Innovation policy for sustainability transitions in small economies: Energy technology innovation in Hong Kong

Abstract

In this paper, we analyzed Hong Kong's sustainable energy transitions innovation policy, and compared it to the policies in 11 small, high-income jurisdictions. To do this, we identified 696 innovation interventions implemented between 2008 and 2020. We classified them into 42 types of policy instruments. Then we visualized the policy mixes of the jurisdictions with the assistance of correspondence analysis methods. The results suggest that Hong Kong's overall policy mix heavily relies on overarching policy strategies to guide research and demand side policies to support energy technology adoption. However, Hong Kong's support for research and development of domestic clean energy technologies to overcome the so-called “valley of death”, a critical gap between public and private support, remains limited. This contrasts with the policy mixes of more innovative peer jurisdictions, which provide R&D funding and business support targeted at encouraging clean energy technologies and facilitating connections across the innovation system.