Greentech Lead Asia: Denmark is the world’s top leader in
the cleantech industry, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
Though Denmark has a weaker entrepreneurial culture,
strong government policy and public research and development spending make
Denmark top scorer of the list, according to WWF’s Global Cleantech Innovation
Index 2012.
(please see the list of the top countries at the end of
the article)
The study shows there is no set equation for a path of
greentech success: Brazil ranks high in an entrepreneurial culture, but places
25th for lack of innovative cleantech companies itself.
Israel gained the second place on the list even though it
is missing central government support for sustainable technologies; the country
still has a large amount of local cleantech investors.
European countries dominating the list as Sweden come in
third place followed by Finland. South Korea is the only representative from
Asia as it has settled 8th rank in the index.
Though the United States created the most greentech
companies of the 38 countries, when the size of the U.S economy is taken into
consideration, the study puts United States in fifth.
The study highlights the important role of an
entrepreneurial culture, for it is “primarily through entrepreneurial ventures
that technologies achieve impact beyond the laboratory doors.” The Global
Entrepreneurship Monitor ranks the United States as number one in “general
innovation drivers.”
Cleantech refers to energy-related technologies,
including a broad range of sustainable technologies such as water, agriculture,
and waste.
According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, the
demand of workers will rise in the next decade for the environmental industry.
The industry is expected to increase by 2.5 percent annually.
As a part of the Recovery Act, almost $11 billion has
gone to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Interior for
projects varying from green job training to water quality improvement. The
administration has invested $90 billion in clean energy from 2008 – 2012.
According to the study, although the United States is the
highest overall scorer outside of Europe and Israel, it is not doing as well in
cleantech company revenues. According to the Heritage Foundation, this may be
because cleantech in the United States is not “commercially viable, whether
because of burdensome regulations or simply because they are … expensive.”
Top 10 Countries Leading in Cleantech Innovations
Denmark
Israel
Sweden
Finland
USA
Germany
Canada
South Korea
Ireland
UK