Green credit policy (GCP) relies on financial means to promote environmental governance. Whether it can achieve the dual goals of economic development and environmental protection, especially in the context of different institution supply, remains to be scientifically tested. Taking the implementation of China's green credit guidelines in 2012 as a quasi-natural experiment, this study uses the panel data of China's A-share listed companies from 2009 to 2019 to explore the impact of GCP on the green technology innovation of heavily polluting enterprises and the role of institution supply in it. It is found that the GCP plays a significant role in promoting the green innovation of heavily polluting enterprises, and the conclusion is still valid after a series of robustness tests. Further analysis finds that the supply of environmental protection system by local governments can strengthen the green innovation effect of GCP. However, the institution supply of innovation has not yet released a significant positive impact. In addition, the impact of GCP on green innovation of heavily polluting enterprises shows significant heterogeneity due to the differences in the types of green patents, the nature of enterprise property rights and the level of regional financial development. This paper analyzes the policy effect of green credit from the perspective of micro-enterprise green innovation, and brings the institution supply of local government into the analysis framework, so as to clarify the relationship between green credit and green innovation on the one hand. At the same time, it also provides inspiration for local governments to scientifically issue environmental protection policies.

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Improving energy utilisation efficiency is imperative to ensuring economic growth and achieving sustainable development. China’s Western Development Strategy (WDS) is a major driver to accelerate the economic development of Western China. It stresses the rational control of energy consumption through the vigorous development of a circular economy to achieve the goal of energy conservation. Based on the measurement of energy utilisation efficiency at the provincial level in China, this study evaluates the impact of the WDS on energy utilisation efficiency through a synthetic control method. Then, the internal impact mechanism of the WDS on energy utilisation efficiency is investigated. In addition, this paper tests the heterogeneous effects of the WDS on energy utilisation efficiency from the perspective of the regional scale, resource endowment, performance appraisal, and institutional quality. It is found that the WDS improves energy utilisation efficiency not only through direct effects but also indirectly by accelerating the spatial agglomeration of advantage industries in Western China, which enhanced technological innovation capacity, optimised industrial structure, and improved the human capital level to ameliorate energy utilisation efficiency. Further analysis proves that the energy-saving effect of the WDS is significant in provinces with a small regional scale, less abundant resources, higher levels of the performance appraisal index and quality system. Accordingly, some targeted policy suggestions are made for the government herein.