OECD Science and Technology Policy Ministerial

Plenary session 3: A transformative science, technology and innovation agenda for the green transition

Apr 24, 2024 | 8:15 AM - 9:45 AM

CC15

Description

In room CC15.

A Transformative Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Agenda for Green and Just Transitions 
Main issues

Access the Agenda for Transformative Science, Technology and Innovation Policies
  • Without a major acceleration in low-carbon innovation, reaching net‐zero emissions by 2050 will be unachievable. Reaching this target requires rapid large-scale deployment of available technologies, such as wind and solar, as well as the development and widespread use of technologies that are far from mature today, such as green hydrogen. It also requires behavioural change. Concerns are mounting that progress to date is not proportionate to the urgency or magnitude of evolving global challenges. The climate emergency requires nothing short of a profound transformation of sectors like energy, heavy industry, agrifood and transportation. To make this transition possible there is also need for a broad range of complementary measures, such as reducing demand for some forms of transportation by, for instance, redesigning cities, increasing telework, improving public transport and logistics, and so forth.  
  • Governments must be more ambitious and act with greater urgency in their policies for science, technology, and innovation (STI) to help meet these challenges. This calls for renewed thinking in how STI policy is situated, developed, and implemented (OECD, 2023c). Governments will need to revisit STI policy models, visions, targets, and instruments with a view to adapting them or displacing them in favour of others better suited to achieving sustainability transitions.    
  • While STI is critical to economic growth, advances in technology have occurred in parallel with, and in some cases played a role in driving, growing social divides. However, a green and justice-based transition could also bring social benefits. Promoting inclusive economic renewal involves resetting economic models to significantly advance inclusion and diversity. Measures are also needed to increase the resilience of socio-economic systems (e.g., in supply chains, energy production systems) to better absorb, recover from and adapt to change, a need underscored by the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Access the Agenda for Transformative Science, Technology and Innovation Policies
Download the key issue note
Key questions for discussion
  • The OECD Agenda for Transformative Science, Technology and Innovation Policies underscores the importance of integrating STI into whole-of-government approaches for accelerating transitions. What has been your country’s experience in co-ordinating with different ministries to set and implement ambitious measures for sustainability transitions? Please outline specific lessons or successes related to targeted policy examples.    
  • To the extent you work with experimentation in policymaking, can you provide some lessons or good practice from efforts to integrate or scale up experimentation and/or specific policy innovations into mainstream policy? This could relate to specific policy examples like regulatory sandboxes, living labs, or agile funding instruments, among others.   
Download the key issue note

Key resources

STIP Compass

STI policies for net zero portal

A portal that brings together sectoral and STI policy communities to provide insights on countries’ STI policies for reaching net zero.
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Brochure

CSTP's work on mission-oriented innovation policies 

To better understand the challenges and results of different MOIP initiatives in various national and thematic contexts, and help governments design, fund and coordinate these initiatives
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Brochure

OECD Mission Action Lab

The OECD Mission Action Lab – a joint initiative of the Directorate for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Observatory of Public Sector Innovation, and the Development Co-Operation Directorate – advises public sector organisations in defining, setting up and governing missions.
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Brochure

MOIP Country studies

The OECD proposes deep-dive country studies that provide in-depth analysis on mission-oriented innovation policies (MOIPs) and how they are situated in the broader national STI system.
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