Energy Efficiency Credit Policies and Green Innovation: Exploring Credit Financing Transmission Channels

Theoretical analysis shows that energy efficiency credit policies can increase credit supply for energy-saving and emission-reducing enterprises, easing their financial pressure and reducing the negative impact of financing constraints on green innovation. Increasing credit support for enterprises by banking financial institutions means increasing the scale of credit available to enterprises, reducing the cost of obtaining credit, and adjusting the term structure of credit, thus releasing long-term credit financial support more useful for green innovation (Cao Tingqiu et al., 2021). This paper examines the action mechanism of energy efficiency credit policy to improve enterprise green innovation from three aspects: credit scale, credit cost, and credit term structure. Referring to the influence mechanism testing methods proposed by Xu Jia and Cui Jingbo (2020), Tong Wentao and Zhang Yueyou (2021), and Dong Xiaolin et al. (2021), the interaction term model is used for specific empirical testing. Loan is measured by the ratio of cash received for obtaining loans to total assets (Ye Kangtao et al., 2010; Shu Limin and Liao Jinghua, 2022); The cost of credit (IR) is measured using the ratio of interest expense in the financial expense detail to corporate bank loans (Li Guangzi and Liu Li, 2009; Ding Xin and Yang Zhonghai, 2021); The term structure of credit (LC) is measured by the ratio between long-term loans and total loans of banks (Wang Hongjian et al., 2018). The empirical results are shown in Table 6.

Columns (1)-(3) in Table 6 report the regression results of the credit scale channel. The interaction term (TreatPostLoan) between energy efficiency credit policy and credit scale is significantly positive, indicating that energy efficiency credit policy influences enterprise green innovation through the credit scale mechanism. With the expansion of enterprise credit scale, companies are more likely to increase their green innovation output. Columns (4)-(6) report the regression results of the credit cost channel. The interaction term (TreatPostIR) between energy efficiency credit policy and credit cost is significantly negative in the models with the explained variables of enterprise green innovation and green innovation quality, indicating that energy efficiency credit policy reduces the cost of obtaining credit, benefiting the output of green innovation. Columns (7)-(9) report the regression results of the credit term structure channel. The interaction term (TreatPostLC) between energy efficiency credit policy and credit term structure is significantly positive in the three explained variable models, indicating that energy efficiency credit policy can give enterprises more long-term credit and promote enterprise green innovation. Thus, hypothesis 2a is verified.

In conclusion, energy efficiency credit policy has a significant impact on enterprise credit financing. From the perspective of the scale, cost, and term structure of credit financing, it can expand the scale of credit financing for energy-saving and emission-reducing enterprises, reduce their cost of obtaining credit, and increase long-term credit support for them, which is conducive to enterprise green innovation.