-southwest" pattern, the area was gradually shrinking, and the length of the two semi-axes was shortening. UGI in China showed obvious global and local spatial autocorrelations. The degree of global spatial autocorrelation was gradually increasing. Among the types of local spatial autocorrelation, the largest number of low-low agglomeration cities was mainly located in the northwest and southwest part of China, while high-high agglomeration cities were distributed in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, and Pearl River Delta. The government intervention expressed by the proportion of scientific and technological expenditure in fiscal expenditure and environmental regulation is the dominant factor affecting UGI.

The Impact of Information and Communication Technology Industrial Co-Agglomeration on Carbon Productivity with the Background of the Digital Economy: Empirical Evidence from China

In the era of the digital economy, the information and communication technology (ICT) industry has opened up a new round of expansion, while forming co-located development in the space. ICT industrial co-agglomeration has tremendous advantages in promoting economic development and achieving carbon neutrality goals. This paper analyzes the spatio-temporal characteristics of ICT industrial co-agglomeration and carbon productivity from 2009 to 2019 in China. It empirically explores the impact of ICT industrial co-agglomeration on carbon productivity using a systematic GMM model. Additionally, it analyses the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of ICT industrial co-agglomeration and other factors affecting carbon productivity using a geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model. The findings are as follows: (1) China's ICT industrial co-agglomeration and carbon productivity show an upward trend. Additionally, their characteristic of regional distribution is east-high and west-low. (2) ICT industrial co-agglomeration has a positive association with carbon productivity. (3) The impact of ICT industrial co-agglomeration on carbon productivity has significant spatial and temporal heterogeneity. The regression coefficient of ICT industrial co-agglomeration increases continuously during the study period, and the degree of impact is relatively larger in Northern China. As the degree of ICT industrial co-agglomeration continues to increase, its positive impact on carbon productivity across China is deepening. The findings of this paper complete the research on the impact of ICT industrial co-agglomeration on carbon productivity, and the related policy recommendations provide useful references for the digital economy and sustainable development.

How do environmental protection expenditure and green technology innovation affect synergistically the financial performance of heavy polluting enterprises? Evidence from China

In recent years, economic growth has caused an increasing number of environmental problems in China. In order to achieve the goal of carbon peak on schedule, enterprises need to accelerate green transformation and upgrading. Environmental protection expenditure and green technology innovation are important means of corporate environmental governance strategy, but it is unknown whether they can promote the sustainable development of enterprises. Therefore, this article will analyze the effect of enterprise environmental protection expenditure and green technology innovation on financial performance. Based on relevant theories, this study builds a theoretical model to demonstrate how enterprise environmental protection expenditure and green technology innovation can affect the financial performance of heavy polluting enterprises. Empirical tests are carried out using 293 heavy polluting enterprises in China as the sample. The results reveal that: (i) Enterprise environmental protection expenditure has significant negative effects on current enterprise financial performance, while green technology innovation can significantly promote enterprise financial performance. (ii) When the lag period is two periods, the enterprise environmental protection expenditure and green technology innovation have positive effects on enterprise financial performance respectively, and the effects are the most significant. (iii) Enterprise environmental protection expenditure and green technology innovation synergistically promote enterprise financial performance in the current period, and the impact has a lag effect. (iv) In state-owned enterprises and enterprises with higher corporate governance level, the synergetic promotion effect of environmental protection expenditure and green technology innovation on enterprise financial performance is more significant. Finally, this study provides suggestions for promoting the transformation and upgrading of heavy polluting enterprises and achieving sustainable development from the perspectives of the government, enterprises and the public.

