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This article investigates how regulated automakers and upstream component suppliers comply with “technology-forcing” regulations, or laws that set performance standards beyond their usual technological capabilities. In particular, this article examines how firms manage and organize their research and development (R&D) processes concerning automobil...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... major players in the development of automobile emissions control technologies, accounting for more than 93% of patents and 73% of technical papers. The roles of other players on relevant R&D activities, including universities, government agencies, and private research institutes, were notably lower as far as patenting activities were concerned (Figs. 4 and 5). 6 In particular, university's share of patents in automobile emissions control technologies was found to be only 0.5% of the total number of successfully applied patents. Although universities were relatively more active in publishing technical papers (approximately 12%), the number of published papers by universities was less than ...
Citations
... This is because stringent environmental regulations have the unique potential to result in technology-forcing, which can shape invention, innovation, and diffusion of technologies, often in rapid timeframes (Box 1). Technology-forcing is important not only for the capacity to substantially reduce pollution, but to incentivize and support transformative technologies, new markets and industries, and sustainable development [5][6][7]. Previous analyses of the consequences of defunding the NCA have assessed its policy limitations or issues with implementation, and emphasized the need for reinstatement to protect public health [2,8,9]. In this prospectus, we focus on illustrating the NCA as a critical missed opportunity to reduce noise pollution through innovation and diffusion of technologies over several decades. ...
... Our purpose is not to detail the complex and dynamic responses of industry to regulation (e.g. [5,34,35]), or to evaluate the effectiveness of specific legislative provisions or regulatory structures, which has been done elsewhere [52,76,77]. It is rather to translate key lessons within these histories to inform strategic, pragmatic technology-forcing programs for noise. ...
... The first of these strategies is that technology-forcing is not generic, but takes aim at dominant sources of a pollutant, either in terms of the highest contributions to ambient levels or the most widespread impacts. This often has the uncomfortable result of focusing political and regulatory attention on a limited number of industries and manufacturers, as occurred with the automotive industry and power-plant generation under the Clean Air Act [5,26,27] or water treatment facilities under the Clean Water Act [52,78]. However, this also results in focused (and sometimes coordinated) attention and investment -by both industry and government -toward innovation for specific control targets. ...
Background
Environmental movements of the late 20th century resulted in sweeping legislation and regulatory actions to reduce the prevalence of diverse pollutants. Although the consequences of noise pollution to public health, environment, and the economy have been recognized over the same time period, noise has received far less policy attention. Correspondingly, even while evidence of the diverse and detrimental effects of noise pollution on human health has grown, solutions and actual reductions in environmental noise remain seemingly out of reach.
Objective
To address this shortcoming, we developed a prospectus for environmental noise reduction through technology-forcing policies. Technology-forcing describes intent to encourage technological solutions for pollution control through policy and regulations, and has been a critical component of national and global progress in reducing environmental pollutants.
Methods
We take advantage of the unique policy history for noise in the United States - which initially enacted, but then abandoned federal noise regulation. We compare this history against outcomes from contemporaneous environmental legislation for air, water, and occupational pollution control, to demonstrate the potential for technology-forcing to reduce noise pollution. Our review then identifies promising solutions, in the form of existing technologies suitable for innovation and diffusion through technology-forcing regulations and incentives.
Results
Based on this review, we outline a program for noise policy development to support efforts to reduce environmental noise pollution worldwide. The proposed program consists of three steps, which are to (i) identify dominant sources of noise pollution, (ii) combine legislative or regulatory provisions with suitable systems of enforcement and incentives, and (iii) anticipate and prepare for stages of technological change.
Impact statement
Analysis of noise policy often focuses on justifying the need to reduce noise pollution. In this article, we demonstrate how technology-forcing regulations could also promote much-needed innovation and diffusion of technologies to reduce environmental noise pollution. We first establish the potential for technology-forcing by comparing technology outcomes from environmental legislation passed contemporaneously to the inactive US Noise Control Act. We next review promising innovations available for diffusion in multiple sectors to reduce environmental noise. Lastly, we recommend a program to support development of technology-forcing noise policies, to help ensure that the benefits of reduced noise pollution are distributed equitably.
... This is because stringent 75 environmental regulations have the unique potential to result in technology-forcing, which can shape invention, innovation, and diffusion of technologies, often in rapid timeframes (Box 1). Technologyforcing is important not only for the capacity to substantially reduce pollution, but to incentivize and support transformative technologies, new markets and industries, and sustainable development [3][4][5] . 4 80 Previous analyses of the consequences of defunding the NCA have assessed its policy limitations or issues with implementation, and emphasized the need for reinstatement to protect public health 2, 6,7 . ...
