全球变化知识资源中心

This paper selects the annual panel data of China and its provinces from 1997 to 2015 and explores the impacts of financial development on CO2 emissions based on the extended STIRPAT model. In order to analyze the impacts of financial development on CO2 emissions under different levels of financial development, full-sample panels and sub-panels were estimated. The estimation results show that financial development efficiency and stock trading volume have positive impacts on CO2 emissions, while financial development scale and the market value of listed companies have negative impacts on CO2 emissions. The elasticity coefficients of the financial development variables are different for different sub-panels with different financial development. In addition, we do robustness tests by estimating the panel data model of four different sub-panels, which estimation results are consistent with the previous regression results. Finally, we suggest China's policy makers the following policy implications: China's government should formulate and improve financial credit policies, which can encourage financial institutions to carry out green credit business. Laws and regulations of stock markets should match the environmental protection and carbon emission reduction. China's government should formulate and implement fiscal and taxation policies to encourage enterprises to prevent high energy consumption and carbon emission, especially non-stated owned enterprises and small size enterprises. Moreover, China should gradually develop the domestic carbon finance market and carbon trading market, which can promote carbon emission reduction and doesn't require additional subsidy from the government.