Does green financial reform pilot policy promote green technology innovation? Empirical evidence from China

As a new financial model that balances economic and ecological benefits, green finance (GF) plays an important role in promoting green economic development and ecological environmental protection. Based on the panel data set of 30 provinces in China from 2010 to 2020, this paper uses the synthetic control method (SCM) to explore the impact of the green financial reform pilot policy (GFRP) on the green technology innovation (GTI) capabilities of pilot areas and evaluate the policy effects. The specific research conclusions are as follows: (1) On the whole, the GFRP has a positive role in promoting the GTI capability of the pilot areas, but this role is different due to the different resources, environment, and economic development levels of each region. The areas with economic development levels in the middle and head are obviously affected by the policy, and the less developed areas are less affected by the policy or even have a restraining effect. (2) Although the pilot policy has improved the GTI capability of the pilot area, the promotion effect is unstable, that is, the implementation effect of the policy is unstable. In the early stage of policy implementation, the promotion effect of the policy on the regional GTI capacity is the most obvious, and this promotion effect begins to show a downward or stable trend in the 2-3 years after the policy is implemented. Based on the above conclusions, it can provide some reference for the revision and improvement of GFRP.

Evaluation of industrial development quality and analysis of influencing factors in Xi'an, China

Industry is the lifeblood of the national economy, and it is the inevitable course of sustainability for China to promote the high-quality development of industry. A theoretical framework of industrial development quality (IDQ) was constructed, and 32 influencing factors were selected based on complex system theory. The IDQ in Xi'an from 2004 to 2019 was evaluated, and the influencing mechanisms of each IDQ factor were analyzed through an integrated maximum generalized information entropy (MGIE)-self-organizing feature mapping (SOFM) neural network-decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL)-interpretive structural modeling (ISM) approach. The results show that the IDQ in Xi'an is on the rise, but the development of internal subsystems is uneven, with the technology subsystem contributing the most and the social subsystem contributing the least. There is a multi-layer hierarchical structure among the influencing factors of IDQ, and the multi-layer structure model can be divided into 10 layers. The first layer is the investment intensity of industrial pollution control, which is the most direct factor that affects IDQ. The tenth layer is the industrial wastewater discharge intensity, industrial waste gas emission intensity, water consumption per unit of industrial added value, highway density, and energy consumption per unit of industrial added value, which are the root factors affecting IDQ. This study can provide a theoretical basis and reference for the promotion of high-quality industrial development.

The effect of the new Environmental Protection Law on corporate financialization in China

Using data from non-financial listed firms in China from 2008 to 2020, this study investigates the effect of the new Environmental Protection Law on corporate financialization based on the difference-in-differences model. Findings show that the law's implementation significantly increases the financialization behaviors of corporations in polluting industries. This effect remains robust after a series of robustness checks. Heterogeneity analyses suggest that the policy effect of the law is more pronounced for non-state-owned enterprises, enterprises with high fixed assets ratios, and enterprises in regions with excellent market competition. The new Environmental Protection Law also promotes the financialization of enterprises by increasing costs, reducing commercial credit financing capabilities, increasing risks, and hindering innovation. This article provides new evidence for understanding macro-environmental regulation and micro-firm effects.

Exploring the impact of energy factor prices and environmental regulation on China's green innovation efficiency

This study adopts super-DEA model to measure the current level of green innovation efficiency in Chinese provinces. At the same time, Tobit model is used to analyze the impact of energy factor prices and environmental regulation on its efficiency, the results are as follows: (1) Chinese green innovation efficiency average is 0.545, which is at a low level, but shows a steady upward trend. The results have shown that large differences exist in different provinces. Average value of efficiency is highest in the eastern and lowest in the western, and low green innovation efficiency is focus on main provinces of producing coal-based mineral resources. (2) The price change of energy factors inhibits the national green innovation efficiency. The impact on the eastern part of China is positive, but did not pass the significance test, and in central region is negative and also did not pass test, but in the western, it inhibits green innovation efficiency significantly. Environmental regulation has a negative effect on the national green innovation efficiency, the impact coefficient of east is positive, and also positive in the central part, but it fails to pass significance test, while in the west is negative. It can be seen that there are significant regional differences in the impact of the two on the efficiency of green innovation. This paper proposes that we can pay attention to the promotion of environmental regulation, encourages enterprises to actively carry out green innovation activities, continues to deepen the market-oriented reform of energy prices, and increases credit support and introduce financial resources for corporate R&D activities to explore policies to improve the efficiency of regional green innovation.

