SRPC encompasses the cooperative mitigation of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) in conjunction with the reduction of pollutants. Alternatively, it involves the joint reduction of pollutants while simultaneously managing CO2. Several scholars have investigated the driving forces behind SRPC due to the harmful impacts of climate anomalies and environmental pollution on human life, as well as the interconnectedness between pollutants and greenhouse gases (Chen et al., 2023). These factors include the using of autonomous electric vehicles (Ercan et al., 2022), carbon emission trading policies (Dong et al., 2022), agricultural practices (Bhattacharyya et al., 2022), urbanization and technological innovation (Yi et al., 2022), the reuse of fly ash in thermal power plants (Hou et al., 2023), energy efficiency, and industrial structure (Zeng and He, 2023), among others. However, not every measure can achieve a positive synergy between CRPR. For instance, in the industrial sector, if cleaner production and pollutant emissions are controlled by consuming more non-renewable energy, it can result in a negative synergy between the two (Liu et al., 2018).
The evaluation of green finance policies mainly focuses on the impacts of green credit policy (GCP) on both the economic and environmental aspects of real enterprises. GCP plays a crucial role in the implementation of green finance policy. From an economic perspective, GCP influences customer preferences and capital allocation direction, thereby creating a financing incentive and constraint mechanism for borrowing enterprises (Andersen, 2017; Mateut, 2018). The effects of GCP on enterprises in eastern China have been found to enhance the quality of green innovation, as evidenced by the research of Wang et al. (2022). However, for enterprises with low stock prices and high pollution levels, implementing GCP can significantly increase the risk of stock price collapse (Shao et al., 2022). Furthermore, GCP reduces the financing available to enterprises classified as "two high" (high pollution and high consumption), and may even lead to a decrease in dividend payments to increase cash holdings (Yuan and Gao, 2022; Li et al., 2023). Under GCP, high-polluting enterprises face environmental regulatory pressures and financial constraints, which drive them to make social donations (Wang et al., 2023a). Moreover, the implementation of GCP enhances the performance and core competitiveness of banks, resulting in improved cost efficiency and risk management (An et al., 2023). However, it is crucial to recognize that the economic effects of green credit policies are not universally positive, as excessive financing for green enterprises may occur (He et al., 2019). Additionally, GCP may hinder research and development investments in "two high" enterprises, albeit influenced by economic uncertainty (Zhang and Kong, 2022). In response to GCP, non-green firms prioritize increasing green innovation activities rather than inputs (Hu et al., 2023).
There is also a discussion on the environmental consequences of GCP. GCP can achieve PM2.5 emission reduction through industrial structure, technological progress, and corporate performance, with varying environmental consequences across regions (Zhang et al. 2021b). Among all green financial products, green credit has been found to have the best carbon emission reduction effect (Wang et al., 2023). By increasing financing costs, GCP can reduce carbon emissions from high-polluting enterprises (Sun and Zeng, 2023). Additionally, GCP can optimize energy consumption structure, increase technological innovation, and enhance innovation input to inhibit carbon emission (Wang, 2023). Furthermore, these policies can promote low-carbon technological innovation activities, enhance green production efficiency, and improve enterprises' ESG performance (Chen et al., 2022; Lv et al., 2023). GCP also facilitate the development and application of carbon-neutral technologies by renewable energy companies (Su et al., 2023). However, the environmental effects of GCP are not uniformly positive. In the early stages of implementation, difficulties in full implementation resulted in insignificant carbon reduction (Zhang et al., 2011). Moreover, the effects of GCP can vary due to the heterogeneity of enterprises, particularly those with a state-owned background in central China, where the effects may be relatively weak or even insignificant (Wang, 2023).
As a crucial component of China's economic functioning, the significance of GCP extends across diverse sectors, contributing to the enhancement of enterprises' environmental consciousness and thus facilitating the advancement of SRPC for "two high" enterprises. Viewing GCP through the lens of signal transmission, enterprises are obligated to divulge their ecological data as a criterion for evaluating financial support. This compels enterprises to prioritize investments in eco-friendly initiatives and simultaneously curtail investments in projects that contribute to pollution and high carbon emissions (Chai et al., 2022). Additionally, with regards to credit selection, GCP necessitates financial institutions to limit or even reject loans for "two high" enterprises. This financing penalty motivates such enterprises to downsize their production scale, leading to the achievement of SRPC (Liu et al., 2019).
Hypothesis 1
GCP directly facilitates the promotion of SRPC.
The concept of GCP is closely associated with policies on environmental regulation. According to the Porter hypothesis, the implementation of reasonable regulations addressing environmental concerns can foster innovation and spur technological advancements within businesses (Zhang et al., 2023). To maintain a competitive edge concerning green credit policies, certain enterprises must actively pursue technological innovation. Moreover, the marketization of GCP acts as a catalyst for heavily-polluting and energy-intensive enterprises to invest in technological innovation. These innovative endeavors ultimately enhance the clean production capabilities of enterprises, thus contributing to SRPC.
Hypothesis 2
GCP can indirectly stimulate SRPC through technological innovation.
The application of GCP has a significant role in channeling funds towards specific sectors, facilitating their eco-friendly advancement, and ultimately influencing the overall enhancement of the industrial framework. This approach has a twofold impact. Firstly, it leads to the gradual removal of outdated sectors characterized by "two high." These sectors encounter substantial challenges in terms of their own technological innovation (Shao et al., 2022). Secondly, GCP fosters the growth of technology-driven industries that possess distinctive benefits like increased value addition, minimal environmental harm, and reduced carbon emissions. Consequently, these high-tech sectors propel the progression of the advanced industrial structure. Additionally, the process of industrial upgrade entails the elimination of heavily pollutant and energy-intensive capacities, thereby realizing SRPC.
Hypothesis 3
GCP can indirectly promote SRPC through upgrading industrial structure.
According to Lu et al. (2022), the introduction of GCP poses challenges for coal-dependent companies in obtaining adequate financial assistance. Nevertheless, it also acts as a catalyst for the advancement of the emerging energy industry and the shift towards more sustainable energy utilization by businesses (Fang et al., 2023). One of the primary advantages of GCP lies in its ability to encourage financial institutions to enhance their funding for the clean energy sector. This, in turn, fosters the development of clean energy technologies and lowers the overall cost of adopting alternative energy sources, thereby enabling companies to embrace and maintain the use of renewable energy. Additionally, as part of their eco-friendly initiatives, enterprises may choose to substitute high-emission conventional energy sources with low-pollution alternative energy options. This transition towards cleaner energy consumption not only contributes to the transformation of the company's energy usage structure but also aligns with the concept of SRPC.
Hypothesis 4
GCP can indirectly promote SRPC through optimizing energy consumption structure.