The impact of international technical cooperation in new energy industry on carbon emissions: evidence from the top 30 countries in the global innovation index

International cooperation has become a global consensus to solve environmental problems. This paper selects the top 30 countries in the global innovation index as the research sample, based on Patent Cooperation Treaties (PCT) data jointly applied in the field of new energy, constructs the international technical cooperation network, and uses the fixed effect panel regression model to verify the influence of international technical cooperation of new energy industry on carbon emission intensity. The results show that the USA, Germany, the UK, France, and the Netherlands are at the center of the network. International technological cooperation in new energy industry has a significant negative impact on carbon emission intensity. The convening of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen has accelerated global industrial upgrading, and the effect of international technical cooperation in new energy on carbon emission reduction has been strengthened. In addition, the level of economic development, international trade, and research and development (R&D) are also important factors affecting carbon emission intensity. Countries with high network centrality should give full play to their network influence to promote global cooperation in the field of new energy and achieve carbon mitigation targets by signing more environmental agreements.