There are various sources of funding in universities. There's government funding. There's private sector funding. I could argue, although I won't be very popular with my colleagues for doing this, that perhaps the funding wouldn't need to be more targeted at universities. Perhaps more industry funding would force people to focus on real problems.
I studied the history of university funding in the United States. Before the Second World War, most of the funding came from either private foundations or industry. There was plenty of innovation going on in those days. Then the government stepped in, of course, and we hired a lot more people at universities. But I would argue that perhaps some of that funding lacks the specific focus that industry would require.
At the same time, universities are in the business of doing fundamental research. Private businesses are in the business of developing practical technologies. I believe if there were promising technologies, plenty of venture capitalists and investors would invest in those things. I don't believe government funding overall is very significant in terms of funding innovation for promising technologies. If you look at the history of the development of greener technology practices, as soon as something looks really promising, capital will flow. That won't be a problem.