
Which Countries Lead on Energy Innovation, with David Hart
From Resources Radio by Resources for the Future
April 6, 2026 · 33 min
About this episode
David Hart discusses the Global Energy Innovation Index and its implications for energy innovation and climate policy.
For this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi is joined by David M. Hart, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and professor emeritus at George Mason University, to discuss the making and findings of CFR’s Global Energy Innovation Index. According to Hart, energy innovation—and policy that supports it—is crucial to addressing climate change. Through comprehensive data synthesis, Hart and his team created an index for 39 countries that evaluates a nation’s capacity to support energy innovation across three categories: the policy environment for investment, the market friendliness for new technologies, and the production of knowledge via research and patents. Results show that while Scandinavian countries take the lead overall in the index, the United States scores strongly in the policy and market measures and leaves room for improvement in terms of research and patents. The index provides a global lens on energy innovation efforts, Hart notes, as one country’s strides in technology can help spur innovation internationally. References and recommendations: “Global Energy Innovation Index” by David M. Hart, Colin Cunliff, Mia Beams, and Akkshath Subrahmanian…
People in this episode
Host: Daniel Raimi
Guest: David M. Hart
Topics covered
- energy innovation
- climate change
- policy
- technology
- global index
Keywords
- Global Energy Innovation Index
- CFR
- Scandinavian countries
- United States
- research
- patents
Mentioned in this episode
Products: Global Energy Innovation Index, Semiosis
Books & works: Semiosis
Places: the United States
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