E3G

Copenhagen Climate Deal Business Briefing: Innovation and Technology Cooperation

By Nick Mabey, Shane Tomlinson, Jennifer Morgan

Fundamentally climate related innovation will reach new markets when companies are presented with the right balance of risk and reward. Action is therefore required to increase the size and certainty of markets and overcome other market failures to drive private investment. The private sector should work to ensure Copenhagen provides a strong signal on the future evolution of the carbon market, targeted support for the development and demonstration of technologies, market regulation and access issues and structures to maintain incentives for future innovation investment.
This urgent need points to several key questions for business engagement:

1. How can we achieve a global goal to increase public RD&D and diffusion support on the scale required to stabilise temperature rises below 2oC?
In the past discussions have focused on either taking emissions reductions targets or technology targets, but it is now clear that we need both. The European Commission has proposed quadrupling energy related RD&D from current levels by 2020. Will this be sufficient? What about other sectors?

2. What institutional structure is required inside and outside of the UNFCCC?
How can the UNFCCC link to existing structures? What frameworks are required to ensure outcome based technology cooperation? How can we generate international technology action programmes with private sector involvement for key strategic technologies?

3. What is the best way to facilitate international joint-ventures and public-private partnerships?
The Copenhagen Deal is likely to drive more collaborative R&D with emerging economies such as China and India. How can we produce more effective models for co-development and joint-ventures? How can we ensure effective private sector participation in this process?

4. How can we protect incentives for climate-related innovation while enabling the benefits to be shared at the necessary speed?

A “protect and share” agreement involving government-to-government commitments for IPR and licensing of climate technology could resolve this dilemma. On the one hand, multilateral funding could help developing countries to strengthen their IPR protection measures consistent with existing commitments under WIPO and the WTO. On the other hand, enhanced IPR protection would be balanced by a framework agreement for the use of existing provisions to accelerate the diffusion of technology. This should include actions such as the use of parallel markets, advance purchase commitments, compulsory licensing, pay to licence systems and the use of Global Commons. How can business and countries come together to have a productive conversation on IPR issues? What will it require to build trust in this area? How can we ensure that taxpayers receive a fair return for supporting private sector activities?

For more information or to discuss these issues further please contact Shane Tomlinson.