... Although it is well understood that regulation cannot actually force invention 9 , numerous analyses of industry responses to environmental legislation over the last 50 years leave no doubt that regulation -or even anticipation of regulation -can stimulate innovation and diffusion of existing technologies. These can shift industries toward adoption and implementation of more effective and efficient pollution-control methods, or even development of entirely new technologies [3][4][5]10,11 . 110 ...
... To outline how a technology-forcing approach differs from a general strategy of noise reduction, we developed a program for noise policy development that draws from the fifty-year histories of US legislation for air, water, and occupational safety (Figure 1, Supplemental Figure S1). Our purpose is 280 not to detail the complex and dynamic responses of industry to regulation (e.g., 3,15,16 ), or to evaluate the effectiveness of specific legislative provisions or regulatory structures, which has been done elsewhere 65,77,78 . It is rather to translate key lessons within these histories to inform strategic, pragmatic technology-forcing programs for noise. ...
Environmental movements of the late 20th century resulted in sweeping legislation and regulatory actions to reduce the prevalence of diverse pollutants. Although the consequences of noise pollution to public health, the environment, and the economy have been recognized over the same time period, noise has received far less policy attention. Correspondingly, even while recent decades have seen robust advancements in assessing the impacts of noise pollution, solutions and actual reductions in environmental noise have remained seemingly out of reach. To address this shortcoming, we developed a prospectus for environmental noise reduction through technology-forcing policies. Technology-forcing describes intent to encourage technological solutions for pollution control through policy and regulations, and has been a critical component of national and global progress in reducing environmental pollutants. We take advantage of the unique policy history for noise in the United States - which initially enacted, but then abandoned federal noise regulation. We compare this history against outcomes from contemporaneous environmental legislation for air, water, and occupational pollution control, to demonstrate the potential for technology-forcing to reduce noise pollution. Our review then identifies promising solutions, in the form of existing technologies suitable for innovation and diffusion through technology-forcing regulations and incentives. Based on this review, we outline a program for noise policy development that is intended to support efforts to reduce environmental noise pollution worldwide. The proposed program consists of three steps, 2 which are to (i) identify dominant sources of noise pollution, (ii) combine legislative or regulatory provisions with suitable systems of enforcement and incentives, and (iii) anticipate and prepare for stages of technological change. This work is intended to support and advocate for noise policies designed around technology-forcing, to advance technologies that not only improve public health and sustainable development, but ensure that these benefits are distributed equitably.
... , p. 9; Yeh et al., 2021, p. 1).Unlike trading in Green Certi cates and Guarantees of Origin, which are based on the origin of the energy (Wimmers and Madlener, 2020, p.3), trading in GHG quotas is based on exceeding a standard. Tradable performance standards mandate a standard that cannot be achieved with conventional technology(Lee et al., 2010) or that imposes higher costs(Gerard and Lave, 2005). Products with a performance above this standard earn credits they can sell; products with a performance below the standard must acquire those credits to comply with the Another example of tradable performance standards are white certi cates, also referred to as Energy Savings Certi cates or Energy E ciency Credits, which certify energy savings that can either be used to meet one's own legally mandated energy savings targets or sold to other obligated market participants. ...
The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Mitigation Quota is a unique instrument in Europe that redistributes money from high-emission to low emission fuel markets, while forcing fuel distributors to reduce the average emissions of their fuels. This paper presents the design of the German 2022 GHG Quota, places it in the context of environmental policy instruments, and examines its impact on the affected fuel markets in relation to other environmental policy instruments. We aim to provide results that can be applied in industry and policy-making, and to provide a basis for further research, to highlight GHG quota trading as an alternative to allowance trading and carbon taxes. Field research was conducted in the form of expert interviews. Furthermore, intermediaries and brokers were contacted via email and asked for transaction data. In addition, a qualitative literature review was conducted and publications of responsible authorities as well as relevant legal texts, were used to gather information. We find that the GHG Quota Trading overlaps with the instruments emission standards and emission trading scheme and therefore falls under the category of tradable performance standards. However, it also contains aspects of a subsidy and interacts directly or indirectly with several different markets.
... There are numerous successful examples of governments mandating technological change, including substitutes for chlorofluorocarbons (Ashford et al., 1985;McFarland, 1992), flue gas desulfurization systems for SO2 control in the power sector (Popp, 2003;Taylor et al., 2005), and automobile emissions (Lee et al., 2010). Other examples also led to government intervention and include concerns about climate change and the environment (Rajagopal et al., 2007;Collier, Conway, and Venables, 2008;Hellegers et al., 2008;Maibach et al., 2008;Bulte and Damania, 2008, among many others), food security and resilience (Upton, Cissé, and Barrett, 2016), and the agricultural sector's economic viability (Sunding and Zilberman, 2001;Spicka et al., 2019). ...
