Green Technology Innovation Research Articles

Digital transformation, human capital upgrading, and enterprise ESG performance: Evidence from Chinese listed enterprises

Research background: With the rapid development of digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data, cloud computing, and blockchain, the deep integration of digital technology and traditional industries offers unprecedented opportunities and has become an important technological force driving the development of enterprise environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. Digital transformation increases the complementarity between the production and operation processes of enterprises and highly skilled labour, specifically manifested in the adaptive change of the human capital structure of enterprises in labour relations. Meanwhile, transforming enterprises’ human capital structure also affects ESG performance. Purpose of the article: This study investigates the effects of digital transformation on enterprise ESG performance and its underlying mechanisms of human capital upgrading. First, it combines cutting-edge literature to analyse the theoretical mechanism between digital transformation, human capital upgrading, and enterprise ESG performance, revealing the internal driving factors and implementation paths for improving enterprise ESG performance. Second, we use the data of 3928 listed enterprises in the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share markets from 2009–2022 to analyse the impact of digital transformation on enterprise ESG performance from the perspective of human capital upgrading as well as the mechanism by which digital transformation affects enterprise ESG performance through human capital upgrading. Third, we provide policy recommendations for optimising the labour structure and enhancing enterprise ESG performance from the perspective of optimising human capital and digital technology applications. Methods: Based on data from 3928 listed enterprises in Chinese A-share markets from 2009-2022, we investigate the effects of digital transformation on enterprise ESG performance and the mechanisms of human capital upgrading. The panel mediation effect model tests the relationships between digital transformation, human capital upgrading, and enterprise ESG performance. Findings & value added: In theory, digital transformation is beneficial for optimising human capital structure, accelerating green technological innovation, and improving management efficiency, thus improving enterprise ESG performance. Mechanism testing shows that digital transformation enhances enterprise ESG performance through human capital upgrading. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the impact of digital transformation on ESG performance is more significant in enterprises that are capital- and technical-intensive, and located in the eastern and central regions. This study examines the microeconomic consequences of digital transformation, contributing to a deeper understanding of the theoretical logic inherent in enterprises’ optimisation of their labour structure. It also provides empirical evidence and decision support for developing industrial talent policies.

Improving corporate profitability from the inside out with environmental performance: an empirical analysis based on Chinese listed company data

This study uses data from listed companies in China from 2008 to 2021, constructs a comprehensive evaluation of corporate environmental performance from the perspective of internal efficiency and externalities based on the text analysis method, and analyzes the impact and mechanism of environmental performance on profitability. In addition, we find that improving environmental performance can significantly increase profitability, especially if the company tackles pollution at the source. Furthermore, the impact of environmental performance on profitability tends to be driven by external markets. Obtaining environmental certifications, awards, and green patents can provide positive feedback and significantly increase profitability. In addition, the mechanism analysis shows that environmental performance affects firm profitability by improving green technology innovation, reducing financing constraints and increasing operating income. Finally, the results of the heterogeneity analysis show that the profitability-enhancing effect of environmental performance is stronger in non-state-owned firms, in clean industries firms and in regions with carbon emission trading.

Green technology innovation or pollution substitution? an evolutionary game for high-Energy-consuming enterprises’ strategy from a consideration of energy-consuming trading rights

ABSTRACT The energy-consuming rights trading (ECRT) environmental regulatory policy starting from demand side reform has a significant influence on the enterprises’ production strategies. However, there is still a lack of research on dynamic mechanisms from a micro perspective. Referencing ECRT policy implementation, this paper incorporates government, the public, and high-energy-consuming enterprises into a unified framework, and constructs a tripartite evolutionary game model to explore the enterprises’ production strategy under the reward and punishment accountability mechanism. Then, a case study is addressed to examine the role of government. The results show that: (1) The steady-state conditions of the three parties depend on their own cost–benefit circumstances. Enterprises’ production strategy is driven by the coordination of the government and the public. (2) Achieving ideal equilibrium path evolution requires that the expected benefits of green technology innovation more strongly than the expected benefits of ‘pollution substitution’ practices. (3) A strict accountability system that includes penalties and rewards can enhance public supervision and accelerate the transformation of government active regulatory supervision strategies, stimulating the internal driving forces that motivate enterprises’ green technology innovation. The findings provide references for promoting the implementation of ECRT and helping to achieve the strategy of ecological civilisation construction.

