Abstract: In recent years, China has introduced the concept of “green development” and established a green financial system to address the challenge of balancing economic growth and ecological sustainability. This paper examines the impact and mediating effect of green finance policies on carbon emissions, utilizing the quasi-natural experiment of the green finance reform and innovation pilot zones introduced in 2017. The empirical analysis is conducted using provincial panel data from 2013 to 2019, employing the differential method. The findings demonstrate that the implementation of green finance policies significantly reduces carbon emissions, with the upgrading of consumption structure playing a partial mediating role in this relationship. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the inhibitory effect of green finance on carbon emissions is more pronounced in provinces with lower levels of economic development, a smaller proportion of tertiary industry, and higher carbon emission intensity. Therefore, it is imperative to leverage the role of pilot areas, promote “green and low-carbon” consumption among the general population to drive the upgrading of consumption structure, and tailor the development of green finance to local conditions.