Environmental regulation, R&D investment, and green technology innovation in China: Based on the PVAR model

The unreasonable economic development model of human beings has caused the environmental pollution problem to become increasingly serious. In order to achieve a positive relationship and interaction between environmental regulation, research and development (R&D) investment, and green technology innovation, and effectively solve the "strange circle" problem between high-quality economic development and environmental pollution in China and even the world, this paper takes the panel data of industrial enterprises above designated size in Chinese mainland 31 provinces from 2009 to 2019 as a research sample. The comprehensive index of R&D investment and green technology innovation was established by the entropy method, and the panel vector autoregressive (PVAR) model was constructed from the dynamic endogenous perspective, and the dynamic interaction and regional heterogeneity between environmental regulation, R&D investment, and green technology innovation were empirically analyzed by using impulse response function and variance decomposition. We obtain the following findings: (1) Environmental regulation has a two-way interaction relationship with R&D investment and green technology innovation, and R&D investment has a promotion effect on the "green degree" of technological innovation, but its role is still weak and has lagging characteristics. (2) There is significant regional heterogeneity in the dynamic responses of the eastern, central and western parts of China. (3) In the long run, environmental regulation has a "negative crowding out effect" on R&D investment in the central region, and the phenomenon of "central collapse" still exists but will gradually weaken. Environmental regulation has a "positive innovation compensation effect" on green technology innovation. Green technology innovation and R&D investment have an obvious "Pareto improvement" effect on environmental regulation, especially in the eastern region. The conclusions of this study help to clarify the dynamic interaction between environmental regulation, R&D investment, and green technology innovation, further improve environmental regulatory policies and green technology innovation R&D decision-making, and provide an effective way to achieve green and sustainable development in China and other parts of the world.

The effective path of green transformation of heavily polluting enterprises promoted by green merger and acquisition-qualitative comparative analysis based on fuzzy sets

Green merger and acquisition (GMA) is becoming a growing tendency for heavily polluting enterprises in recent years; however, the realization path of green transformation through GMA is still unexplored. Taking 48 Chinese heavily polluting enterprises that had GMA in 2018 as the research object, this paper constructs the "M&A attributes, Organizational characteristics, and External environment" (M-O-E) framework, by using the method of fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to reveal the configurations of conditions that lead to high levels of green innovation performance. The results show that the high green technology innovation performance after GMA of heavily polluting enterprises is the outcome of multiple antecedents, and no singular antecedent is sufficient for achieving it. Besides, there are three equivalent configurations of conditions to achieve green transformation: professional buyer, internal leading, and internal-external linkage. Among them, the professional buyer configuration highlights that the combination of M&A experience and M&A scale is of great importance, the internal leading configuration emphasizes that the existence of environmental awareness and organizational resources is the core conditions, and the internal-external linkage configuration requires simultaneous efforts of M&A experience and government environmental regulations. Our research contributes to the understanding of green transformation in heavily polluting enterprises from a configurational perspective, and provides a practice-oriented guide to achieve green transformation for the government and heavily polluting enterprises.

An Estimation of the Effect of Green Financial Policies and Constraints on Agriculture Investment: Evidences of Sustainable Development Achievement in Northwest China

Farming' community actively participating as micro-actors in green finance schemes is critical for regional planning and development. On the basis of the extent to which financial progress and sustainable development are coordinated, in a difference-in-differences approach, this article employed 2350 small investigations to estimate the influence of green-finance strategies on peasants' agriculture investment and developed a mediation effect method. It investigates the role of peasant managerial variability in mediating the influence of financial constraints. The results indicate that the introduction of a financial restriction variable reduces the positive impacts of green-finance regulations on peasants' agricultural investment. Moreover, peasants who participate in non-agricultural management exercises are more inclined to take advantage of green financing regulations and are affected via financial restrictions in mediate means. The building of a green-finance sector in remote regions should accomplish unique positioning and rapid growth.

