Germany’s role as a pioneer in environmental policy was justified in the past by first mover advantages. The development of the German solar power industry has cast doubts onto this premise. Therefore, the research project studied Lead Markets and first and second mover strategies and was funded by the German Ministry for Education and Research under its funding priority “Economics for Sustainability”.

The concluding conference presented studies on lead markets in six different environmental technologies. Two of these studies were conducted at FFU: Rainer Quitzow studied the development of the solar sector in Germany, China and India, while Holger Bär studied the strategies to promote electric cars in Germany and China. Both working papers can be downloaded at: http://kooperationen.zew.de/lead-markets/ergebnisse.html

Besides that, Dr. Klaus Jacob presented options for political strategies how new pioneering strategies could be designed in the context of global changes and in particular the role of BRICS countries. Prof. Dr. Martin Jänicke added to this discussion with a presentation on frugal innovations in emerging economies, their connection to environmental innovations and the lead market approach.

Further information on the event and its programme can be found at: http://www.zew.de/leadmarketsconference2013