Climate legislation and green agricultural production: impacts, transmission mechanisms and heterogeneities

PurposeThis study examines the impact of climate legislation on green agricultural production and tests the heterogeneous impact of different types of climate legislation on agricultural green production.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, the super-slacks-based measure (super-SBM) model is used to calculate agricultural green total factor productivity (AGTFP). The impact of climate legislation (including legislative acts and executive orders) on AGTFP is examined through regression analysis. The transmission mechanism of climate legislation affecting agricultural green production is further investigated.FindingsThis study shows that climate legislation has a positive long-term effect on AGTFP. It stimulates innovation in agricultural green technology but has a negative impact on resource allocation efficiency. Executive orders have a more significant effect on AGTFP than climate legislative acts. The effectiveness of climate legislation is more significant in countries with stronger legislation. Moreover, climate legislation reduces AGTFP in low-income countries while enhancing AGTFP in high-income countries. This effect is most prominent in upper-middle-income countries.Originality/valueThis study examines the different effects of various types of climate legislation, considering the level of economic development and the strength of the legal system on AGTFP. The findings can offer a global perspective and insights for China’s policymaking.

Multiple environmental regulations and green technology innovation: a boundary theory perspective

Purpose Based on boundary theory, the authors try to clarify the boundaries of multiple environmental regulations. This paper aims to explore the strategic choices of multiple environmental regulations, analyze their spatial impact on green technology innovation and clarify the implementation priorities of multiple environmental regulations in various regions. Design/methodology/approach The authors construct an asymmetric response model based on the boundary theory perspective to analyze the strategic choices of different environmental regulations. In addition, dynamic spatial econometric methods are used to empirically analyze the differentiated regulatory boundaries of command-control type, market-incentive and voluntary-participation in environmental regulations and their spatial effects on green technology innovation. Findings Strict compulsory boundaries are formed in China when the command-control and market-incentive types are selected in a dynamic spatial and competitive game environment. When voluntary participation is selected, strict compulsory or loose basic boundaries are formed in each region. The command-control type is highly dependent on geographical distance, the market-incentive type is more dependent on an economic connection and the voluntary-participation type has obvious spatial spillover effects under the spatial weight matrix of geographical distance and economic connection. When Eastern China chooses voluntary participation in environmental regulation, the incentive effect on green technology innovation is the strongest. Middle China is the market-incentive type, and Western China is the command-control type. Command-control type and market-incentive type form strong complementary effects in dynamic spatial environments. Originality/value From the boundary theory perspective, this study analyzes the differentiated dynamic spatial boundaries of command-control, market-incentive and voluntary-participation in environmental regulations. Analyze the spatial impact of multiple environmental regulations on green technology innovation and clarify the implementation priorities of multiple environmental regulations in various regions.

Heterogeneous effects of environmental regulations on green technology innovation: measurement by using patents and evidence from China’s prefecture-level cities

Heterogeneous effects of environmental regulations on green technology innovation: measurement by using patents and evidence from China’s prefecture-level cities

Corrigendum to “Green horizons: Synergized green technological innovation and green energy consumption on ecological degradation”

Corrigendum to “Green horizons: Synergized green technological innovation and green energy consumption on ecological degradation”

A Review of Policy Progress in China's Ecological Civilization Demonstration Zone

