Takeaways | Sustainability: Patents and Investment Trends

Prosperity and advances in technology, the hallmarks of the second half of the twentieth century, have been the primary drivers of CO2 emissions. The sustained human activity-driven release of greenhouse gases is the main reason attributed to the rise in global temperatures. To address climate change, the United Nations established the Paris Agreement (Nov. 2016), setting a target, limiting average warming to 2°C (pre-industrial level), urging the world to urgently reduce emissions.

Innovation in “green” technology across many areas of society will help solve these problems. Two areas where innovation will be particularly impactful are green tech aimed at reducing fossil fuel use for energy production and innovation in the agriculture and food industry. Continued progress on improving performance and lowering costs for all of these technologies will be needed to meet our climate goals.