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Green Finance and Energy Efficiency Investment in Achieving Carbon Neutrality

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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "C: Energy Economics and Policy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 30183

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Prof. Dr. Huaping Sun

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Guest Editor

School of Finance and Economics, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Interests: green finance; industrial transformation; carbon neutrality; low-carbon development; energy transition
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Keliang Wang

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Guest Editor

School of Economics, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China
Interests: resource and environmental economics; regional economics; marine economics; green innovation; efficiency and productivity analysis

Prof. Dr. Feng Wang

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Guest Editor

School of Economics and Business Administration, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China
Interests: green finance; energy economics; carbon market; low-carbon development; energy efficiency
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the increasingly obvious impact of climate change on human economic and social activities, the urgency to accelerate energy conservation and emission reduction has become a major event in the developmental agenda of all countries, with more than one hundred of them having announced the policy goal of net-zero emissions, engaging in a carbon neutrality race. The "rebound effect" may offset the potential emission reduction caused by improved efficiency, that is, lower prices leading to an increased energy demand. In the process of becoming carbon neutral, the question of how to limit the energy rebound effect to as low a level as possible through green finance is an urgent problem to be explored by all countries.

The policies favouring energy efficiency are profitable for firms, capable of enhancing the economic green growth of developing countries. At present, countries around the world have accomplished great progress in green financial standards, incentive mechanisms, disclosure requirements, product systems, local pilot projects and international cooperation. However, compared to the requirements of the carbon neutralization goal, the world's current standard green financial system still faces some important problems and challenges, including not fully matching the carbon neutralization goal, the mechanism not fully paying enough attention to low-carbon development, and the products not fully meeting the needs of carbon neutrality. Therefore, what are the successful experiences all over the world and how can they provide enlightenment and reference for other parts of the world? What are the shortcomings and lessons to be learned? This topic will thoroughly study these topics and jointly contribute to the sustainable development of the world.

Prof. Dr. Huaping Sun
Prof. Dr. Keliang Wang
Dr. Feng Wang
Guest Editors

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Keywords

green finance
energy efficiency investment
energy transition
carbon neutrality
sustainable development

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 300 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Financial Inclusion on the Efficiency of Carbon Emissions: Evidence from 30 Provinces in China

by Xu Zhang, Huaping Sun and Taohong Wang

Energies 2022, 15(19), 7316; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15197316 - 5 Oct 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1647

Abstract

Carbon emissions have become a serious environmental problem worldwide, with the greenhouse effect and global temperature increase being the main areas of concern. Financial inclusion is a means to increase the welfare of citizens and promote sustainable development. Development of financial inclusion may have a big impact on carbon emissions. This study uses data from 2011 to 2019 to do panel Tobit regression and check the effect of financial inclusion on the efficiency of carbon emissions, which is calculated by the super-efficiency Slacks-Based Measure (SBM) -data envelopment analysis (DEA) method. The results show that financial inclusion decreases the efficiency of carbon emissions. Moreover, financial inclusion could reduce the efficiency of carbon emissions by increasing the proportion of tertiary industries. Moreover, the effect varies in each region. Thus, following these conclusions, we propose several related policy implications. The government should strengthen the supervision of money due to financial inclusion and ensure that the investment should be put into environmental projects. In addition, it needs to pay attention to carbon emissions generated in the process of industrial upgrading. More access to renewable energy is an effective measure to solve the problem of higher carbon dioxide emissions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Finance and Energy Efficiency Investment in Achieving Carbon Neutrality)

14 pages, 2144 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Margin Design Method Based on the SPAN in Electricity Futures Market Considering the Risk of Power Factor

by Deqin Lin, Wenyang Deng and Siting Dai

Energies 2022, 15(14), 5138; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15145138 - 15 Jul 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1290

Abstract

On-grid integration of renewable energy, also called “green power”, is attracting more and more attention nowadays. Green power futures can be effective in increasing returns to suppliers and increasing market liquidity. However, compared to traditional futures, green power feed-in tariffs may be subject to integrity problems due to lower power factors; therefore, existing margin calculation methods for the futures market are no longer applicable. A SPAN-based margin calculation method that considers the power factor risk is proposed in this paper. The method provides the classification policies of the green power futures, based on the historical power factors of green power suppliers, and allows the margin amount to be adjusted as per the classification. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, empirical validation is presented by applying actual transaction data. Results prove that the proposed method can reduce the margin amount while covering the risk effectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Finance and Energy Efficiency Investment in Achieving Carbon Neutrality)

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14 pages, 3222 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Extended Carbon Emission Pinch Analysis for the Low-Carbon Tobacco Industry

by Yang Zhang, Hekun Wang, Taomeizi Zhou, Zhiwei Li and Xiaoping Jia

Energies 2022, 15(13), 4611; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15134611 - 23 Jun 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1796