Under the background of increasing urbanization rate and global warming, China urgently needs to address the issue of promoting economic growth while reducing the intensity of carbon emissions to achieve harmony between economic growth and environmental protection and promote sustainable development. This study takes China's ecological civilization demonstration areas construction policy as the main object of analysis. The literature review method would summarize the specific pathways of this policy to achieve carbon emission reduction in terms of eco-economy and eco-institution. By classifying and analyzing its existing carbon reduction pathways, this study found that reforms and innovations were made in this policy, mainly in eco-economy and eco-institution. China's Ecological Civilization Demonstration Zones (ECDZs) policy, to achieve carbon emission reduction and carbon neutrality, has used both green technological innovation and economic reforms to upgrade the industrial structure and improve the energy structure. However, the above policies are broad and cannot meet the regional differences. Therefore, this paper gives the corresponding recommendations: to increase the support of financial and financing policies, optimize the energy infrastructure in urban areas, and develop green transport and green buildings.

Ecological Resilience, Industrial Digitization and Green Technology Innovation: Synergistic Development and Driving Mechanism

Ecological Resilience, Industrial Digitization and Green Technology Innovation: Synergistic Development and Driving Mechanism

Green credit policy, technological innovation, and corporate financial performance: Evidence from the energy industry

Green credit policy, technological innovation, and corporate financial performance: Evidence from the energy industry

The Role Mechanism of Digital Finance in Enterprise Green Technology Innovation

The Role Mechanism of Digital Finance in Enterprise Green Technology Innovation

The impact of urban soccer events on carbon emissions: Panel threshold analysis for Chinese cities

The holding of soccer events has an important impact on modern urban activities, which is conducive to the economic development, social harmony, cultural integration and regional integration of cities. However, massive energy is consumed during the event preparation and infrastructure construction, resulting in an increase in the city’s carbon emissions. For the sustainable development of cities, it is important to explore the theoretical mechanism and practical effectiveness of the relationship between soccer events and urban carbon emissions, and to adopt appropriate policy management measures to control carbon emissions of soccer events. With the development of green technology, digitalization, and public transportation, the preparation and management methods of soccer events are diversified, and the possibility of carbon reduction of the event is further increased. This paper selects 17 cities in China from 2011 to 2019 and explores the complex impact of soccer events on urban carbon emissions by using green technology innovation, digitalization level and public transportation as threshold variables. The results show that: (1) Hosting soccer events increases carbon emissions with an impact coefficient of 0.021; (2) There is a negative single-threshold effect of green innovation technology, digitalization level and public transportation on the impact of soccer events on carbon emissions, with the impact coefficients of soccer events decreasing by 0.008, 0.01 and 0.06, respectively, when the threshold variable crosses the threshold. These findings will enhance the attention of city managers to the management of carbon emissions from soccer events and provide guidance for reducing carbon emissions from soccer events through green technology innovation, digital means and optimization of public transportation.

The Impact of Multiple Large Shareholders' Coexistence on Firms' Green Technology Innovation

The Impact of Multiple Large Shareholders' Coexistence on Firms' Green Technology Innovation

Can sustainable finance promote manufacturing green transition trapped in financing dilemma? The influence mechanism of green technology innovation, technology market and government guidance

ABSTRACT Sustainable finance (SF) has become a potential financing channel for the manufacturing sector because green finance has intensified the transition financing dilemma for brown sectors. This study investigates whether SF can promote green transition in the manufacturing sector (MT) under this financing dilemma, and the role of green technology innovation (GTI), the technology market (TM), and government guidance (GVG) in such a relationship. Using the data from 30 Chinese provinces from 2011 to 2020, this study first constructs comprehensive evaluation indicator systems for SF and MT and then applies the chain-mediation model and moderated chain-mediation model. The findings show that SF has a significantly positive influence on MT. The influence mechanism demonstrates that GTI-TM is a vital influence channel for SF to promote MT. GVG can moderate the chain-mediation effect of GTI and TM. These findings have important implications for promoting MT through SF.

