How does the coal-to-gas policy mitigate carbon emissions? The role of fintech development

Abstract

As energy transition becomes an important way to achieve carbon dioxide (CO2) emission reduction globally, this paper takes China as an example and uses the difference-in-difference (DID) model suitable for policy research to explore the impact of coal-to-gas (CTG) policy, which aims at promoting energy transition and reducing pollutant emissions, on CO2 emissions, and explores the mechanism of action and the spatial spillover effects of the policy. The results of the study show that, first, the implementation of the CTG policy can reduce CO2 emissions in China, and the results still hold under a series of robustness tests. Second, the CTG policy can achieve CO2 emission reduction through regional industrial restructuring, and the rapid development of financial technology promotes the process of CO2 emission reduction in China. Finally, the implementation of the CTG policy may cause the problem of CO2 leakage due to regional differences in the policy. This study not only provides a reference for setting global energy transition policies, but also provides new ideas for China's CO2 emission reduction and CO2 leakage, and provides data support for policy formulation.