The Impact of Green FinTech Promote Corporate Carbon Neutrality: Evidence from the Perspective of Financing Incentives and Scale Quality

As an in-depth integration of green capital chains and technological innovation chains, green fintech provides strong support for enterprises in promoting green and low-carbon development and achieving carbon neutrality. Based on relevant data from Chinese listed companies between 2014 and 2023, this study constructs indices for green fintech development and corporate carbon neutrality to empirically examine the impact of green fintech on corporate carbon neutrality. Benchmark regression results show that green fintech exerts a significantly positive effect on corporate carbon neutrality. A mediation analysis of financing incentives indicates that alleviating corporate financing constraints and reducing financial distress are effective pathways through which green fintech facilitates carbon neutrality. Furthermore, a moderating effect analysis reveals that green fintech plays a more pronounced role in enhancing carbon neutrality for enterprises with higher audit quality and larger operational scales. Accordingly, policy recommendations are proposed, focusing on establishing a green fintech service-sharing platform, providing targeted policy support, and improving carbon information disclosure mechanisms.