So-called environmental innovations (green technologies) are necessary to face global challenges such as climate change, resource scarcity or increasing environmental pollution. In two new publications, Sebastian Losacker deals with the question of how such innovations diffuse in space. For this purpose, together with Ingo Liefner, he conceptualizes the idea of regional lead markets for environmental innovations. The concept explains that leading regions can influence the spatial diffusion of innovations by demonstrating their effects as a pioneer. Using the example of waste incineration technologies in Shanghai, the authors show that a regional lead market is constituted by technological advantages, regulatory advantages and demand advantages. In a second publication, Sebastian Losacker uses licensing agreements for green technology patents to show that the diffusion of environmental innovations depends on spatial proximity, since the emergence and application of technologies often take place in the same region.
Losacker, S.; Liefner, I. (2020): Regional lead markets for environmental innovation. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 37, 120-139. DOI: 10.1016/j.eist.2020.08.003
Losacker, S. (2020): The geography of green technology licensing in China. Regional Studies, Regional Science, 7(1), 387-389. DOI: 10.1080/21681376.2020.1809507