Towards the environmental sustainability path: the role of fintech, renewable energy consumption, and climate policy uncertainty

Against the intensifying global climate crisis, the triad of fintech, renewable energy consumption, and climate policy uncertainty is becoming a key factor in environmental sustainability. This study selects quarterly data from China from 2005 to 2022. It applies the Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) model to explore the asymmetric impacts of these three on control carbon intensity (CAI). It is found that (1) Fintech positively impacts the reduction of CAI in both the short and long term; (2) Renewable energy consumption initially increases CAI in the short term, but contributes to decreased CAI in the long term; (3) The climate policy uncertainty similarly exhibits an asymmetric effect on CAI, exacerbating it in the short term and showing uncertainty in the long run. These results highlight the importance of designing stable and predictable climate policies to shape market expectations and encourage low-carbon investments. Policymakers should also leverage fintech to enhance financing mechanisms for renewable energy projects, accelerating the green transition. • The impacts of financial technology, renewable energy consumption and climate policy uncertainty on environment. • The result of NARDL indicates that fintech has a positive effect on reducing carbon intensity in the short and long term. • Renewable energy consumption leads to a rise in CAI in the short term, but helps to reduce CAI in the long term. • Climate policy uncertainty exacerbates CAI in the short term and presents uncertainty in the long term.