An Analysis of the Impact of Environmental Regulation on Green Technology Innovation in the Oil Industry: Theoretical Mechanisms and Policy Recommendations

Abstract

Within the context of global carbon neutrality, the oil industry, as a traditional high-carbon sector, plays an undeniable role in the low-carbon transition of the energy system. However, its green technology innovation faces the dual challenges of environmental regulation-driven and internal industry constraints. Based on the Porter hypothesis, this paper reveals the dual mechanism of environmental regulation on green technology innovation in the oil industry, proposing that environmental regulation promotes green innovation through the paths of "cost pressure-market incentives-legitimacy drive." However, it may inhibit long-term R&D investment due to "short-term compliance costs crowding out R&D resources," "technology path lock-in," and "improper design of regulatory tools." Subsequently, in response to the special innovation constraint mechanisms of the oil industry in the three dimensions of technology, organization, and geopolitics, a three-dimensional system of "precise regulation-strategic transformation-international collaboration" is proposed to provide theoretical support for policy formulation and enterprise practice.