Digital finance and green technology innovation (GTI) serve as powerful engines for promoting energy efficiency (EE) and economic development. This paper explores the mechanism by which digital finance impacts EE based on panel data from 30 provinces in China spanning from 2011 to 2019. The results demonstrate that digital finance can significantly enhance EE, with a particularly pronounced effect in the eastern region. Through mechanistic analysis, it is evident that GTI serves as the transmission pathway through which digital finance influences EE, accounting for 45.3% of the effect. The policy implication of this study suggests that China should expedite the digitization of financial markets to further harness the development of digital finance, particularly in pursuit of its technological innovation and green, low-carbon environmental protection effects.
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