The race to net zero: Tracking the green industrial revolution through IP

Abstract

In June 2019, the UK became the first major economy to set a legally binding target to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. In November 2020 the UK government released a ten-point plan for a green industrial revolution. Innovation has a role in helping to achieve carbon net zero and innovation may be reflected in global patenting trends.

This report compares trends in different technologies relating to the ten-point plan. It then looks at patenting trends relating to green technology as a whole, both globally and in the UK. Globally, growth in green technologies has been higher than both brown technology and total growth. Green technology has seen over 500% growth in 2020 compared to 2000.

It also looks at the use of the IPO’s Green Channel, which allows for accelerated processing of green patents. The analysis shows increasing popularity of the Green Channel, with over 4000 patent applications using it.

By analysing patenting relating to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, we found that 5.1% of patents relate to climate action.

We also analysed green trade mark trends. It was found that around 6% of trade mark applications were identified as green. Most green trade marks relate to energy conservation, which accounts for around 26% of green trade marks.