Clean technologies have the potential to generate 10 million jobs in India by 2025 if a strong intellectual property system is preserved, says a new report.
Looking at the growth of Indian economy and energy consumption in the country, the report says green technologies will have a key role to play in an evolving climate-friendly world. Since solar, biofuel, nuclear, wind, hydrogen, thermal and hydroelectric power sources are driven by strong property rights, the report argues for the government to undertake a prominent role in the protection of clean technology innovation rights, particularly since the country is home to leading companies like Suzlon, Tata BP Solar and Moser Baer PV Technologies.
The report, A policy approach for supporting clean energy technology in India, by the coalition for innovation, employment and development, comes at a time when developing countries have been calling for a fresh approach to get around the contentious issue of intellectual property rights to enable transfer of clean technologies from industrialised to developing countries.
Technology transfer is one of the key issues in the ongoing global climate change talks in Barcelona, which ends on Friday. The other unresolved issues by the time UN climate change summit takes place in Copenhagen in December, include emission reduction targets of industrialised countries, limiting the growth of emissions of developing countries, and financial support to developing countries to undertake adaptation and mitigation to climate change.
Developing countries have put forward solutions ranging from placing intellectual property rights related to climate change technologies in the public domain to compulsory licensing and buying them down. These technology transfer proposals are sought to be supported by mechanisms like the multilateral clean technology fund, multilateral technology acquisition fund, world climate change fund, and venture capital fund.
Indias proposal to set up climate innovation centres, which has been well received, would support innovation in climate change adaptation and mitigation technologies at regional levels, keeping their respective requirements and competencies in view.
Source: The Financial Express
Published on 07 November 2009