This brochure explains how the IPC Green Inventory can give direct access to the latest patent information about technologies in a number of fields including alternative energy production, energy conservation, transportation, waste management, and agriculture and forestry

We analyze inventions in green energy technologies over the period 2005-2017. We use a novel dataset, making use of the IPC Green Inventory of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to analyze four broad categories of green energy technologies including alternative energy production technologies, energy conservation technologies, and green transportation. We use these data to look at how patent families and PCT international patent applications have evolved in this field in recent years. We find that energy innovation-related patenting has first expanded exponentially up until 2013, both in terms of the total number of patent families and PCT international patent applications in green energy technologies. Yet this period of accelerated growth in the number of published green energy patents has been followed by a period of deceleration—even a slow decline. Although most green energy technologies have seen a downward trend in the annual number of patents published since 2012, the decline has been most pronounced in nuclear power generation technologies and alternative energy production technologies. The latter notably include renewable energy technologies, such as solar and wind energy, and fuel cells. In contrast, patents in energy conservation technologies and green transportation technologies have continued to grow, but at a slower pace.

We analyze inventions in green energy technologies over the period 2005-2017. We use a novel dataset, making use of the IPC Green Inventory of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to analyze four broad categories of green energy technologies including alternative energy production technologies, energy conservation technologies, and green transportation. We use these data to look at how patent families and PCT international patent applications have evolved in this field in recent years. We find that energy innovation-related patenting has first expanded exponentially up until 2013, both in terms of the total number of patent families and PCT international patent applications in green energy technologies. Yet this period of accelerated growth in the number of published green energy patents has been followed by a period of deceleration--even a slow decline. Although most green energy technologies have seen a downward trend in the annual number of patents published since 2012, the decline has been most pronounced in nuclear power generation technologies and alternative energy production technologies. The latter notably include renewable energy technologies, such as solar and wind energy, and fuel cells. In contrast, patents in energy conservation technologies and green transportation technologies have continued to grow, but at a slower pace.

Economies around the world have arrived at a critical juncture: to continue to grow fuelled by fossil fuels and exacerbate climate change, or to move towards more sustainable, greener, growth. Choosing the latter is shown to help address climate change, as well as present new economic opportunities. This Handbook provides a deeper understanding of the concept of green growth, and highlights key lessons from the experience of green transformations across the world following a decade of ambitious stimulus packages and green reforms.

The Green Technology Book puts innovation, technology and intellectual property at the forefront in the fight against climate change. This inaugural edition focuses on three important areas: agriculture and forestry, water and coastal regions, and cities, showcasing 200 available solutions that aim to reduce vulnerability and increase resilience to climate impacts.

Against the pressing challenge of climate change, solar photovoltaic technology (PV) is widely seen as a clean and renewable alternative to fossil fuels. By reviewing the development of the solar energy sector globally, the case of China is prominent, as the country has witnessed a successful technological catching-up and tremendous growth in the production, use and development of solar modules over the past few years. This book takes you on a magic carpet ride through the technological innovation system of China’s PV sector. Through the pages of this book, you will be introduced to the technical components of the solar technology. You will track the development stages of the innovation system in China. You will meet the main actors in the system, and learn about their areas of competence and interaction patterns. Additionally, you will see how their knowledge networks have evolved over time. The book further tells the story of innovation in the midst of solar wars, and how have government policies and international tensions shaped the status quo of the global technological system. While innovation studies have long been concerned with productivity maximization and economic growth, the growing awareness of global environmental and socio-economic challenges has imposed a profound shift to focus on these issues. In that sense, the present book highlights the political- and social- market economy aspects of the innovation system, where economic policy is considered not only to sustain competition and profit maximization, but also, most importantly, to foster shared responsibility in confronting global environmental challenges.