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Global trend of methane abatement inventions and widening mismatch with methane emissions

Author

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  • Jingjing Jiang

    (Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen))

  • Deyun Yin

    (Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen)
    World Intellectual Property Organization
    Nanjing University)

  • Zhuoluo Sun

    (Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen))

  • Bin Ye

    (Southern University of Science and Technology)

  • Nan Zhou

    (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

Abstract

Substantially reducing methane emissions is the fastest way to repress near-term warming and is an essential prerequisite for reaching the 1.5 °C target. However, knowledge about the global invention trend, sectoral and national distribution and international diffusion of methane-targeted abatement technologies (MTATs) remains limited. On the basis of patent data, we identify more than 175,000 MTAT inventions applied between 1990 and 2019 by 133 countries or dependent territories. Our results revealed that after sustained growth of more than fourfold, the number of global high-quality MTAT inventions declined by 3.5% annually from 2010 to 2019. The sectoral and national-level distributions of MTAT inventions and methane emissions are strongly mismatched. Additionally, the international diffusion of MTATs is 11.1% lower than that of overall climate change mitigation technologies and most transfers occur between developed countries or flow to China, South Korea and Brazil; however, other developing countries and the least developed countries are rarely involved.

Suggested Citation

  • Jingjing Jiang & Deyun Yin & Zhuoluo Sun & Bin Ye & Nan Zhou, 2024. "Global trend of methane abatement inventions and widening mismatch with methane emissions," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 14(4), pages 393-401, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcli:v:14:y:2024:i:4:d:10.1038_s41558-024-01947-x
    DOI: 10.1038/s41558-024-01947-x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Athreye, Suma & Kathuria, Vinish & Martelli, Alessandro & Piscitello, Lucia, 2023. "Intellectual property rights and the international transfer of climate change mitigating technologies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(9).
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