Is innovation good for the environment? A macro-level analysis

IF 6.3 2区经济学 Q1 ECOLOGY

Ecological Economics Pub Date : 2025-07-02 DOI:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108712

Christoph Weber, Alice Falchi, Naciba Chassagnon-Haned

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Abstract

A widely spread assumption in economics and politics is that innovation is beneficial for long-term economic growth and can also help to achieve environmental goals. However, empirical evidence on the impact of innovation on environmental sustainability is scarce. The present study tries to fill this gap by employing a panel data set of 229 countries (2013−2020) and using a novel database of countries' innovation scores (the Global Innovation Index). The results are manifold: firstly, we find a robust negative relationship between a country's innovativeness and its CO2 per capita. Secondly, the negative relationship persists when we control for level of development and other drivers of CO2 emissions. Thirdly, the effect holds when we use other measures of environmental sustainability. Fourthly, the empirical results show that while innovation can help to reduce the environmental footprint, being innovative is not enough to achieve a sustainable level of emissions. This explains why the focus is shifting towards green or eco-innovations as a way to solve environmental problems.

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创新对环境有益吗？宏观层面的分析

在经济学和政治学中广泛流传的一个假设是，创新有利于长期经济增长，也有助于实现环境目标。然而，关于创新对环境可持续性影响的实证证据很少。本研究试图通过采用229个国家（2013 - 2020年）的面板数据集和使用各国创新得分的新数据库（全球创新指数）来填补这一空白。结果是多方面的：首先，我们发现一个国家的创新能力与其人均二氧化碳排放量之间存在显著的负相关关系。其次，当我们控制发展水平和二氧化碳排放的其他驱动因素时，这种负相关关系仍然存在。第三，当我们使用其他环境可持续性措施时，效果仍然成立。第四，实证结果表明，虽然创新有助于减少环境足迹，但创新不足以达到可持续的排放水平。这就解释了为什么焦点正在转向绿色或生态创新，作为解决环境问题的一种方式。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Ecological Economics 环境科学-环境科学

CiteScore

12.00

自引率

5.70%

发文量

313

审稿时长

6 months

期刊介绍： Ecological Economics is concerned with extending and integrating the understanding of the interfaces and interplay between "nature''s household" (ecosystems) and "humanity''s household" (the economy). Ecological economics is an interdisciplinary field defined by a set of concrete problems or challenges related to governing economic activity in a way that promotes human well-being, sustainability, and justice. The journal thus emphasizes critical work that draws on and integrates elements of ecological science, economics, and the analysis of values, behaviors, cultural practices, institutional structures, and societal dynamics. The journal is transdisciplinary in spirit and methodologically open, drawing on the insights offered by a variety of intellectual traditions, and appealing to a diverse readership. Specific research areas covered include: valuation of natural resources, sustainable agriculture and development, ecologically integrated technology, integrated ecologic-economic modelling at scales from local to regional to global, implications of thermodynamics for economics and ecology, renewable resource management and conservation, critical assessments of the basic assumptions underlying current economic and ecological paradigms and the implications of alternative assumptions, economic and ecological consequences of genetically engineered organisms, and gene pool inventory and management, alternative principles for valuing natural wealth, integrating natural resources and environmental services into national income and wealth accounts, methods of implementing efficient environmental policies, case studies of economic-ecologic conflict or harmony, etc. New issues in this area are rapidly emerging and will find a ready forum in Ecological Economics.