Spatial feasibility prediction of green hydrogen scale-up in China under decarbonization policies: Based on improved diffusion model

Hydrogen production from renewable electrolysis is a suitable transformative technology for driving a cleaner energy mix, mitigating climate change, and achieving sustainable development and has been given the color value definition of "green hydrogen". However, this low-carbon technology is still in its infancy, and the pathways for expanding market supply have not been analyzed. To address the problems of unclear factors influencing the diffusion of green hydrogen technology innovation, unclear technology diffusion laws, and inaccurate predictions of regional green hydrogen production capacity under the goal of decarbonization policy, this work constructs a spatial assessment framework of the feasibility of low-carbon technology development in response to climate change on the basis of the theory of technological innovation systems, the improved technology diffusion model, and the feasibility of climate change spatial concepts to analyze and predict the diffusion law and regional green hydrogen production capacity of hydrogen production by renewable energy under the goal of carbon neutrality. The results of the study on the development of renewable hydrogen technology in China show that it follows the law of diffusion of low-carbon technologies in both the formation and growth stages. The diffusion of green hydrogen technology in the formation stage is slow, and the regional green hydrogen capacity in the near term cannot meet the decarbonization policy target demand in 2030. Before the spatial inflection point of technology diffusion feasibility, the demand-pull of the phase decarbonization policy target dominated the stability and sustainability of the green hydrogen supply market. After the inflection point, the internal growth of technology diffusion plays a key role in market diffusion and ultimately reaches a saturation value under the joint regulation of policy and the market to realize a carbon-neutral target capacity demand in 2060. The uncertainty of diffusion model parameters leads to anomalies in the feasibility space of technology diffusion, and risks such as overcapacity or insufficient demand in some regions may occur. Overall, this work provides a systematic assessment system for analyzing and predicting the pathways and characteristics of expanding renewable hydrogen production in specific regions under decarbonization policy objectives.

Can smart cities promote Green technology innovation? Evidence from Chinese cities

Can smart cities promote Green technology innovation? Evidence from Chinese cities

Effect of green trade barriers on export enterprise green technological innovation from the perspective of the low-carbon city pilot policy

The low-carbon city pilot policy (LCCPP) is an important part of achieving “dual carbon” goals and promoting green technology innovation (GTI) in Chinese export enterprises. This study integrates Green Technical Barriers to Trade (GTBTs), LCCPP, and the GTI of exporting enterprises into a unified framework based on data from A-share market Chinese non-financial export enterprises from 2007 to 2021 and discusses how export enterprises should optimize green innovation resource structure with support from LCCPP to facilitate enterprise GTI when facing GTBTs. Several findings are uncovered: (1) GTBTs have a significant negative impact on the GTI of Chinese export enterprises, and the LCCPP significantly mitigates the negative impact of GTBTs on export enterprises’ GTI. (2) After distinguishing the heterogeneous characteristics of export enterprises, the moderating effect of the LCCPP becomes even more pronounced in non-state-owned enterprises, general trade enterprises, and enterprises whose export destinations are high-income countries. (3) Further exploration of the moderating effect of the LCCPP with different policy instruments and intensities is needed. We found the best moderating effect on export enterprises’ GTI under high policy intensity, and only market-based policy instruments had a significant moderating effect. These findings provide direction for policymakers expanding the pilot scope of low-carbon cities as well as theoretical support for realizing foreign trade growth for sustainable development.

