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Green Fiscal Policy and ESG Performance: Evidence from the Energy-Saving and Emission-Reduction Policy in China

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  • Shan Miao

    (School of Economics, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China)

  • Yandi Tuo

    (School of Economics, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China)

  • Xi Zhang

    (School of Economics, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China)

  • Xiang Hou

    (School of Economics, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China)

Abstract

To achieve the goal of sustainable development, China has implemented the energy conservation and emission-reduction policy. So far, there is still little evidence of the impact of the policiy on corporate behaviour. Therefore, this study collects data on Chinese A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2017 and applies the staggered difference-in-differences method to analyse the impact of the energy conservation and emission-reduction policy on the environmental, social and governance performance of companies in China. The result shows that the energy conservation and emission-reduction policy reduces environmental, social and governance performance, and this negative effect increases over time. Meanwhile, a further mechanism analysis confirms that the negative impact on environmental, social and governance performance operates through the incentive effect on environmental performance, the crowding-out effect on social performance and the spillover effect on governance performance. Furthermore, the negative effect is heterogeneous across companies and cities. Overall, our results provide empirical evidence for optimising energy conservation and emission-reduction policies in developing countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Shan Miao & Yandi Tuo & Xi Zhang & Xiang Hou, 2023. "Green Fiscal Policy and ESG Performance: Evidence from the Energy-Saving and Emission-Reduction Policy in China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-19, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:9:p:3667-:d:1131833
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    Cited by:

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    2. Yukun Chang & Tong Zou & Pibin Guo, 2024. "Quantitative Evaluation of China’s Energy Transition Policy Since the 14th Five-Year Plan, Based on the MLP-PMC Model," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-19, November.
    3. Nie, Song & Liu, Junxian & Zeng, Gang & You, Jiyuan, 2023. "Local government debt pressure and corporate ESG performance: Empirical evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PB).
    4. Wang, Kai & Chen, Xi & Wang, Chenye, 2023. "The impact of sustainable development planning in resource-based cities on corporate ESG–Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(PA).
    5. George Halkos, 2023. "Economic Analysis and Policies for the Environment, Natural Resources, and Energy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-6, September.
    6. Boqiang Lin & Chongchong Xu, 2024. "RETRACTED ARTICLE: Evaluating the effect of green fiscal policy on firm energy performance: evidence from China," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 1-29, April.
    7. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Wang, En-Ze & Tang, Huimin, 2024. "Green fiscal policy and carbon emission: Enterprises’ level evidence from China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    8. Jiaorong Qian & Xuze Han & Mao Ye & Yexin Lv & Jing Che, 2024. "Environmental Benefits of the West-East Natural Gas Transmission Project: Cross-Regional Energy Optimization and Transformation for Sustainable Development," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-18, August.

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