Green technology innovation and carbon emission efficiency: The moderating role of environmental uncertainty

Given the significant global warming caused by large-scale carbon emissions, it has become a crucial issue affecting human survival and world development. As a supportive means for relevant policies, the implementation of green technology innovation is essential for effectively achieving dual carbon goals. In order to explore the intrinsic relationship and impact mechanism between green technology innovation and carbon emission efficiency, this study takes data from high-energy-consuming manufacturing companies listed on the A-share market in China from 2010 to 2019 as samples. It uses the Super-SBM model to measure the carbon emission efficiency of sample companies and employs a two-way fixed effects model to verify the impact of green technology innovation on the carbon emission efficiency of high-energy-consuming manufacturing enterprises. Furthermore, this study also explores the external mechanism of green technology innovation related to carbon emission efficiency, focusing on the moderating variable of environmental uncertainty. The study found that both the quantity and quality of green technology innovation can significantly promote the carbon emission efficiency of high-energy-consuming manufacturing enterprises, and the accuracy of the results remains unchanged after conducting robustness tests. Environmental uncertainty plays an important role in moderating the process of green technology innovation, affecting the carbon emission efficiency of high-energy-consuming manufacturing enterprises. Heterogeneity tests show that the impact of green technology innovation on carbon emission efficiency is particularly significant in the central region and in enterprises experiencing decline. The policy implications derived from empirical analysis aim to provide empirical evidence for promoting the high-quality development of China's high-energy-consuming manufacturing enterprises.