Do Fiscal Incentives Contribute to Pollution Control? Empirical Evidence from China

Given the growing concerns over environmental degradation and the demand for sustainable development, the Chinese government has implemented several fiscal incentive policies to enhance environmental governance. Taking the phased comprehensive demonstration cities of the Energy Saving and Emission Reduction Fiscal Policy (ESERFP) as an exogenous shock, this study uses a staggered difference-in-differences method to evaluate the impact of the fiscal incentive policy on pollution control using panel data from 268 prefecture-level cities in China from 2003 to 2017. The results indicate that the industrial pollutant emissions in the demonstration cities significantly decreased compared with those in the non-demonstration cities under the influence of the ESERFP. Specifically, industrial wastewater discharges in the demonstration cities decreased by 15.5% while industrial sulfur dioxide emissions decreased by 19.5%. Moreover, promoting industrial structure upgrades and green technology innovations are the main mechanisms of the ESERFP in reducing industrial pollution emissions. Furthermore, the emission-reduction effect of the ESERFP is more significant in areas with more fiscal resources, lower promotion incentives based on local economic performance, greater emphasis on environmental protection, and those with no old industrial bases. Further analysis shows that the positive effect of the ESERFP on pollution control in the demonstration cities remains relatively effective after the demonstration period ends, and the policy does not sacrifice economic dividends. Overall, this study explores the impact of fiscal incentive policies designed to achieve environmental improvements via pollution control, offering valuable fiscal policy insights for China and other developing economies seeking solutions to environmental pollution, including fiscal incentive policy formulation and implementation, fiscal incentives to support regional green transformations, improving the differentiation and precision of fiscal incentives and enhancing environmental performance assessment.

The Effect of Digital Economy on Rural Environmental Governance: Evidence from China

Exploring the inherent mechanisms by which the digital economy fosters rural environmental governance holds paramount importance for driving the sustainable development of rural regions and elevating the living standards of rural residents. Drawing upon theoretical frameworks and extensive literature reviews, we have devised comprehensive indicator systems for quantifying the development trajectory of the digital economy and the efficacy of rural environmental governance, employing the entropy method for measurement. Leveraging panel data that spans from 2011 to 2022, encompassing 31 provinces across China, we empirically delve into the influence of the digital economy on rural environmental governance, along with its underlying mechanisms, by employing a fixed effects model. The baseline regression results reveal that the development of the digital economy can significantly promote the improvement of rural environmental governance, even after considering potential endogeneity issues. Moreover, the test results of the mediation effect show that the digital economy can enhance the level of rural environmental governance by accelerating industrial structure optimization and improving green technology innovation. Furthermore, the test result of the regulatory effect implies that the urban–rural dual structure may inhibit the positive effect of the digital economy on rural environmental governance. Additionally, there exists regional disparities in which the digital economy influences rural environmental governance, with the eastern region exhibiting a more pronounced effect compared to other regions.

Research on the Carbon Emission Reduction Effect of the Dual Pilot Policy of Low-Carbon Cities and New Energy Demonstration Cities

Achieving the “double carbon” goal and optimizing the energy structure necessitates strategic deployments such as low-carbon cities (LCCs) and new energy demonstration cities (NEDCs). Prior research has primarily examined the effectiveness of these two policies when implemented independently. Despite overlapping scopes, there remains a need for a definitive conclusion regarding whether the concurrent implementation of these policies will yield a synergistic effect, thereby further reducing carbon emissions. Employing panel data spanning 2007–2021 from 280 Chinese cities, this study investigates the carbon emission reduction (CER) effect of the dual pilot policy (DPP), focusing specifically on LCCs and NEDCs through a multi-period difference-in-differences (DID) analysis. The findings reveal a significant synergistic effect between LCCs and NEDCs on CER, with the sequence of policy implementation playing a crucial role in determining the effectiveness of CER. Notably, cities first become NEDCs and subsequently transition into LCCs, demonstrating a more pronounced CER effect. Further analysis of the impact mechanism underscores that the DPP fosters urban CER by elevating inventive and improved green technology innovation. Among these, the contribution of inventive green technology innovation is particularly prominent, accounting for as much as 24%, far surpassing the 20% contribution of improved green technology innovation. A heterogeneity analysis indicates that the DPP’s impact is more significant in western and non-resource-based cities. Given China’s status as one of the world’s foremost carbon emitters, exploring China’s CER pathways holds profound practical significance and offers invaluable empirical insights for advancing global CER efforts.