Political uncertainty is a primary source of friction hindering firm-level decarbonization efforts toward Europe’s 2050 climate neutrality target. This study provides a quantitative investigation of this issue by analyzing the impact of political uncertainty on green investment using a comprehensive panel dataset of European firms from 2016 to 2021. We employ a novel keyword-based proxy extracted from annual reports to measure green investment and utilize an instrumental variable (IV) approach as a supplementary strategy to mitigate potential endogeneity concerns. Our findings reveal that heightened political uncertainty, particularly at the national level, significantly discourages green investment. This effect is heterogeneous: it is more pronounced for financially constrained firms that are less equipped to withstand policy shocks. Conversely, firms with established political connections exhibit greater resilience, effectively mitigating the negative impacts of uncertainty. Furthermore, the analysis highlights regional heterogeneity, with firms in the EU and the UK demonstrating higher sensitivity to continental-level uncertainty. Overall, these results underscore the critical role of policy stability in mobilizing the private capital essential for a low-carbon transition, offering vital insights for both policymakers and firm managers.

Wider and effective adoption of renewable energy technologies (RETs), especially in developing countries, is critical for achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. China is now the new leader in RETs and plays an increasingly important role in trans-boundary technology transfer. Likewise, Chinese non-governmental organizations (NGOs) become more active internationally. Through in-depth analysis of three cases, we investigate Chinese NGOs’ engagement in trans-boundary RET transfer and identify the needs and challenges. The results show that Chinese NGOs have played various roles, such as coordinating stakeholders, providing technical assistance and mitigating potential conflicts. However, barriers related to funding, policy and competency need to be removed before NGOs can play fuller roles. This study provides insights into the current dynamics and potentials of Chinese NGOs in technology transfer and has important implications for policy making, business strategies, and international NGOs community.