How Does ESG Performance Drive Firms’ Green Transformation under China’s “Dual Carbon” Goals? Empirical Evidence from A-share Listed Companies

Under the background of the “dual carbon” goals and high-quality development, corporate green transformation has become a key pathway to promote sustainable economic development. This study aims to systematically examine whether and how corporate ESG performance drives green technological innovation. Using data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2009 to 2023, a two-way fixed effects model is constructed and validated through various robustness and endogeneity tests. The empirical results show that ESG performance significantly promotes green technological innovation, and this conclusion remains robust after replacing variable measures, adjusting time windows, and controlling for high-dimensional fixed effects. Mechanism analysis reveals that ESG performance primarily drives green innovation indirectly through two channels: increasing R&D investment and alleviating financing constraints. Furthermore, heterogeneity analysis indicates that this promoting effect is more pronounced in state-owned enterprises and firms with female executives. The findings provide empirical evidence and policy implications for improving ESG governance systems and advancing corporate green transformation.