Does Financial Inclusion impact CO2 Emissions? Evidence from Asia

This study examines the impact of financial inclusion on CO₂ emissions using a sample of 31 Asian countries during the period 2004-2014. Three composite indicators for financial inclusion are constructed using principal component analysis (PCA) based on normalized variables. To estimate the model, we adopted the Hoechle (2007) procedure which produces Driscoll-Kraay standard errors for linear panel models that are not only heteroskedasticity consistent but also robust to general forms of cross-sectional dependence. We find that income, energy consumption, industrialization, urbanization, FDI and financial inclusion appear to have led to higher emissions of CO₂ in the region. Meanwhile, increased openness to trade seems to have reduced CO₂ emissions. The findings are qualitatively robust to different proxies of financial inclusions and reasonable modifications to specification of the model. The empirical results imply that there are currently no policy synergies between growing financial inclusion and mitigating CO₂ emissions. Thus, financial inclusion should be integrated into climate change adaptation strategies at local, national and regional levels, especially to address the side effect of higher CO₂ emissions associated with improved financial inclusion.