Innovation in environmentally friendly technologies as measured by international patent applications barely rose in 2019, according to new WIPO figures released for World Intellectual Property Day 2020, prompting a call from WIPO Director General Francis Gurry for a green tech surge to fight climate change.

Marking the April 26, 2020, "World IP Day 2020: Innovate for a Green Future," WIPO analyzed international patent filings via it's Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) in four categories of green energy technologies. These covered:

• alternative energy production, notably renewable energy technologies;

• energy conservation technologies;

• green transportation;

• nuclear power generation.

The data are based on the WIPO International Patent Classification (IPC) Green Inventory, which tracks patents related to green energy innovation.

Among the findings: PCT applications – one measure of innovative activity – containing at least one IPC green energy code, grew to 16,940 applications in 2019, a 1.3 percent increase from 2018 (Annex PDF, Annex). This lags a peak of 17,880 in 2016 and represents just over 6% of the total number of PCT applications filed in 2019.

Climate change has far-reaching effects for all of us and innovation in green tech sectors will be key to successfully addressing this global challenge. Policymakers, businesses, academic institutions, inventors around the world: Let’s all work together to create a green-tech innovation surge that meets the requirements of our times.--WIPO Director General Francis Gurry

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