negotiation watcher > technology
The main issue with technology in the future climate arrangement is how to transfer mitigation and adaptation technologies to developing countries. In the view of the technology transfer's key role in the fight over climate change, some developing countries consider Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) a barrier to the diffusion of technology and therefore would like to have their relaxation and incentives to the transfer of patent. On the other hand, developed countries want to keep the current IPRs system as it is, fearing a use of the future climate agreement to weaken existing IPRs. Even if the Copenhagen Accord establishes a Technology Mechanism to accelerate technology development and transfer in support of action on adaptation and mitigation, little progress has been done on this issue. The Cancún Agreements outline a preliminary structure to fully operationalise it, creating a Technology Executive Committee (TEC) and a Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), aimed at identifying technology needs and priorities in developing countries. Due to the strong opposition of developed countries, Parties decided to deliberately omit reference to the IPRs.
