Page 213 - Low Carbon Development in China and India
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for success. Although technology and non-technology innovation have
been normally differentiated for research, in practice they very often
go hand-in-hand.
Recent times have seen several concerns about the future
sustainability of economic growth, social upheavals, and environmental
degradation patterns, underpinning the need for a greener model of
growth. However, the existing production technology and consumer
behaviour can produce positive outcomes only up to a point or
a frontier; beyond which depleting natural capital has negative
consequences for overall growth of the economy. According to OECD
(2010), innovation can push the frontier outward and help to decouple
growth from natural resource degradation. Innovation is the key to
developing low carbon technologies that will underpin transition to a
low carbon economy, and make it affordable and accessible.
Different external factors can influence innovation fostering low
carbon development (LCD)—these may be barriers or incentives to
the diffusion of the low carbon technology, products and outputs. If
innovation does not contribute to a low carbon economic growth, the
nature and level of innovation activity needs to be changed. These
modifications could occur regarding all types of innovation, the quality
of knowledge and technologies, and the institutional or organizational
arrangements. As markets might not always be able to generate
outcomes promoting low carbon development due to market failure,
there is a need for policy intervention. These policy interventions can
trigger innovation activity that may generate more ‘greener ’outcomes
in the long run.
Various policy instruments could be used for supporting low
carbon innovation such as, support for R&D, regulation, eco-labelling,
technology procurement, technology legitimization and standards,
voluntary agreements and self-regulation, etc. Although a larger
role has been attributed to scientific research, however, regulatory,
financial, cultural, institutional, and political instruments are equally
important for understanding the problems of sustainability and
designing efficient solutions. Law and regulation play a very important
role in the context of innovation in general and innovation for low
carbon development in particular, in terms of providing an enabling
environment for incentivizing innovation, while ensuring that the
innovations cater to the larger public good. The role of the intellectual
property rights regime is particularly relevant in this context and has
assumed a central role in the debate on technology transfer (of low
carbon technologies) from developed countries to the developing
178 Low Carbon Development in China and India
been normally differentiated for research, in practice they very often
go hand-in-hand.
Recent times have seen several concerns about the future
sustainability of economic growth, social upheavals, and environmental
degradation patterns, underpinning the need for a greener model of
growth. However, the existing production technology and consumer
behaviour can produce positive outcomes only up to a point or
a frontier; beyond which depleting natural capital has negative
consequences for overall growth of the economy. According to OECD
(2010), innovation can push the frontier outward and help to decouple
growth from natural resource degradation. Innovation is the key to
developing low carbon technologies that will underpin transition to a
low carbon economy, and make it affordable and accessible.
Different external factors can influence innovation fostering low
carbon development (LCD)—these may be barriers or incentives to
the diffusion of the low carbon technology, products and outputs. If
innovation does not contribute to a low carbon economic growth, the
nature and level of innovation activity needs to be changed. These
modifications could occur regarding all types of innovation, the quality
of knowledge and technologies, and the institutional or organizational
arrangements. As markets might not always be able to generate
outcomes promoting low carbon development due to market failure,
there is a need for policy intervention. These policy interventions can
trigger innovation activity that may generate more ‘greener ’outcomes
in the long run.
Various policy instruments could be used for supporting low
carbon innovation such as, support for R&D, regulation, eco-labelling,
technology procurement, technology legitimization and standards,
voluntary agreements and self-regulation, etc. Although a larger
role has been attributed to scientific research, however, regulatory,
financial, cultural, institutional, and political instruments are equally
important for understanding the problems of sustainability and
designing efficient solutions. Law and regulation play a very important
role in the context of innovation in general and innovation for low
carbon development in particular, in terms of providing an enabling
environment for incentivizing innovation, while ensuring that the
innovations cater to the larger public good. The role of the intellectual
property rights regime is particularly relevant in this context and has
assumed a central role in the debate on technology transfer (of low
carbon technologies) from developed countries to the developing
178 Low Carbon Development in China and India