The Impact of Environmental Regulation on Green Energy Technology Innovation—Evidence from China

Green energy technology innovation (GETI) is a crucial path to achieve sustainable development. However, few studies have examined the determinants of GETI, especially from the perspective of environmental regulation. To fill this gap, this study investigates the impact of environmental regulation on GETI using the panel data of 30 provinces in Mainland China from 2001 to 2018. We first measure GETI by the latest IPC codes and patent data, and then adopt a dynamic spatial Durbin model (DSDM) to examine the relationship between environmental regulation and GETI. The main conclusions are summarized as follows: (1) There is a significant inverted U-shaped relationship between environmental regulation and GETI; (2) heterogeneity analysis shows that the inverted U-shaped correlation not only exists between environmental regulations and different types of GETI, but also exists between environmental regulations and GETI in different regions. Moreover, the results also show that the spatial spillover effect and path-dependent effect exist in all cases. The findings can provide reference for policymakers to formulate more precise environmental policies. That is, environmental policies in a province should be formulated based on its position on the inverted U-shaped curve. More specifically, when it is on the left side of the inflection point, it is reasonable to strengthen environmental policies, and when it is on the right side of the inflection point, appropriate relaxation of environmental policies should be considered.

Nexus between environment regulation, FDI, and green technology innovation in OECD countries

To achieve the goal of "sustainable development," a crucial way is promoting green technology innovation. This paper examines the nexus between environment regulation, FDI, and green technology innovation in OECD countries from 1998 to 2018. The study uses a pooled mean group, random effect model, and GMM model to analyze the relationship empirically. A Dumitrescu-Hurlin panel causal test also tests the causal relationship between variables. The result indicates that environment regulation significantly relates to green technology innovation and encourages the economy to adopt green technology innovation. This result further explained FDI exerts a negative effect on green technology innovation. The findings suggest that there is a need to execute a proper effective environmental policy, especially concerning FDI, to gain the spillover effect on promoting green technology in the host country, specifically in OECD countries. This study provides policy implications to effectively formulate environmental regulation and FDI inflow to gain technology spillover to promote green technology.

How Do Environmental Regulation and Environmental Decentralization Affect Regional Green Innovation? Empirical Research from China

Green innovation is vital in transforming China’s economic development from high speed to high quality. Environmental regulation plays an important role in stimulating regional green innovation, and appropriate environmental decentralization is the institutional basis to consolidate the innovation compensation of environmental regulation. Clarifying the relationship among environmental regulation, environmental decentralization, and green innovation is of great theoretical and practical significance for regional environmental management and green innovation development. This paper incorporates environmental regulation, environmental decentralization, and regional green innovation into the same analytical framework and constructs a fixed-effects model and a threshold panel model to empirically examine the intrinsic relationship between them based on panel data of 30 Chinese provinces from 2006 to 2015. The estimation results indicate that environmental regulation has a positive impact on regional green innovation, which is greater in developed regions than in underdeveloped regions. Environmental decentralization plays a negative role in regional green innovation, with underdeveloped regions being affected to a greater extent. The impact of environmental regulation on regional green innovation shows a threshold characteristic with the change of the degree of environmental decentralization, while the green innovation utility of environmental regulation gradually decreases with the increase of the degree of environmental decentralization.

Can environmental tax bring strong porter effect? Evidence from Chinese listed companies

Existing researches verify Porter hypothesis mainly through one of its core establishment paths, innovation compensation, but ignore the other one, first-mover advantages. This paper considers both these paths and further distinguishes environmental R&D and non-environmental R&D in empirical study. Based on the smooth transition principle of "charge to tax" in China, this paper, taking Chinese A-share listed companies that have disclosed environmental R&D from 2008 to 2017 as sample and predicting environmental tax by pollution charge, analyzes the relationship between environmental tax and firm performance and its transmission mechanism. First, our results show that environmental tax can improve firm performance, and this influence remains in long term. After introducing instrument variable (IV) to deal with endogeneity and conducting a series of robustness tests, we then find that the relationship between environmental tax and firm performance is a robust causality. Eventually, we apply mediating effect model to further confirm the two core paths of Porter hypothesis by manifesting that environmental tax can affect firm performance through both innovation compensation and first-mover advantages. Our contributions are revealing the micro mechanism of environmental tax on firm performance, providing evidence from China to support strong Porter hypothesis, and offering some key points regarding environmental tax reform and corporate green strategy.

