The planet now stands at a historic crossroad as the profound and unmistakable impact of climate change continues to threaten everyone's future. Alarming evidence of this global crisis continues to emerge with growing ferocity by the day. The business community, governments and broader society all have a role to play if we are going to be successful in addressing climate change.
For these reasons, KPMG International felt it necessary to support important research on the impact of innovation in green-related activities to the broader economy. Drawing on patent data from the last three decades for 43 OECD and BRICS countries, this research study finds that green patent filings, if sustained, will lead to a significant increase in real GDP growth.
Doubling green patent applications every year leads to a 4.8-percentage-point increase in real economic growth, compared to only a 3.4-percentage-point increase by doubling non-green patents. The authors conclude that green investments can improve the environment and the economy at the same time.
The report also documents the vital success stories we are witnessing among major innovative countries and renewable-energy businesses. It highlights the instructive role that governments need to play in driving progress for our planet's environmental and economic future.
This report was prepared for KPMG by Zenia Hasana, Henry-James Hatton and Kamiar Mohaddes of the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge as part of KPMG's ESG agenda. The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of KPMG. The research was funded by a grant from KPMG.
