Linkage Analysis between Finance and Environmental Protection Sectors in China: An Approach to Evaluating Green Finance.

Libo Li,Lu Lin,Wenbing Wu,Mingyu Zhang

doi:10.3390/ijerph18052634

Abstract

Given the growing awareness of sustainable development, the environmental protection industry has attracted much attention. Green finance has developed rapidly in policymaking and practices. This study provides a framework for evaluating green finance via linkage analysis based on input–output theory. Measurements on industrial linkages are calculated in China in two provinces from 2002 to 2018, which study the relationship between finance and environmental protection sectors. The results show that the environmental protection sector (EPS) in China has gradually developed from a sector with weak backward and strong forward linkages to a sector with strong backward and weak forward linkages from 2002 to 2015; however, in 2017 and 2018, the EPS returned to a sector with weak backward and strong forward linkages. At the provincial level, the EPS used to be a key sector with strong backward and forward linkages. The connection between the finance sector and the EPS rose first, then declined in the country and the Zhejiang province; Guangdong had a similar evolution in the former period, but it had a rising trend in the latest year. The findings provide insights for further promoting the support from the finance sector to the environmental protection activities.

Highlights

With growing concern for global climate change, environmental pollution issues, and natural resource depletion, more governments, organizations, and the public realize the importance of climate change mitigation, pollution prevention and control, and sustainable resource utilization
This study provides a methodology framework to evaluate the support from the finance sector to the environmental protection sector at both national and provincial levels
We use linkage analysis based on the input–output model to measure the connection between two specific sectors

Summary

Introduction

With growing concern for global climate change, environmental pollution issues, and natural resource depletion, more governments, organizations, and the public realize the importance of climate change mitigation, pollution prevention and control, and sustainable resource utilization. The demands for the environmental protection industry, i.e., products to prevent, control, measure, or minimize environmental pollution and resource depletion, have increased [1]. In the context of globalization and technology innovation, governments are aware of the potential of the environmental protection industry in stimulating economic growth, creating jobs, and playing a significant role in the economic transition towards sustainable development. Given the growing awareness of sustainable development, the demand for environmental goods and services has increased

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Conclusion