Innovation policy – a powerful toolbox for mitigating climate change
The report concludes that a continuous, coherent, forward-looking process of adaptive policymaking will be vital to a successful energy transition. In this process, the further development of a powerful innovation policy toolbox for mitigating climate change will be key to effectively addressing resource scarcity, demographic change, and rising global affluence. The first aim of climate policy is to prevent dangerous levels of global warming linked to rising concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere. In the EU, CO2 from energy sources accounts for over three quarters of all GHG emissions. The report identifies two paths for achieving mitigation benefits: 1. Decarbonisation of electrical power generation and electrification of the transport sector; 2. Dematerialisation of the economy through energy efficient products, including homes, and re-use and recycling of products and waste. Pursuing these paths will require policy makers to exert pressure on carbon-based systems and to nurture alternatives. The report draws on state-of-the-art innovation studies and policy-led transitions before making 12 interlinked recommendations. According to this plan, EU innovation policy for climate change should: 1. Be incorporated in a green growth and quality of life strategy; 2. Rely on identified barriers to innovation; 3. Prevent windfall gains and regulatory capture; 4. Be guided by a dedicated agency; 5. Rely on a mix of technology-specific and generic policies; 6. Encourage significantly higher levels of public R&D support; 7. Focus on getting innovations adopted; 8. Improve policy coordination; 9. Use strategic intelligence in the selection of innovation projects; 10. Support a broad portfolio of options for climate mitigation; 11. Ensure policy learning; 12. Seek international policies to fund zero carbon energy in developing countries and discourage carbon emissions elsewhere. This Innovation Intelligence Study was prepared by the the Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT) within the framework of the PRO INNO Europe® project INNO GRIPS II. The authors are Anthony Arundel, Minna Kanerva and René Kemp. The findings of the study have been validated at the 2nd Innovation Intelligence Workshop “Implications of climate change, resource scarcity and demographic developments for innovation policy” with over 50 key stakeholders and experts (Brussels, 1 December 2010). The workshop was the second of a series of six workshops covering different innovation challenges, organised in the framework of the INNO-Grips project.
Countries
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, United Kingdom