... With advances in engine and emissions control technology, vehicular emissions have significantly decreased over the years [60,61]. The introduction of catalytic converters, diesel particulate filters and other emission control devices in the exhaust gas stream has helped to reduce emissions of harmful pollutants such as CO, HCs, NOx, and PM. ...
Over the past few decades, criteria emissions such as carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HCs), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) from transportation have decreased significantly, thanks to stricter emission standards and the widespread adoption of cleaner technologies. While air quality is a complex problem that is not solely dependent on transportation emissions, it does play a significant role in both regional and global air quality levels. Emission standards such as Euro 1–6 in Europe, Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations, Tier I—III standards in the US and the low emission vehicle (LEV) program in California have all played a huge role in bringing down transportation emissions and hence improving air quality overall. This article reviews the effect of emissions from transportation, primarily focusing on criteria emissions from road transport emissions and highlights the impact of some of the novel technological advances that have historically helped meet these strict emission norms. The review also notes how modern road engine vehicles emissions compare with national and international aviation and shipping and discusses some of the suggested Euro 7 emissions standards and their potential to improve air quality.
... The comprehensive promotion of green development is a vital component of the new global development concept, a critical force for achieving high-quality development, and a key factor in constructing a beautiful society. However, green recovery or high-quality development in the post-epidemic era cannot rely on factor-driven innovation but must instead rely on environmentally friendly technological innovation [1]. As providers of market goods or services, enterprises can only effectively reduce their impact on the ecological environment if they implement green technologies throughout their production and operation processes. ...
... In this paper, we develop several econometric models by matching information from the Database of Chinese Industrial Enterprises and the Database of Pollution Emissions from Chinese Industrial Enterprises. This primary research elements presented in this paper are as follows: (1) In this paper, we measures the level of eco-innovation performance of Chinese industrial enterprises and examines their current situation and problems. (2) We empirically test the relationship between different types of environmental regulatory policies and the eco-innovation performance of enterprises. ...
As the world becomes more concerned about carbon emissions, the Chinese government, which is a large contributor to carbon emissions, has also begun to pay attention to the issue of carbon emissions. Environmental regulatory policies have been implemented to improve the environment, but are these policies really conducive to improving firms’ eco-innovation performance? This paper empirically investigates the relationship between environmental regulation policies and firms’ eco-innovation performance in China and finds that: firstly, environmental regulation in China is inadequate and that manufacturing eco-innovation performance is generally low; secondly, there is a U-shaped relationship between environmental regulation policies and firms’ eco-innovation performance; thirdly, there is significant industry and regional heterogeneity in the induced effects of environmental regulation tools; and fourthly, there is a mediating effect of industrial agglomeration on the promotion of firms’ eco-innovation performance. The conclusions of this paper are: firstly, that the Chinese government should continue to improve environmental regulations and strictly enforce them so that green becomes the colour of ‘economic recovery’; secondly, that the Chinese government should develop scientific and reasonable environmental regulatory policies according to local conditions; thirdly, that Chinese companies should increase their spending on research and development; and fourthly, that the Chinese government needs to optimise the industrial layout and support mechanisms. The Chinese government should play an active role in industrial agglomeration in technological innovation.
... Details of systematic literature review. . who showed that automakers in United States generated more patents and technological innovations as a result of the introduction of stricter exhaust emission standards[47], by Popp, who indicated that the new SO 2 emission permit regulation, through innovation, increased SO 2 removal efficiency ...
In previous years, much research has been carried out to specify eco-innovations determinants. In most studies, eco-innovation was analyzed at a general level. From the perspective of climate change and the aim of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the European Green Deal objectives, the issue of innovations that replace the share of fossil fuel energy with renewable energy sources in the European Union appears to be particularly important. Therefore, this paper has two purposes. First, using a systematic literature review, it examines the key factors driving decisions taken by European Union enterprises to create innovations with environmental benefits. Second, it estimates the impact of these factors on introducing innovations that replace the share of fossil fuel energy with renewable energy sources. Specifically, using the logistic regression model, it analyses microdata from thirteen European Union Member States collected during the 2014 Community Innovation Survey. The effects show that six out of seven drivers under assessment positively affect the introduction of innovations that replace fossil fuel energy with renewable energy sources. These are (1) the high cost of energy, water, or materials, (2) environmental regulations or taxes expected in the future, (3) existing environmental taxes, charges, or fees, (4) government grants, subsidies, or other financial incentives for environmental innovations, (5) current or expected market demand for environmental innovations, and (6) voluntary actions or initiatives for good environmental practice within a sector.
