COP 27 Should Ramp Up Investment in Clean Energy Innovation, Says ITIF
WASHINGTON—As leaders convene in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt for the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 27), the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the world’s leading think tank for science and technology policy, released the following statement from Ed Rightor, ITIF’s director of the Center for Clean Energy Innovation:
Nations have failed to meet the challenge of funding clean energy innovation at levels necessary to meet the scale of the threat. They continually underfund the research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) projects necessary to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon global economy.
If COP 27 achieves one thing, it should be a definitive statement—“we’re way behind on GHG reductions.” Successfully addressing that gap hinges on boosting R&D and deployment investments in clean energy technologies.
Fortunately, the United States is set to provide billions for the deployment of low-carbon technologies as part of this year’s historic energy legislation. But that will be coming while much of Europe is gripped by an energy crisis that may limit its ability to invest in future technologies. Meanwhile, China, which has exploited U.S.-developed technologies, is falling behind in overall climate-tech RD&D investment beyond the EV market. So, the global picture is mixed, at best. That is the challenge for the attendees at COP27—to significantly increase investment across a range of clean energy technology sectors to accelerate the energy transition instead of allowing it to stall.
For more on this issue, see:
- David M. Hart and Hoyu Chong, “Climate Innovation Policy From Glasgow to Pittsburgh” (Nature Energy, 2022).
- Hoyu Chong, “Mission Critical: The Global Energy Innovation System Is Not Thriving” (ITIF, 2022).
- David M. Hart and Chad A. Smith, “The 2021 Global Energy Innovation Index: National Contributions to the Global Clean Energy Innovation System” (ITIF, 2021).
###
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute focusing on the intersection of technological innovation and public policy. Recognized by its peers in the think tank community as the global center of excellence for science and technology policy, ITIF’s mission is to formulate and promote policy solutions that accelerate innovation and boost productivity to spur growth, opportunity, and progress.
