Transfer of low-carbon technology has not taken place fast enough to effectively mitigate climate change. One particularly contentious issue is the role of the TRIPS Agreement. This project attempts to interpret and amend TRIPS so as to facilitate low-carbon technology transfer.
Last Update: 01.08.12
Facilitating the transfer of climate friendly technologies from industrialized nations to developing countries has been put high on the political agenda in the ongoing negotiations on the post-Kyoto regime. Yet, such transfer has not taken place at a scale large enough to effectively mitigate climate change.
Different causes have been attributed to the slow and inadequate transfer of low-carbon technologies to developing countries. One particularly contentious issue is the role played by intellectual property right (IPR) regimes in the process of North-South technology transfer. On numerous occasions, policy makers and stakeholders in developing countries argued that the global IPR regime imposed by the WTO poses a (potential) barrier to transfer of low-carbon technologies. In contrast, companies with advanced technologies often cite insufficient IPR protection in developing countries as a barrier to technology transfer and suggest stronger protection, for example by full implementation of the TRIPS Agreement.
This divergence over the IPR issue in technology transfer threatens the long term prospects for combating climate change. There is urgent need to conduct in-depth study on the interface between the current global IPR regime and transfer of the low-carbon technologies.
This project analyzes the various aspects of technology transfer in international law as a first step. Then it assesses whether, and if so, to what extent the TRIPS Agreement facilitate or hinder low-carbon technology transfer and to what extent the balancing provisions in the TRIPS Agreement can help address global climate change concerns. Finally, it explores how the TRIPS Agreement could be interpreted or amended so as to promote technology transfer for climate change mitigation.
Wei Zhuang
Prof. Dr. Gabrielle Marceau; Prof. Dr. Jacques DeWerra
Funktionen, Zielsetzungen, Werte und Wertungskriterien
