Green finance policies have become a key hub linking economic growth and green development, and it is urgent to think deeply about how energy efficiency credit policy tools can lead green innovation in enterprises. Using the “Guidelines for Energy Efficiency Credit” as a natural experiment, a double difference model was constructed to examine the impact and mechanism of energy efficiency credit policies on corporate green innovation. Research has found that energy efficiency credit policies significantly enhance the level of green innovation in enterprises, mainly by boosting investor sentiment, reducing debt financing costs, implementing substantial production cuts, and promoting environmental responsibility. In addition, this enhancement effect is more pronounced for enterprises in areas with weaker environmental constraints, heavily polluting enterprises, and enterprises deeply influenced by Confucian culture. Expanded analysis reveals that energy efficiency credit policies not only promote the “incremental improvement” of green innovation in enterprises, but also help accelerate the transformation of green innovation achievements, forming and cultivating new quality productivity. The research conclusion expands the study on the green innovation development effect of energy efficiency credit policies, providing theoretical reference for enterprises to effectively solve the green innovation dilemma and accelerate the pace of green transformation.
TANG et al. (2026) studied this question.