Abstract

The tobacco industry is an important contributor to realizing the carbon reduction goal. Less attention is paid to the carbon emissions of the tobacco industry. The tobacco production system is generally a carbon sink, where carbon sequestration by photosynthesis in tobacco planting and by soil are sufficient to offset the carbon emissions of the tobacco production system. This work proposed an integrated framework of life-cycle assessment (LCA) and Source-Sink Model to determine the optimal allocation of carbon sources to sinks with the objective of maximizing the profitable external benefits. From an economic perspective, internal carbon sources could be offset by the internal carbon sink of the tobacco production system. The additional internal carbon sinks can be transferred in the form of carbon trading, increasing external revenue. A case-study tobacco manufacturing plant in Sichuan, China, was chosen to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed work. This study assesses the carbon footprint and economic benefits of a tobacco industry supply chain case (from tobacco cultivation to finished product) and analyzes the energy restructuring of different percentages of renewable energy to replace thermal power. The objective of the study is to maximise the offsetting of carbon emissions from the tobacco production system, while achieving optimal internal costs and profitable external benefits. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Finance and Energy Efficiency Investment in Achieving Carbon Neutrality)

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17 pages, 2026 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on the Blue Carbon Trading Market System under Blockchain Technology

by Changping Zhao, Juanjuan Sun, Yu Gong, Zhi Li and Peter Zhou

Energies 2022, 15(9), 3134; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15093134 - 25 Apr 2022

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5670

Abstract

To combat global warming, “carbon neutrality” has gradually become a consensus. Some countries have constructed domestic and regional carbon trading markets, and links to global carbon markets are receiving increasing attention. Blue carbon, an important component of nature-based solutions (NbS), has not received the attention it deserves and is still isolated from the carbon trading market. Based on summarizing the existing achievements of blockchain application in carbon trading, this paper analyzes how to make each participating body provide services in the process of blue carbon production, circulation and trading, and designs the architectural diagram of the blue carbon system under peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions based on the theoretical framework of blockchain 3.0. Utilizing the advantages of decentralization, high transparency and non-tamperability of blockchain, we can realize a highly efficient, low-cost and intelligent blue carbon trading management system. Thus, we can make the world pay more attention to the development and utilization of marine resources and increase investment in blue carbon sink projects; and promote the development of blue carbon market, enrich the carbon trading market, and help achieve “emission reduction without reduction in production”. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Finance and Energy Efficiency Investment in Achieving Carbon Neutrality)

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21 pages, 1640 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Does the Development of Digital Finance Contribute to Haze Pollution Control? Evidence from China

by Ke-Liang Wang, Rui-Rui Zhu and Yun-He Cheng

Energies 2022, 15(7), 2660; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15072660 - 5 Apr 2022

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 2365

Abstract

Mitigating haze pollution is of practical significance to the green economy, and the development of digital finance may help achieve this goal. However, the effect of digital finance on haze pollution has not been systematically explained. Based on Chinese prefectural panel data for the 2011–2016 period, this study on haze concentration, technological innovation, and digital inclusive finance index as the dependent variable, mediating variable, and the core independent variable, respectively, investigated whether digital finance has improved haze pollution control in China using fixed effect (FE) and random effect (RE) models, a mediating effect model, a threshold panel model, and a dynamic spatial Durbin model (SDM). Four key results were obtained. (1) Digital finance significantly decreased haze pollution. After accounting for potential endogeneity, this conclusion was still valid. (2) The analysis of the influencing mechanism showed that digital finance was conducive to haze reduction by promoting regional innovation capabilities. (3) There was a nonlinear relationship between the influence of digital finance and haze pollution. Specifically, the impact of digital finance on haze pollution has gradually increased with the improvement of regional innovation capabilities. (4) Haze pollution displayed a significant positive spatial agglomeration in China. Digital finance can alleviate local haze pollution but will aggravate haze pollution in adjacent areas. Based on the results of this study, some pertinent policy suggestions were proposed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Finance and Energy Efficiency Investment in Achieving Carbon Neutrality)

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17 pages, 275 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Does Standardization Improve Carbon Emission Efficiency as Soft Infrastructure? Evidence from China

by Ying Sun, Fengqin Liu and Huaping Sun

Energies 2022, 15(6), 2300; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15062300 - 21 Mar 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1800

Abstract

Standardization in energy-saving and emission-reduction measures has become increasingly important. The impact of standardization on carbon-emission efficiency in China was explored by using panel data from 2002 to 2017. The results showed that standardization significantly improved China’s carbon-emission efficiency, which remained robust after a series of tests. Furthermore, the development of industry standards had a greater effect on the improvement of carbon-emission efficiency in the economically developed coastal areas, while the development of national standards significantly promoted the improvement of carbon-emission efficiency in the inland areas. An assessment of the impact mechanism demonstrated that standardization affects carbon-emission efficiency through technological progress, industrial modernization, and economies of scale. We compared our findings with the existing literature regarding the governance of a low-carbon economy; we also considered the subsequent policy implications of our findings in terms of sustainable economic development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Finance and Energy Efficiency Investment in Achieving Carbon Neutrality)

20 pages, 10992 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Internal Control and Enterprise Green Innovation

by Ping Wang, Hua Bu and Fengqin Liu

Energies 2022, 15(6), 2193; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15062193 - 17 Mar 2022

