<p>Green technology transfer (GTT) plays a vital role in enabling firms to improve environmental performance, strengthen innovation capacity, and advance their green development strategies. Among policy tools, environmental regulations and subsidies play a key role in incentivizing firms to adopt and disseminate green technologies. However, previous research has largely overlooked the configurational effects of these environmental policies on GTT. This study uses the fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) method, and integrates environmental regulations and subsidies within the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework to explore their combined impact. Based on 492 green technology transfer cases from 93 Chinese firms in heavily polluting industries, the analysis identifies seven distinct configurations associated with high levels of GTT. The results yield three main insights. First, the effectiveness of environmental regulations and subsidies depends on their interaction with technological value, market competition, and organizational resources, underscoring the importance of multi-factor alignment. Second, technological value consistently emerges as a foundational condition across all high-GTT pathways. Third, the configurations can be categorized into non-policy, single-policy, and multi-policy types, revealing varying pathways through which GTT can be achieved. These findings provide practical implications for policymakers with the aim of designing more context-sensitive environmental governance tools, and for firms seeking to align internal capabilities with external incentives to strengthen their green innovation strategies.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>