The Impact of Green Financial Policies on Debt Financing Costs of Clean Energy Enterprises - A Quasi-Natural Experiment Based on China’s Green Financial Reform and Innovation Pilot Zone

Abstract

Against the background of accelerating low-carbon economic transformation globally, China set up the Green Finance Reform Pilot Zone in 2017 with the goal of dual-carbon as its orientation. Based on the double-difference model (DID), this article empirically analyses the impact of green financial policies on the debt financing cost of clean energy enterprises by using China’s A-share listed clean energy companies as the research samples from 2013-2023. The formation of China’s Green Finance Pilot Reform Zone operated as a quasi-natural experiment starting in 2017. The study reveals that green finance policies de-crease the debt financing costs of clean energy companies significantly. The empirical results satisfy both the parallel trend assumption and placebo tests. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the effect of the policy is more significant in small-scale, profitable and private enterprises, but limited in large-scale, loss-making and state-owned enterprises, which is mainly due to the differences in financing ability, risk sensitivity and governance mechanism. Based on this, this paper pro-poses to deepen the green finance reform, implement differentiated support policies, guide enterprises to take the initiative to dock the policy dividends, and strengthen green technology innovation and information disclosure. This study offers empirical insights and actionable guidance for enhancing the green finance policy framework and advancing the long-term growth of the clean energy sector.