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Green credit can alleviate the financing constraints of green enterprises, and thus is an important policy to encourage green development and mitigate climate change. However, how green credit affects the technological innovation of clean energy enterprise (TICEE) and the role of corporate policy catering behavior (CPCB) both need to be further explored. Therefore, the impact mechanisms of green credit and the roles of CPCB are empirically tested by the mediation model and moderation model, respectively. Compared with large, eastern and mature enterprises, green credit plays a stronger positive role in the technological innovation of small, central and western and growing enterprises. Green credit optimizes enterprises' debt financing by alleviating financing constraints, reducing debt costs and extending debt maturity structure, thus driving technological innovation. Besides, the two most typical types of CPCB — research and development (R&D) manipulation and rent-seeking — weaken the positive effect of green credit on TICEE. However, CPCB weakens less on the quality of innovation of large, mature and eastern enterprises. Accordingly, green credit should be strengthened to promote TICEE, and the supervision of corporate speculation should also be strengthened to avoid the policy's failure. [Display omitted] • Green credit promotes the technological innovation of clean energy enterprises. • Corporate financing constraints, debt cost and debt maturity mediate the effect. • Policy catering behavior inhibits the role of green credit in corporate innovation. • The effects are stronger on small, growing enterprises in developing regions. • Various policy priorities and avoiding corporate speculation should be highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]