Environmental innovation policy and SDGs in Europe: Interplay of patents, policy and R&D expenditures

Volkan Göçoğlu and Serkan Göksu

Journal of Policy Modeling, 2026, vol. 48, issue 1, 178-195

Abstract: The European Union's (EU) environmental innovation policy mainly adopts an incremental approach, with a superficial emphasis on sustainable development, lacking a specific focus on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Although the SDGs present a window of opportunity for a broader approach to innovative solutions to global environmental problems, their neglect also emerges in scholarly research on environmental innovation. Aiming to fill this gap, this study presents a novel and holistic incremental approach to the EU's environmental innovation policy by adopting the SDGs as the key framework and forming a comprehensive empirical model on 14 member countries with prominent variables consistent with the EU's official policies. The results suggest that governments should increase environmental policy stringency (EPS) and policymakers should foster research and development (R&D) expenditures and bolster environmental innovation to align with existing initiatives, particularly within SDGs 7, 9, and 13. Finally, indicators 9.4.1 for SDG9 and 13.2.1 for SDG13 can serve as essential reference points in strengthening the legal framework for EPS.

Keywords: Environmental innovation policy; Environment related patents; Environmental policy stringency; Research and development; Sustainable development goals (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jpolmo:v:48:y:2026:i:1:p:178-195

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpolmod.2025.04.002

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