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ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Finance-Driven Sustainable Development:
The Impact of Green Finance on Agricultural
Non-Point Source Pollution and Its Pathways
1
Department of Business School, Central South University of Forestry and Technology,
Changsha, Hunan Province, China
2
Department of Business School, Wuchang University of Technology, Wuhan Province, China
3
Department of Business School, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province,China
Submission date: 2024-09-19
Final revision date: 2024-11-11
Acceptance date: 2024-12-08
Online publication date: 2025-04-10
Publication date: 2026-01-30
Corresponding author
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2026;35(1):673-685
KEYWORDS
Green financeAgricultural non-point source pollutionGovernment environmental regulationLand transferEntropy evaluation method
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Green finance (GF), as a policy tool, utilizes various financial instruments to support
China’s ecological civilization efforts. However, China’s financial and agricultural systems remain
underdeveloped, and the impact of GF on pollution control and emission reduction in agriculture
is still uncertain. This paper empirically investigates the influence of GF on agricultural non-point
source pollution (ANPSP).
Methods: Using data from 30 provinces in China from 2005 to 2021, this study measures GF development and ANPSP levels via the entropy method and unit survey inventory method. A mediation effect model is applied to empirically examine the mechanisms of action, with validation through machine learning techniques.
Results: The findings indicate that: (1) GF development effectively reduces ANPSP emissions; (2) GF achieves pollution control and emission reduction through government environmental regulation (ER) and land transfer (LAND); (3) in economically underdeveloped regions, GF may unintentionally exacerbate ANPSP.
Conclusion: Based on these findings, China should optimize its GF system, tailor GF initiatives to local conditions, and emphasize regional coordination and integration. Actively promoting LAND and encouraging large-scale land management will further support the sustainable development of Chinese agriculture.
Methods: Using data from 30 provinces in China from 2005 to 2021, this study measures GF development and ANPSP levels via the entropy method and unit survey inventory method. A mediation effect model is applied to empirically examine the mechanisms of action, with validation through machine learning techniques.
Results: The findings indicate that: (1) GF development effectively reduces ANPSP emissions; (2) GF achieves pollution control and emission reduction through government environmental regulation (ER) and land transfer (LAND); (3) in economically underdeveloped regions, GF may unintentionally exacerbate ANPSP.
Conclusion: Based on these findings, China should optimize its GF system, tailor GF initiatives to local conditions, and emphasize regional coordination and integration. Actively promoting LAND and encouraging large-scale land management will further support the sustainable development of Chinese agriculture.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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| ISSN: | 1230-1485 |
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