Public Policy and Cleantech - Obstacle or Asset?

摘要

Alongside the development, commercialization, and entrance of clean technologies, cleantech, into mainstream Northern American markets, has been the North American investment community, which has made great strides to support cleantech innovations. As stated by James Stack the principal author of Cleantech Venture Capital: How Public Policy Has Stimulated Private Investment, "In 2006, cleantech became the third-largest North American venture capital investment category", with USD2.9 billion invested. As exciting as the growth has been in the cleantech industry, it is important to examine the deep impact public policy has had on its recent development. The focused public discussion on global warming has been a publicity boon with regards to numerous clean technologies. Stack states, "National and state policies have provided early foundations for many cleantech sectors, although investors do not expect those policies to continue in the long term." The growth within the cleantech sector may appear to be a win-win for all stakeholders, however current and future government regulation may stand in the way of the rapid, successful adoption of these new technologies. In this paper, we aim to present a deeper look into a series of scenarios describing the future of clean technologies within the United States for the audience to consider. We hope that this will increase dialogue amongst all parties that have a hand in the fruitful development of the cleantech industry.