Climate-friendly technologies in the mobile air-conditioning sector: a patent citation analysis

摘要

The development of climate-friendly technologies and its diffusion across countries is of key importance to slow climate change. This paper considers technologies in the mobile air-conditioning (MAC) sector which is a major contributor of fluorinated greenhouse gas emissions. Using patents as an indicator of innovations and patent citations as a proxy for knowledge flows, the inducement of new environmental and non-environmental technologies and knowledge diffusion within and across countries are analysed. The focus is on direct abatement of fluorinated greenhouse gases excluding energy efficiency improvements. We find that most environmental MAC patents originate from the US and Germany. Most knowledge flows take place within countries. Regarding cross-country flows most environmental knowledge diffuses from French and German patents, which is likely to be a result of regulatory activities in Europe and intensified research on environmentally benign MAC systems. Yet, this exchange of knowledge is not very intensive and stable so that the impact of EU regulations on US and Japanese patenting behaviour seems to be fairly weak.