Utilizing provincial panel data from China spanning 2000 to 2020, this study constructed an indicator system for high-quality economic development by incorporating 35 indicators. These indicators stem from five domains: innovative, coordinated, green, open, and shared development. To assess carbon finance development, an evaluation system was created using twelve basic indicators derived from three categories: financial environment, energy efficiency, and scientific and technological progression. The entropy weight method facilitated the computation of indices such as the economic quality development, innovative development, coordinated development, green development, open development, shared development, and carbon finance development indices. Both static and dynamic panel models served to empirically ascertain the specific influence of carbon finance on high-quality economic development. Additionally, regional and temporal variances in carbon finance's impact on high-quality economic development were scrutinized. Findings indicate that provinces like Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Guangdong, known for advanced economic development, exhibit elevated levels of high-quality economic and carbon finance development. Nonetheless, disparities among provinces are evident. While carbon finance significantly bolsters China's high-quality economic growth, its influence is not uniformly observed across all five development domains. It primarily augments coordinated, green, and shared development. Furthermore, the role of carbon finance in boosting China's high-quality economic development exhibits regional and temporal variations. The promotion of high-quality economic growth can be achieved by fostering an amenable carbon finance environment, addressing aging, maximizing governmental influence, enhancing transportation infrastructure, propelling new urbanization, and refining education standards.

In this paper, 22 indexes are selected at three levels, including the informatization development level, the Internet development level, and the digital transaction development level, based on China’s provincial panel data from 2011 to 2020, so as to build a digital economy development index system. Moreover, 28 basic indexes are selected from three aspects, including energy construction, energy production and energy consumption, so as to develop an energy economy development evaluation index system. The development index of China’s digital economy and energy economy are measured by using the entropy weight method. The effect of the digital economy on the energy economy and its mechanism are tested by the static panel, the dynamic panel, and the mediating effect and regulating effect models. The results indicate that the digital economy has pronouncedly promoted the development of China’s energy economy, and the development of the digital economy can have an effect on the rationalization of the industrial structure and then affect the development of the energy economy, and there is an intermediary effect. Moreover, the upgrading of the industrial structure is conducive to regulating the digital economy and facilitates the development of the energy economy. The development of the energy economy can be better promoted by focusing on the coordinated regional layout of the digital economy development, building a reliable energy commodity trading platform, and expediting the optimization and upgrading of the industrial structure.

This article uses the entropy weight method to calculate China’s economic high-quality development index and carbon finance development index from 2000 to 2020. Additionally, it conducts empirical examinations to scrutinize impacts of carbon finance regarding quality-focused development of China’s economy through dynamic spatial models. The findings reveal that the advancement of carbon finance substantively promotes the quality-focused economy advancement through enhancing the overall factor productivity, thereby establishing a mediating effect. Concurrently, the allocation of resources in green fiscal expenditure assumes a moderating effect, subsequently amplifying the promoting effect of carbon finance regarding quality-focused economy advancement. Consequently, it is recommended that a robust financial milieu be established, energy efficiency be enhanced, scientific and technological progress be bolstered, total factor productivity be further augmented, and the expenditure on green conservation be escalated. These measures will effectively stimulate the quality-focused development of China’s economy.