... Different from the traditional automobile industry, NEVs mainly use batteries as power to replace the traditional internal-combustion engine, so as to reduce emissions and greatly relieve the dependence on oil [2]. The NEV industry has not only become the core of the energy transformation and upgrading of the global automobile industry, but also has a close relationship with energy reform and the promotion of sustainable development [3]. At the 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Xi Jinping declared China's goal of "peak carbon dioxide emission and carbon neutrality" to the international community. ...
Under the dual pressure of energy transformation and environmental protection, how to use the innovative network and enhance technical innovation (TI) are significant problems for new energy vehicle (NEV) enterprises in China. Based on the patent data of China’s NEV industry from 2001 to 2022, combined with the logical framework of “Patent Analysis—Network Evolution—Empirical research”, this study deeply discusses the influence of enterprises’ innovative network on TI. It is shown that there is an inverse U-relationship between the cooperation breadth of the enterprises, and that the appropriate cooperation breadth favors TI. At the same time, structural holes, knowledge diversity and technical value have a significant positive impact on TI. In addition, the study performs a series of robustness tests and heterogeneity checks. The conclusions are conducive to further improving the study of the relationship between innovative networks and TI, which is important both theoretically and practically for promoting the energy transformation of automotive enterprises.
... Thereby, incumbents used tactics beyond those described in our study, such as mobilizing support within Congress to delay hearings and mobilizing pressure on members of Congress (Penna, 2014). Other accounts relate how industry incumbents in the U.S. accommodated to regulations and innovated technologies while lowering the costs of production (Lee et al., 2010). Comparative studies could also explore the concept of 'diverging innovation strategies', which are sensitive to local barriers and drivers for change (Bauner, 2007). ...
Most serious environmental and health problems caused by the transport sector stem from the automobile. While other sectors have reduced emissions, transport emissions have increased and the sector's sustainability transformation seems stalled. Why is that? And what role do incumbent automobile industry actors play? Relatively few scholars have focused on the behavior of these incumbents. Our study contributes towards filling this gap by analyzing two case studies of how the German automobile industry has reacted to environmental policy initiatives. Our analysis allows us to make several contributions to the literature. First, we demonstrate how industry and policy makers attempted to outmaneuver each other. Second, we illuminate several tactics employed by incumbents to resist change. And third, our analysis reveals a pattern of behavior that we argue is linked to the degree of pressure placed on incumbents. Most other attempts to identify patterns have prioritized the temporal dimension.
... Regarding the impact of the institutional environments on green technology innovation, domestic and foreign scholars have mostly explored it from the perspective of formal environmental regulation, but they have not formed a unified understanding. There are mainly the following viewpoints: firstly, moderate environmental regulation is conducive to promoting green technology innovation (Potter and Van der Linde, 1995;Lee et al., 2010); secondly, environmental regulation is detrimental to firms' technological innovation (Gray and Shadbegian, 2003;Blind, 2012); thirdly, the relationship between environmental regulation and green technology innovation is nonlinear and environmental regulation has a U-shaped or inverted U-shaped impact on green technology innovation (Peng et al., 2017;Du et al., 2019). The reason why the above conclusions are inconsistent is that the research object and observation period are different, and the mechanism of different types of environmental regulation on green technology innovation is also different (Wang and Qi, 2016). ...
Green technology innovation is an important driving force for the upgrading of the manufacturing value chain. The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of green technology innovation on the upgrading of the manufacturing value chain under institutional environments. To this aim, the panel data of 28 provinces in China from 2010 to 2019 and panel threshold regression model are applied. Empirical results show that the effect of green technology innovation on the upgrading of the manufacturing value chain is nonlinear under institutional environments. The effect of formal and informal institutional environments on the relationship between green technology innovation and the upgrading of the manufacturing value chain is also different. The positive effect of green technology innovation on the upgrading of the manufacturing value chain is best when the level of formal institutional environment is high and informal institutional environment is moderate. In addition, when we divide the sample into three regions (Eastern, Central, Western), the effect of green technology innovation on the upgrading of the manufacturing value chain under institutional environments shows regional heterogeneity. Hence, with this calculated optimal interval of institutional environments, the government can adjust and improve institutional environments so as to provide the most favorable institutional conditions for green technology innovation to promote the upgrading of the manufacturing value chain. This research is helpful for the government to make rational decisions according to the situation.
