Can Fintech Lead to the Collaborative Reduction in Pollution Discharges and Carbon Emissions?

Pollutants and greenhouse gases are major challenges to regional and global sustainability, respectively, and regulatory policies always target one of them. Using panel data, including those of fintech, economy, society, and environment for the prefecture-level cities in China, this study aimed to investigate the role of fintech in regional pollution control and carbon emission reduction. It was found that fintech not only significantly reduces pollutant and carbon dioxide emissions, but can also significantly promote the coordination between pollution control and carbon reduction. This study also adopted a pilot policy of integrating technology and finance for a differences-in-differences regression and identified the causal effects of fintech on the collaborative reduction in pollution and carbon emissions. In addition, innovation factors play a crucial role in the collaborative implementation process of pollution control and carbon reduction driven by fintech. Specifically, fiscal technology expenditure and regional innovation have significant moderating effects on pollution control and carbon reduction, while green innovation has a significant mediating effect. Our findings contribute to optimizing financial and regulatory policies, thereby enabling fintech to leverage the momentum of regional pollution control and carbon reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]