Under the “dual carbon” strategic goals, green credit has become an important driver for high-quality economic development and the transformation of enterprises. Based on operational data from A-share listed companies in China from 2004 to 2022, the implementation of the 2012 “Green Credit Guidelines” was used as a quasi-natural experiment. Employing double machine learning approach to construct an empirical model, the findings indicate that after the implementation of the Guidelines, the reduction of financing constraints, increased R&D investment, and promotion of joint ownership between banks and enterprises effectively drive continued green innovation in environmental protection enterprises.

green credit  /  continuous innovation  /  double machine learning