Climate change, technology transfer and intellectual property rights
Technological solutions are imperative in meeting the challenges of climate change. A critical factor in greenhouse gas emissions, technology is also fundamental to enhancing existing abilities and lowering the costs of reducing these emissions. Broad diffusion of current technologies and transition to new ones, for example, are expected to improve efficiency in energy use, introduce less carbon-intensive sources of energy, and further develop renewable energy sources. Indeed, the transition to a low-carbon economy, as all previous energy transitions in history, will be driven by cycles of technological discontinuities and innovations. In this context, the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol require Parties to promote and cooperate in the development and diffusion, including transfer, of technologies that control, reduce or prevent GHG emissions.
Enhanced action on technology development and transfer will also be central in enabling the full, effective and sustained implementation of the UNFCCC beyond 2012, as recognized in the Bali Action Plan.
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