Could environmental courts promote substantive corporate green innovation? Evidence from cities of China

The environmental courts are the representative of judicial system innovation independent of administrative regulations. This paper takes China A-share listed companies from 2003 to 2023 as the research object, and uses DID model to investigate the influence of environmental courts on corporate green innovation. Thereby filling the gap in previous studies. The main results are as follows: (1) Environmental courts significantly promote corporate green innovation, and this conclusion is validated by a series of robustness tests. (2) Environmental courts facilitate corporate green innovation by improving corporate environmental attention (CEA) and environmental judicial efficiency (EJE). Heterogeneity test results indicate that this promotional effect is more pronounced for enterprises with good development expectations, non-state-owned enterprises and enterprises during the 13th Five-Year Plan period. (3) The establishment of environmental courts does not induce corporate green innovation bubble, but it reshapes the corporate innovation structure. (4) Synergistic effect analysis reveals that government green subsidies help amplify the role of environmental courts in promoting corporate green innovation. This study provides practical significance and enlightenment for promoting the synergy between corporate green innovation and sustainable economic development from the perspective of the establishment and implementation of environmental courts. • Environmental courts significantly promote corporate green innovation in China. • Environmental courts facilitate corporate green innovation by improving the CEA. • Environmental courts facilitate corporate green innovation by improving the EJE. • The establishment of environmental courts does not induce CGIbub.