Underinvestment: The Energy Technology and R&D Policy Challenge
Robert M. Margolis,
1*
Daniel M. Kammen
2*
This Viewpoint examines data on international trends in
energy research and development (R&D) funding, patterns of U.S. energy technology patents and R&D funding, and U.S. R&D intensities across selected sectors. The data present a disturbing picture: (i) Energy technology funding levels have declined significantly during the past
two decades throughout the industrial world; (ii) U.S. R&D spending and
patents, both overall and in the energy sector, have been highly
correlated during the past two decades; and (iii) the R&D intensity of
the U.S. energy sector is extremely low. It is argued that recent
cutbacks in energy R&D are likely to reduce the capacity of the energy
sector to innovate. The trends are particularly troubling given the
need for increased international capacity to respond to emerging risks
such as global climate change.
1 Science, Technology and Environmental Policy
(STEP) Program, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International
Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544-1013, USA.
2 Energy and Resources Group (ERG), University of
California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3050, USA.
*
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
margolis{at}princeton.edu; dkammen{at}socrates.berkeley.edu
