Inhibiting or exacerbating? Digital financial inclusion and renewable energy efficiency.

Fully analyzing the impact and role of digital inclusive finance on the improvement of renewable energy efficiency plays an important role in realizing the long-term sustainable development of regional economy. This research undertakes a comprehensive empirical examination to investigate the influence of digital inclusive financial growth on renewable energy efficiency across 30 Chinese provinces and cities, spanning from 2011 to 2021. The results demonstrate that the advancement of digital inclusive finance significantly improves the efficiency of renewable energy. The examination of regional variations indicates that while digital financial inclusion markedly enhances the efficiency of renewable energy in both eastern and western areas, its impact remains negligible in the central region. In addition, our influencing mechanism results show that the progress in regional science and technology, alongside the effectiveness of financial services, markedly boosts the beneficial effects of digital inclusive finance on the enhancement of renewable energy efficiency. Furthermore, the degrees of innovation in science and technology and the efficiency of financial services act as a singular threshold in the development of digital inclusive finance for the improvement of renewable energy efficiency. Our study provides new evidence and implications for fully realizing the combination between digital inclusive finance and renewable energy efficiency, thereby promoting long-term sustainable regional development.