Abstract: Green innovation has the dual advantages of being driven by innovation and green development. Hence, whether financial support for the real economy can effectively enhance the level of green innovation in enterprises is of great significance for achieving green and sustainable development in the economy and society. Based on the data of A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2010 to 2022, this paper takes the national pilot policy for industry and finance cooperation as a quasi-natural experiment, then it examines the impact of the pilot policy on corporate green innovation and its mechanism by using the staggered difference-in-differences method. The findings show that the pilot policies have significantly improved the level of green innovation in enterprises. The mechanism test reveals that the pilot policies can enhance the level of green innovation in enterprises by leveraging resource allocation effects and supervisory governance effects. The heterogeneity analysis reveals that the effect of pilot policies on improving the level of green innovation in enterprises is more prominent in enterprises with lower executive green awareness and corporate governance, as well as in enterprises with higher market competition. The expansion analysis reveals that the pilot policies have a significant promoting effect on both substantive and strategic green innovation of enterprises. Therefore, it is recommended that the government departments should further improve the industrial and financial cooperative policy mechanism and the green finance system, adhere to the combination of policy guidance and financial innovation, improve the precision of financial support for the real economy and explore a new pattern of green development for enterprises by adapting measures to local conditions and implementing classified policies.

Key words: pilot policy for industry and finance cooperation, green innovation, resource allocation effect, supervision and governance effect