Facts & Figures

Clean tech encompasses a constellation of environmentally-sustainable technologies spanning multiple value chains in four primary economic sectors - energy, water, materials and transportation. Individually, these technologies are focused on the optimization of natural resources. Collectively, they are the basic elements of a broader systemic response to the systemic challenges of sustainability.

Investment Trends

Clean technology typically tracks conventional energy prices, especially the price of crude oil.

If the past presages the future, clean tech will attract ample investment capital for decades to come as the world's oil supplies grow increasingly scarce.

Residuals have been declining — less than 47 weeks from 1901 on, less than 22 weeks from 1956 on, less than 11 weeks since 1994. While this trend has remained true for the most part, the clean tech space remained fairly stable compared to the price of oil last year, as indicated in the following graphic by Clean Edge.

Energy Innovation

Climate-related R&D funding has exploded in 2008 and 2009 and will likely be supported by generous national R&D budgets for the foreseeable future. In particular, a large share of the estimated $200 billion included in economic stimulus packages for “green” initiatives by national governments worldwide will be spent on R&D and technology deployment. In the United States, the federal budget for fiscal year 2009 included more substantial requrests for major agencies that fund atmospheric sciences and climate change rose dramatically, according to the American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS). In a recent analysis of federal R&D spending, AAAS concluded that:

"Research and development funding will rise $6.8 billion, or 4.7% over 2008, for departments and agencies covered by the 2009 omnibus U.S. budget bill approved by Congress and President Barack Obama, according to a new analysis by the AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Program. See the full analysis by the AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Program of the FY 2009 omnibus budget bill. Learn more about the AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Program After several years in which funding declined in real terms, the new budget will give every major R&D agency an increase surpassing the rate of inflation, the report found. The federal government's financial stimulus plan would further increase funding for many of the agencies."