Geography and the speed of green technology diffusion

A fast adoption and diffusion of green technologies will be essential for a successful transition of the world’s economies towards more sustainable modes of production and consumption. This article investigates the speed of green technology diffusion in China using a unique data set, which lists geocoded patent licence agreements for green technologies from 2000–2019. We focus on the relation between spatial determinants, including geographic proximity and regional technological specialisation, and the time-to-adoption, thus analysing the factors explaining the time between technology development (patent application) and technology adoption (licencing). The main finding is that geographic proximity to the innovator is associated with an accelerated time-to-adoption. Moreover, we find that the more a region specialises in green technologies, the faster a patent is licenced within that region.