To mitigate global warming, China, the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, has set the goals of achieving carbon peak by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060, and financial measures could play an important role. To avoid unnecessary costs, China could learn from the experience of other countries to better understand the potential role of financial measures in achieving carbon emission reduction goals. Hence, this article adopts a SWOT analysis to compare the financial measures taken by Britain, Japan and the United States in the process of carbon emission reduction in the last twenty years. This article finds that government funds and financial innovation have contributed markedly to carbon emission reduction in those three countries. With the help of the SWOT analysis, we recommend that China take financial measures to help achieve carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals from four aspects: formulating proper policy, regulating carbon trading market, strengthening international cooperation, and promoting innovation.

Innovation is the driving force behind enterprise development. Improving the quality of the internal control of enterprises and increasing the intensity of R&D investment are important ways to enhance the level of scientific and technological innovation. Based on the data of Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2019, in this paper, we empirically examine the correlation between the quality of internal control and the intensity of R&D investment by using the level of corporate cash holdings as an intermediary variable. We find that high internal control quality can improve cash-holding level and that improving cash-holding level will increase R&D investment intensity. That is, cash-holding level has a mediating effect between internal control quality and R&D investment intensity, while internal control quality can have a direct or indirect positive effect on R&D investment. Accordingly, this study has important theoretical significance and practical value for enterprises that seek to promote R&D innovation and improve their internal control.