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<p>Promoting high-quality green finance is a core pathway to achieving carbon neutrality and economic transformation. While Artificial Intelligence (AI) acts as a strategic driver for modernization, its specific ability to empower green finance lacks systematic empirical verification. This study utilizes the establishment of China's "National AI Pilot Zones" as a quasi-natural experiment to investigate this impact. Based on data from 284 cities (2007–2023), we find that AI pilot policies significantly enhance urban green finance development. This conclusion remains robust after a series of rigorous validation tests. Mechanistically, AI fosters green finance by reducing information costs—specifically by improving environmental disclosure, enabling precise climate risk pricing, and curbing "greenwashing" through enhanced ESG governance. Crucially, we observe a "digital inclusive effect": the positive impact is more pronounced in inland and less financially developed regions, suggesting that AI acts as an "institutional compensation" to bridge the regional digital divide. Furthermore, we identify a strong policy synergy where AI initiatives and Green Finance Pilot Zones reinforce each other. These findings provide micro-level evidence of the "Technology-Information-Governance" pathway and offer policy insights for coordinating digital and green transitions.</p>

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The impact of AI on green finance: evidence from China’s national pilot zones

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月13日

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  • Linfeng Zhang,
  • Bing Zhou

摘要

Promoting high-quality green finance is a core pathway to achieving carbon neutrality and economic transformation. While Artificial Intelligence (AI) acts as a strategic driver for modernization, its specific ability to empower green finance lacks systematic empirical verification. This study utilizes the establishment of China's "National AI Pilot Zones" as a quasi-natural experiment to investigate this impact. Based on data from 284 cities (2007–2023), we find that AI pilot policies significantly enhance urban green finance development. This conclusion remains robust after a series of rigorous validation tests. Mechanistically, AI fosters green finance by reducing information costs—specifically by improving environmental disclosure, enabling precise climate risk pricing, and curbing "greenwashing" through enhanced ESG governance. Crucially, we observe a "digital inclusive effect": the positive impact is more pronounced in inland and less financially developed regions, suggesting that AI acts as an "institutional compensation" to bridge the regional digital divide. Furthermore, we identify a strong policy synergy where AI initiatives and Green Finance Pilot Zones reinforce each other. These findings provide micro-level evidence of the "Technology-Information-Governance" pathway and offer policy insights for coordinating digital and green transitions.