Patent now, benefit later: Lagged relationships between green innovation, GHG emissions and efficiencies in the EU-27

Green innovation plays a key role in reducing emissions and increasing resource efficiencies, as suggested by pioneering definitions. However, there are still some gaps in the literature as few studies consider the effects of green innovation on emissions and resource efficiencies simultaneously, while also considering lagged effects by explicitly modelling the temporal lags between patent filing and observable environmental benefits. To address these gaps, this study analyses this relationship by incorporating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, various measures of resource efficiency (energy and materials) and green patents across the 27 EU Member States for the period 1993–2017, using data from the European Patent Office (EPO) and other secondary sources. The results show that green innovation, captured through lagged associations of green patents, reduces emissions and increases resource efficiency. However, the relationships are not immediate and differ depending on the type of indicator. Policy implications should consider the differentiated effects of green technologies on these indicators in order to effectively address climate change.