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Copenhagen Consensus Center

Fix The Climate: Sharing Green Technology Assessment, Yang

Assessment Paper

The working paper used by the Expert Panel is available for download here, the finalized paper has been published in Smart Solutions to Climate Change by Cambridge University Press.

Technology transfer is the process of sharing skills, knowledge and technological breakthroughs among governments and other institutions to ensure that scientific and technological developments are accessible to a wider range of users.

In this research paper, Professor Yang finds that  Technology Transfers are an effective and comprehensive approach for dealing with climate change, because international cooperation on both greenhouse gas mitigation and adaptation must involve transfers of technologies or dissemination of knowledge.

Professor Yang provides a tentative estimation of a benefit and cost ratio (B/C ratio) of technology transfers in climate change. Quantifying this ratio is extremely difficult due to the diversity of technologies and different institutional settings of transfers.

Major findings include: magnitudes of technology transfers are policy-related and vary significantly in different policy scenarios; enabling technology transfers always have net gains and are thus desirable; assessing the benefits and costs of technology transfers must be in connection with the underlining policies; promoting tangible and intangible technology transfers is crucial for dealing with climate change.