White Paper Accelerating Sustainable Energy Innovation

The report argues that while solar PV and wind are mature, most other sustainable energy technologies are not progressing fast enough to meet climate goals. It identifies key barriers including regulatory uncertainty, the 'financial valley of death' for early-stage tech, and system inertia. To overcome these, the authors advocate for 'predictable flexibility' in regulation, increased public RD&D spending—specifically for demonstration projects—and the creation of innovation alliances. The document concludes with 'bold ideas' such as an independent international fund for energy technology and the mainstreaming of pre-commercial public procurement.

• Energy production and consumption are responsible for 68% of global greenhouse gas emissions as of 2014, making energy innovation critical for climate mitigation.
• According to the International Energy Agency, only three of 26 identified innovation areas—solar PV and onshore wind, energy storage, and electric vehicles—are commercially competitive and on track to meet climate objectives.
• Global investment in clean energy RD&D was $27 billion in 2015 and has remained flat since 2012, with the public sector providing more than two-thirds of this funding.
• Regulatory frameworks must balance stability to attract investors with 'predictable flexibility' to adapt to technological changes; the report suggests 'regulatory sandboxes' as a tool for testing new solutions in real environments.
• Carbon pricing is identified as a crucial incentive for innovation, though current prices in many jurisdictions are too low to significantly impact investment decisions.
• Public funding for demonstration projects remains low, which hinders the transition of technologies from the pilot stage (TRL 6) to market maturity (TRL 8), a gap known as the 'valley of death'.
• Mission Innovation, an alliance of 22 governments and the EU representing 80% of global clean energy RD&D, has pledged to double investments by 2021.
• The report proposes several 'bold ideas' for step-changes, including the establishment of an independent international fund to pool RD&D capital and the use of pre-commercial public procurement to support early-stage technologies like CCUS.

APA

World Economic Forum (2018). White Paper Accelerating Sustainable Energy Innovation. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/Accelerating_sustainable_energy_innovation_2018.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. White Paper Accelerating Sustainable Energy Innovation. 2018. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/Accelerating_sustainable_energy_innovation_2018.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=White Paper Accelerating Sustainable Energy Innovation |date=May 2018 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/Accelerating_sustainable_energy_innovation_2018.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2018white, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{White Paper Accelerating Sustainable Energy Innovation}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2018}, month = may, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/Accelerating_sustainable_energy_innovation_2018.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }