Washington, DC May 2008 - Background Materials
The following is a list of background materials on Technology Innovation and Climate Change with a brief description of each document and links to the document.
- Community R&D Information Service (CORDIS). “Patent Forum Asks How IPRs Can Help Solve Climate Problem,” May 8, 2008. Available at the CORDIS website. (Developing countries defend IPRs as necessary to stimulate and reward innovation, whereas developed countries see IPRs as a barrier to technology transfer. However, to date the debates over the role of IPRs in clean technology development and transfer have been largely theoretical.)
- De Boer, Yvo. “Inventing a Cleaner Future: Climate Change and the
Opportunity for Intellectual Property,” Presentation at the European Patent Forum 2008, May 7, 2008. Available at the EPO.org website. (A revolutionary international clean energy technology mechanism must address all stages of the technology cycle, from innovation to application, with consideration of funding and policy for each stage. A special patent regime for climate change might include public ownership of IPRs and public-private partnerships in purchasing commitments, voluntary buy-outs of IPRs, and compulsory licensing.) - Georghiou, Luke. “
Europe ’s Research System Must Change,” Commentary, Nature, April 2008. (To more effectively address Europe ’s economic, social, and environmental goals, research must be more effectively coordinated with policy and regulation setting.) - G8 Summit Declaration 2007, Growth and Responsibility in the World Economy, available at http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/92264.pdf. (In Heiligendamm, the G8 countries agreed to urgently develop and deploy clean energy technologies in all areas of energy production and use and to collaboratively accelerate the widespread adoption of clean energy technologies in developing economies.)
- Kahn, Debra. “More than Half of State’s Emissions Cuts to be Achieved Through Regulation.” Climate Wire, May 14, 2008. (
California plans to give direct regulation a larger role than emissions trading in fighting climate change, with a majority of emissions reductions coming from regulations on specific sectors of the economy.) - Pearce, Fred. “Dirty, Sexy Money,” New Scientist, April 19, 2008. (Cap and trade systems may deliver big profits while doing little to curb climate change.)
- Peilke, Roger, Tom Wigely, and Christopher Green. “Dangerous Assumptions,” Commentary, Nature, April 2008. (Technological advances needed to stabilize carbon dioxide emissions may be much greater than previously believed. Policy must focus directly on motivating technological innovation.)
- Revkin, Andrew C. “The Technology Gap in the Climate Debate,” New York Times, Dot Earth (blog), April 2, 2008. Available at http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/02/the-technology-gap-in-the-climate-debate/. (As economists, scientists, and energy policy experts increasingly criticize existing approaches to climate stabilization, the relative merits of markets, science, and personal behavior need to be explored.)
- Rosenthal, Elisabeth. “
Europe Turns Back to Coal, Raising Climate Fears.” New York Times, April 23, 2008. Available at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/world/europe/23coal.html?hp. (Faced with rising energy demand, soaring oil and natural gas prices, energy security concerns, and political opposition to nuclear energy, European countries plan to build about 50 coal-fired plants over the next five years—plants with operating lives of some five decades.) - Xinhua Press. “
China Calls for Technology Transfer, Fund to Address Climate Change.” Thaindian News, April 24, 2008. Available at http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/china-calls-for-technology-transfer-fund-to-address-climate-change_10041560.html. (Emphasizing that breakthrough technologies are crucial to stabilizing the climate, a senior Chinese official has called on the international community to develop a mechanism for clean energy technology development and transfer.)