Editing IPCC:AR6/SR15/Chapter-4 (section)

== 4.4.4.4 Technology transfer in the Paris Agreement ==

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Technology development and transfer is recognized as an enabler of both mitigation and adaptation in Article 10 in the Paris Agreement (UNFCCC, 2016) <sup>[[#fn:r1303|1303]]</sup> as well as in Article 4.5 of the original text of the UNFCCC (UNFCCC, 1992) <sup>[[#fn:r1304|1304]]</sup> . As previous sections have focused on technology development and diffusion, this section focuses on technology transfer. Technology transfer can adapt technologies to local circumstances, reduce financing costs, develop indigenous technology, and build capabilities to operate, maintain, adapt and innovate on technology globally (Ockwell et al., 2015; de Coninck and Sagar, 2017) <sup>[[#fn:r1305|1305]]</sup> . Technology cooperation could decrease global mitigation cost, and enhance developing countries’ mitigation contributions (Huang et al., 2017a) <sup>[[#fn:r1306|1306]]</sup> .

The international institutional landscape around technology development and transfer includes the UNFCCC (via its technology framework and Technology Mechanism including the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN)), the United Nations (a technology facilitation mechanism for the SDGs) and a variety of non-UN multilateral and bilateral cooperation initiatives such as the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR, founded in the 1970s), and numerous initiatives of companies, foundations, governments and non-governmental and academic organizations. Moreover, in 2015, twenty countries launched an initiative called ‘Mission Innovation’, seeking to double their energy R&amp;D funding. At this point it is difficult to evaluate whether Mission Innovation achieved its objective (Sanchez and Sivaram, 2017) <sup>[[#fn:r1307|1307]]</sup> . At the same time, the private sector started an innovation initiative called the ‘Breakthrough Energy Coalition’.

Most technology transfer is driven by through markets by the interests of technology seekers and technology holders, particularly in regions with well-developed institutional and technological capabilities such as developed and emerging nations (Glachant and Dechezleprêtre, 2016) <sup>[[#fn:r1308|1308]]</sup> . However, the current international technology transfer landscape has gaps, in particular in reaching out to least-developed countries, where institutional and technology capabilities are limited (de Coninck and Puig, 2015; Ockwell and Byrne, 2016) <sup>[[#fn:r1309|1309]]</sup> . On the one hand, literature suggests that the management or even monitoring of all these UN, bilateral, private and public initiatives may fail to lead to better results. On the other hand, it is probably more cost-effective to adopt a strategy of ‘letting a thousand flowers bloom’, by challenging and enticing researchers in the public and the private sector to direct innovation towards low-emission and adaptation options (Haselip et al., 2015) <sup>[[#fn:r1310|1310]]</sup> . This can be done at the same time as mission-oriented research is adopted in parallel by the scientific community (Mazzucato, 2018) <sup>[[#fn:r1311|1311]]</sup> .

At COP 21, the UNFCCC requested the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) to initiate the elaboration of the technology framework established under the Paris Agreement (UNFCCC, 2016) <sup>[[#fn:r1312|1312]]</sup> . Among other things, the technology framework would ‘provide overarching guidance for the work of the Technology Mechanism in promoting and facilitating enhanced action on technology development and transfer in order to support the implementation of this Agreement’ (this Agreement being the Paris Agreement). An enhanced guidance issued by the Technology Executive Committee (TEC) for preparing a technology action plan (TAP) supports the new technology framework as well as the Parties’ long-term vision on technology development and transfer, reflected in the Paris Agreement (TEC, 2016) <sup>[[#fn:r1313|1313]]</sup> .

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