The impact of digital inclusive finance on Green low-carbon energy transition: Evidence from China

As the combination of digital technology and traditional inclusive finance, digital inclusive finance has displayed the huge potential to promote green low-carbon energy transition. Although theoretically, digital inclusive finance can contribute to achieving this goal, its practical effects and influential mechanisms need to be evaluated and elucidated. This paper aims to investigate the impact of digital inclusive finance on green low-carbon energy transition, exploring its heterogeneity characteristics in different dimensions and clarifying the underlying mechanism of their relationship. We mainly obtain the following findings: Firstly, digital inclusive finance exerts a positive impact on green low-carbon energy transition. This finding remains robust after a series of checks including changing the estimation method, replacing the measurement of key variables, eliminating potential policy disturbances and adding a lag term. Secondly, there are two channels through which digital inclusive finance promotes green low-carbon transition: technological innovation and government intervention. Thirdly, there is regional heterogeneity, path heterogeneity, and policy heterogeneity in the impact of digital inclusive finance. These findings provide a novel perspective for the improvement of green low-carbon energy transition efficiency and a reference for the government to formulate policies aiming at promoting digital inclusive finance. • The efficiency of green low-carbon energy transition is measured. • We detect whether digital inclusive finance can promote green low-carbon energy transition. • The impact of digital inclusive finance on green low-carbon energy transition has heterogeneity.