How does government environmental attention drive regional green technology innovation?

Using panel data encompassing 282 cities across China from 2010 to 2022, this study delves into the ramifications of government environmental concern on green technological innovation, with a focus on intellectual property (IP) protection. It elucidates the mechanisms through which government environmental attention promotes green technological innovation, examining the effects of Research and Development (R&D) investment, resource allocation and talent aggregation. The findings indicate that government environmental attention markedly enhances green technological innovation. However, the impact of this attention significantly varies across diverse urban typologies, being more pronounced in second-tier metropolises, non-resource–reliant cities and municipalities governed by three-tier fiscal systems. Furthermore, the moderation effect test indicates that IP protection considerably enhances the efficacy of government environmental attention on green technological innovation. Further scrutiny suggests that optimal outcomes in IP protection are achieved when the average tenure of local government officials ranges from 39.64 to 43.55 months, particularly when these officials have an environmental background. In addition, in-depth analysis reveals that the effects of R&D investment, resource allocation and talent agglomeration constitute the pivotal transmission mechanisms through which government environmental attention stimulates green technological innovation. The conclusions of this study not only enrich the theoretical foundation for green technological innovation by government environmental attention but also provide empirical validation for exploring pathways through which IP protection can empower it.