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Environmental Regulation and Green Technology Innovation under the Carbon Neutrality Goal: Dual Regulation of Human Capital and Industrial Structure

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  • Peng Liang

    (School of Economics, Beijing Technology and Business University, No. 33 Fucheng Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100048, China)

  • Shuangyi Xie

    (School of Economics, Beijing Technology and Business University, No. 33 Fucheng Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100048, China)

  • Fengyu Qi

    (School of Economics, Beijing Technology and Business University, No. 33 Fucheng Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100048, China)

  • Yu Huang

    (Institute of International and Comparative Education, Beijing Normal University, No. 19, Xinjiekouwai Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100088, China)

  • Xiuwen Wu

    (School of Economics, Beijing Technology and Business University, No. 33 Fucheng Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100048, China)

Abstract

Green technology innovation is increasingly becoming an important driver of modern development. Facing the pressure of the carbon neutrality target, China has been strengthening environmental regulations in recent years, and the green technology innovation ability of market players has been affected. Moreover, the impact of environmental regulations on green technology innovation and the strategies to develop green technology innovation still need to be further explored. Here, we used 285 cities from 2010–2020 as research subjects, constructed indicators such as environmental regulation and green technology innovation capability, and used panel regression, threshold effect and mediating effect methods. The results reveal that: (1) environmental regulation has a disincentive effect on green technology innovation, as increased environmental regulation increases production costs, external costs and opportunity costs for firms, causing a mismatch of resources and creating a “crowding-out effect” that inhibits innovation development; (2) further study finds that when the human capital level reaches a certain threshold value, the impact of environmental regulation on green technology innovation shifts significantly, i.e., there is a threshold effect; (3) industrial structure can further be upgraded and optimized by environmental regulation, which will have an impact on green technology innovation, thus industrial structure optimization plays a mediating role. We conclude with recommendations for improving green innovation techniques for market players, and provide some lessons for accelerating the goal of carbon neutrality and promoting quality economic development.

Suggested Citation

  • Peng Liang & Shuangyi Xie & Fengyu Qi & Yu Huang & Xiuwen Wu, 2023. "Environmental Regulation and Green Technology Innovation under the Carbon Neutrality Goal: Dual Regulation of Human Capital and Industrial Structure," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-18, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:3:p:2001-:d:1042369
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. George van Leeuwen & Pierre Mohnen, 2017. "Revisiting the Porter hypothesis: an empirical analysis of Green innovation for the Netherlands," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(1-2), pages 63-77, February.
    2. Hansen, Bruce E., 1999. "Threshold effects in non-dynamic panels: Estimation, testing, and inference," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 93(2), pages 345-368, December.
    3. Du, Kerui & Cheng, Yuanyuan & Yao, Xin, 2021. "Environmental regulation, green technology innovation, and industrial structure upgrading: The road to the green transformation of Chinese cities," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    4. Horbach, Jens, 2008. "Determinants of environmental innovation--New evidence from German panel data sources," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 163-173, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ying Zhao & Yongchun Huang & Shiliang Hu & Jun Sun, 2023. "How Tripartite Stakeholders Promote Green Technology Innovation of China’s Heavily Polluting Enterprises?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-19, June.
    2. Yuan Feng & Ying Li & Changfei Nie & Zhi Chen, 2024. "Can an Energy Transition Strategy Induce Urban Green Innovation? Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-23, April.
    3. Xin Ma & Linjuan Zhu, 2024. "Impact of Low-Carbon City Pilot Policies on Green Construction Industry Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-18, April.
    4. Miao He & Junli Huang & Ruyi Sun, 2023. "Forecast of Advanced Human Capital Gap Based on PSO-BP Neural Network and Coordination Pathway: Example of Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-18, March.
    5. Xin Zhang & Feng Xu, 2023. "Environmental Regulation and Spatial Spillover Effect of Green Technology Innovation: An Empirical Study on the Spatial Durbin Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-19, September.

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