Green technology innovation development in China in 1990-2015.

Patent data present a number of advantages compared to other alternative measures of innovation. This paper presents research on the use of environmentally relevant technology patent data using a comprehensive analysis method to analyze the development of green technology innovation in China in 1990-2015. From the analysis, it can be concluded that during the period of 2000-2015, China's environmental-related technology innovation made great progress and was at the forefront of green technology growth; in particular, the areas of water and wastewater treatment, solar photovoltaic (PV) energy, lighting, improvements related to bulk or fine chemicals or pharmaceuticals, electric vehicles, and other technologies made great achievements. These technologies are closely related to environmental policies, such as climate change mitigation and green industry transformation, for which China has been advocating for more than a decade. However, after analyzing China's green development, it was found that, although some of the indicators, environmental-related patents, and green developments have made great progress, complete reliance on green technology is far off in the future.