Influence Mechanism of High-Tech Industrial Agglomeration on Green Innovation Performance: Evidence from China

This paper uses panel data from 30 provinces and cities in China between 2008 and 2017. It calculates the green innovation performance of each province and city based on the super-efficiency SBM model of unexpected output and measures the high-tech industrial agglomeration degree of each province and city by using the location entropy method. The influence of high-tech industrial agglomeration on green innovation is also empirically tested. It is found that the agglomeration level of high-tech industry and green innovation performance in Eastern China are much higher than those in Central and Western regions. There is a significant positive relationship between high-tech industrial agglomeration and green innovation performance. Human capital has a mediating effect in the positive impact of high-tech industry agglomeration on green innovation performance. The moderating effect of environmental regulation is markedly established. The higher the level of environmental regulation, the stronger the mediating effect of human capital. Based on the above conclusions, this paper puts forward relevant policy suggestions for promoting the organic combination of green and innovation-driven development and for promoting green transformation in China.

Does Environmental Regulation Promote Industrial Green Technology Progress? Empirical Evidence from China with a Heterogeneity Analysis

The complex relationship between environmental regulation and green technology progress has always been a hot topic of research, especially in developing countries, where the impact of environmental regulation is important. Current research is mainly concerned with the impact of the single environmental regulation on technological progress and lacks study on the diversity of environmental regulations. The main purpose of this paper is to examine the heterogeneity of the effects of different types of environmental regulation on industrial green technology progress. As China's scale of economy and pollution emissions are both large, and the government has also made great efforts in environmental regulation, this paper takes China as the example for analyses. We first use the EBM-GML method to measure the industrial green technology progress of 30 provinces in China from 2000 to 2018, and then apply the panel econometric model and threshold model to empirically investigate the influence of 3 types of environmental regulation. The results show that, first, the impacts of environmental regulation on industrial green technology progress are significantly different; specifically, command-based regulation has no direct significant impact, and autonomous regulation has played a positive role, and market-based regulation's quadratic curve effect is significant, in which the cost-based and investment-based tool presents an inverted U-sharped and U-sharped, respectively. Second, there may be a weak alternative interaction among different types of environmental regulation. Third, a market-based regulatory tool has a threshold effect; with the upgrading of environmental regulation compliance, the effect of a cost-based tool is characterized by "promotion inhibition", and that of an investment-based tool is "inhibition promotion". Finally, the results of regional analysis are basically consistent with those of the national analysis. Based on the study, policy enlightenment is put forward to improve regional industrial green technology progress from the perspective of environmental regulation. This paper can provide a useful analytical framework for studying the relationship between environmental regulation and technological progress in a country, especially in developing countries.

Research on the Effects of Environmental Regulations on Industrial-Technological Innovation Based on Pressure Transmission

This paper investigates the transmission of pressure between the public, relevant government departments, and industrial firms through the use of formal environmental regulations. The data include formal environmental regulations issued from 2005 to 2019 in 179 cities in 27 provinces in China. The intermediary effect model and the threshold effect model are used to carry out research studies on the relationships between public-participated environmental regulations, formal environmental regulations, and industrial-technological innovations. Results indicate that: (1) Pressure is transmitted between the public, and relevant government sectors and industries. For instance, public-participated environmental regulations pressure relevant government departments to apply strong formal environmental regulations on industrial sectors. (2) Labor and capital have a positive moderating effect on the effect of formal environmental regulations on industrial-technological innovations. (3) Both public-participated and formal environmental regulations promote industrial-technological innovations. (4) There is a threshold effect in formal environmental regulations. For instance, when the intensity of public-participated environmental regulations is higher than 93, the role of formal environmental regulations in promoting industrial-technological innovation can be completely maximized.