The Relationship Between FinTech and CO₂ Emissions in Asia: The Moderating Role of Income Inequality

This paper was presented at the CIRES 2025 - International Conference on Interdisciplinary Research on ESG Strategies for the Sustainable Development Goals., organized by University of Economics and Finance, Ho Chi Minh City (UEF), Vietnam. The study investigates the relationship between FinTech development and CO₂ emissions in nine Asian economies from 2012 to 2021, with income inequality as a moderating factor. Using GLS estimation, PCA - based composite indices, and qualitative validation, the results indicate that FinTech significantly reduces CO₂ emissions, but this effect weakens in countries with high income inequality. The findings contribute to the literature on digital finance and environmental sustainability by highlighting the conditional role of socio-economic inequality in green transformation processes.