The Asia-Pacific region is leaning towards the development of low-emission technology

Scaling up renewable energy solutions and energy efficiency will be key drivers of the shift away from fossil fuels.¹ We used the MSCI Low Carbon Patent Score² assessment of the future innovation potential of low-emission technologies of enterprises.³ Companies in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region may be well-positioned to benefit from the climate transition.

Collectively, participants in the MSCI AC Asia Pacific Investable Market Index (IMI) had higher average patent quality scores for renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies than their global peers in the MSCI World IMI. These gaps were particularly visible in the areas of transportation, battery storage, solar energy and hydrogen fuels.

Notable technology included research and development of perovskite solar cells and high-voltage electric current lines for wind energy. Automakers have also increased the speed and scale of their transportation solutions, including electric vehicles (EVs), battery EVs, hybrid vehicles and fuel cell cars, in a bid to achieve price parity with conventional cars.⁴ Many of them have also invested in hydrogen fuel supply chains and start-ups. Government subsidies and tax breaks can help these companies further scale the implementation of low-emission solutions.⁵