Local and spatial spillover effects of corporate financing costs on regional carbon emissions: evidence from Chinese listed firms

The signing of the Paris Agreement has raised concerns about global carbon emissions, which have detrimental consequences in terms of climate change. At the same time, the financing process for listed companies has begun to incorporate investigations into these firms’ carbon emissions. But the current impact of financing costs on firms’ carbon emissions has not been accurately assessed. There are large differences in endowments in different regions of China, and factors flow frequently among regions. To date, no empirical evidence has emerged to show the spatial effects of financing costs on carbon emissions. This study uses the STIRPAT model and a panel lag regression model for empirical testing. The results show that increasing financing costs will increase the burden imposed by carbon reduction efforts in various regions. Although this trend has obvious spillovers to surrounding areas, the location of the enterprise bears a more negative burden of externalities. Further analysis shows that reducing the financing costs of enterprises in economically developed regions can reduce both their carbon emissions and the damage to economic growth. These research conclusions can help policymakers shape carbon reduction activities through reducing corporate financing costs on the basis of regional development differences.