Science and Finance Integration and Sustainable Urban Energy Transition: Evidence from China

This article tests whether science and technology finance (STF) enhances the urban low-carbon energy structure transition. Treating China’s 2010 pilot policy for integrating science and technology with finance as a quasi-natural experiment, we use panel data for 282 prefecture-level cities (2010–2023) and employ a staggered DID model. The findings show that the pilot policy promotes the low-carbon energy structure transition, and the finding remains robust after a series of tests. Mechanism analysis indicates that the effect operates mainly through credit supply, green technological innovation, and artificial intelligence development. Heterogeneity analysis further shows that the policy effect is more pronounced in regions with stronger resource endowment, higher marketization, and better digital infrastructure.