OECD Report Measuring Science and Innovation for Sustainable Growth (2025): Calls for New Metrics to Link Science, Innovation and Sustainability
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure | SDG 13: Climate Action
Institutions: NITI Aayog | Ministry of Science & Technology | Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change
The OECD’s 2025 report, Measuring Science and Innovation for Sustainable Growth, argues that current global indicators capture how much countries spend on innovation, but not how effectively science and technology are driving sustainability outcomes. It presents a data-rich case for building new, outcome-oriented metrics linking research, innovation, and environmental impact.
The evidence is striking: electricity from large-scale solar PV is now 56 % cheaper than fossil fuels, and the global electric car fleet has tripled since 2021 to 58 million vehicles. In the median OECD country, 40 % of innovative firms introduced at least one environmentally beneficial innovation, while green-tech start-ups attracted 17 % of total venture capital. Yet only 5 % of public R&D budgets target low-carbon energy. Meanwhile, China now produces 40 % of the world’s most-cited environmental science papers and leads global patenting in clean technologies.
These shifts, the OECD warns, expose the limits of existing indicators focused narrowly on spending, patents, or publications. To close this gap, it proposes a three-pillar “measurement agenda”—to track how scientific knowledge translates into innovation, how innovation reduces environmental pressures, and how both reinforce sustainable growth.
For India, where initiatives such as the National Research Foundation (NRF) and Science, Technology & Innovation Policy Frameworks are expanding, the OECD’s findings underline the need for fit-for-purpose national indicators that go beyond R&D inputs. Integrating sustainability metrics into innovation measurement can help ministries assess whether science spending is translating into tangible climate benefits—supporting missions like National Climate Policy and Mission LiFE that aim to link research, behaviour, and green growth.
What is the National Climate Policy? → It refers to India’s overarching framework for climate action, aligned with its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. The policy brings together measures on renewable energy, energy efficiency, green finance, and adaptation, implemented through missions such as the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) and its state-level counterparts (SAPCCs). It guides ministries and states in achieving India’s net-zero goal by 2070.
What is Mission LiFE? → Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment), launched by the Prime Minister of India and the UN Secretary-General in 2022, encourages citizens to adopt sustainable everyday habits—like conserving energy, reducing waste, and promoting circular consumption. It shifts climate action from policy rooms to households, aiming to make responsible consumption a mass movement and complement national climate targets through behavioural change.
Follow the full report here:
OECD: Measuring Science and Innovation for Sustainable Growth (2025)