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 4119

Abstract

Green innovation has become an important support to promote the strategic goals of peak carbon dioxide emission and high-quality economic development. This paper systematically examines whether internal control can effectively drive enterprise green innovation and achieve the “win–win” result of enterprise economic development and environmental protection. We found that internal control can significantly improve the green innovation level of enterprises, which is mainly reflected in the mandatory disclosure stage of internal control information and the other four elements of internal control, except the control environment. The mechanism test found that internal control can promote green innovation by reducing enterprise risks, alleviating agency conflicts, relieving financing constraints, and improving the rationality of innovation investment. The heterogeneity test found that the promotion effect of internal control on green innovation is more significant in large enterprises and private enterprises; internal control can effectively supervise the maintenance of relationship resources, and relationship resources positively regulate the promotion effect of internal control on green innovation; excessive executive power will weaken the internal control supervision and punishment of executives, and weaken the positive effect between internal control and green innovation; internal control can improve the utilization rate of government subsidies, and government subsidies positively regulate the positive effect of internal control on green innovation. The research conclusions enrich the market-oriented research on the driving factors of enterprise green innovation, and provide empirical evidence for enhancing the competitiveness of enterprise green innovation and achieving carbon neutrality. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Finance and Energy Efficiency Investment in Achieving Carbon Neutrality)

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19 pages, 3293 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation and Dynamic Evolution of the Total Factor Environmental Efficiency in China’s Mining Industry

by Xiangqian Wang, Shudong Wang and Yongqiu Xia

Energies 2022, 15(3), 1232; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15031232 - 8 Feb 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1583

Abstract

The mining industry plays an extremely important strategic role in China’s economic and social development. In the new era of pursuing circular/green/efficient development, the evaluation of the total factor environmental efficiency (TFEE) of China’s mining industry is essential for alleviating resource waste and environmental pollution. The Epsilon-Based Measure (EBM) model effectively solves the shortcomings of radial and non-radial DEA models. In addition, the Malmquist–Luenberger (ML) index can measure the dynamic change of efficiency value. Combining the EBM model and the ML productivity index, this paper evaluates the TFEE from the static and dynamic perspective in China’s 31 provincial mining industries over the period 2007–2016. The Theil index is employed to reveal the root of the overall provincial TFEE gap (OGTFEE) in China’s mining industry. The results show that the average total factor static environmental efficiency (TFSEE) of China’s provincial mining industry exhibits a low score of 0.6589 and with significant spatio-temporal differences. The provincial TFEE gap within four major areas (WGTFEE), especially that in east and west areas, is the main cause of the OGTFEE in China’s mining industry. Technical change contributes more to the TFEE decline in China’s mining industry. There are differences in improving the TFEE among China’s 31 provincial mining industries, and corresponding countermeasures can be formulated accordingly. This study provides theoretical and practical basis for the clean and green development of China’s mining industry. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Finance and Energy Efficiency Investment in Achieving Carbon Neutrality)

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13 pages, 285 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Empirical Test of Low-Carbon and Sustainable Financing’s Spatial Spillover Effect

by Yu Sun, Huaping Sun, Zhiqiang Ma, Mingxing Li and Dan Wang

Energies 2022, 15(3), 952; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15030952 - 28 Jan 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2412

Abstract

In this paper, the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2011 to 2019 are analyzed by the spatial measure model and the threshold regression model. The results show that the air quality level is positively correlated with green finance, but there is no spatial effect. The spatial effect of the three influencing factors, including the degree of openness, the level of infrastructure, and the level of education, is the crowding-out effect. At the same time, variables such as human resource level, air quality, and infrastructure construction level all have threshold effects in the relationship between green finance and economic development. The research conclusions suggested that local governments at all levels should formulate policies according to the actual situation to promote the development of provinces’ intensive, intelligent, and green development, and build a regionally-linked green finance development model, thereby promoting the improvement of green finance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Finance and Energy Efficiency Investment in Achieving Carbon Neutrality)

20 pages, 295 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of Green Finance on Urban Haze Pollution in China: A Technological Innovation Perspective

by Yiting Zeng, Feng Wang and Jun Wu

Energies 2022, 15(3), 801; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15030801 - 22 Jan 2022

Cited by 61 | Viewed by 4280

Abstract

Green finance integrates the concept of environmental governance into the financial industry, which is conducive to sustainable development. Applying the mediating effect model, this paper investigates the effect of green finance on urban haze pollution and explores the mediating role of technological innovation of enterprises between them. Based on a sample of 639 enterprises in China over 2016–2019, a significantly negative effect of green finance on urban haze pollution is found. An increase of one standard deviation in green finance decreases PM2.5 concentration by 8.8 μg/m³, ceteris paribus. Further, green finance may improve environmental quality by promoting technological innovation. Considering the heterogeneity of enterprise ownership, this mediating effect exists in non-state-owned enterprises, while it cannot be observed in state-owned enterprises. This study proposes a new solution for pollution: using green financial tools to promote environmentally friendly technological progress. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Finance and Energy Efficiency Investment in Achieving Carbon Neutrality)

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