Mechanisms of green finance enhancing urban ecological resilience: Leveraging green innovation diffusion and digital financial network

Rapid economic expansion and urbanization are intensifying environmental and ecological challenges in cities worldwide, underscoring the imperative to strengthen ecological resilience. While green finance is increasingly recognized as a critical tool in this challenge, systematic evidence of its impact in emerging economies remains limited. Using panel data from 271 Chinese cities (2000–2020), this study establishes a critical empirical link between green finance and urban ecological resilience, systematically validating its stabilizing role. The results indicate a significant positive effect, with more pronounced impacts in eastern, non-resource-dependent, and environmentally proactive cities. The theoretical framework introduces a dual-channel mechanism, conceptualized to function through two distinct pathways: driving green technology innovation and expanding knowledge breadth. Furthermore, this study introduces a network-based analytical perspective to environmental finance, demonstrating how digital inclusive financial networks synergize with green finance to amplify technology diffusion and shape finance-ecology co-evolution. The findings hold significant implications for China, offering valuable insights for other emerging economies aiming to reconcile economic development with ecological resilience through innovative financial instruments.