The availability of finance for the low carbon economy

Evidence on eco innovation diffusion from sector analyses

While the current macroeconomic setting is slowly moving towards financing the green/low carbon economy, complementary fiscal and monetary policies as well as private and public investments are needed to facilitate this transition. This report analyses the role of finance and banking among the factors that support the adoption of eco innovation in the realms of energy efficiency and CO2 abatement. It finds that firms need additional external financial support to successfully contribute to achievement of the EU’s 2050 climate and energy policy targets. Moreover, firms are currently isolated islands in the green economy with respect to other firms and financial institutions. At the very least, cooperation among corporate firms will be needed to cope with radical and not just incremental innovations. The report also finds that in the current situation financial barriers, such as current regulations as well as risk perceptions and short termism in finance, are a deterrent for the innovative capacity of EU’s economy. In this regard, the complementarity among actions that tends to relax ‘barriers’ can be seen as a possible way out. Environmental Innovation is stimulated where financial barriers are (perceived) as low and other policies help to increase collaboration, reduce technical and technological lock-ins, enhance competition on markets dominated by established enterprises, and to improve existing regulations and structures providing incentives to eco-innovate.

Attachment: 

Citation: 

Mazzanti, Massimiliano et al., 2014. The availability of finance for the low carbon economy. Evidence on Eco innovation diffusion from sector analyses. WP4 Deliverable 4.4. Ferrara, University of Ferrara.

Funding: 

European Commission 

Authors: 

Massimiliano Mazzanti, University of Ferrara; Davide Antonioli, University of Ferrara; Susanna Mancinelli, University of Ferrara; Claudia Ghisetti, University of Ferrara

Year of publication: 

2014

Number of pages: 

52

Table of contents: 

1

Executive summary

4

2

Introduction

7

2.1

The setting: banking/financial barriers and the low carbon economy

7

2.2

Finance, banking and the transition to a low carbon economy: Additional conceptual issues 10

10

3

Empirical evidence

15

3.1

Financial barriers, policy and eco innovation adoption. EU evidence from firm data

15

3.1.1

The role of financial constraints as a barrier to eco-innovation

15

3.1.2

Determinants of EI

18

3.1.3

Empirical investigation

19

3.2

The complementarity of financial and policy barriers

31

3.2.1

Data and empirical strategy

33

3.2.2

Main results

36

3.3

Stakeholder's interviews. Main outcomes

40

 

Appendix

50