Page 97 - Low Carbon Development in China and India
P. 97
• Triple public sector investment in technology RD&D, particularly
in promising energy technologies such as CSP, advanced biofuels,
advanced vehicles, and capital-intensive technologies such as CCS
and IGCC, which have significant potential but still face technology
and cost challenges.
• Facilitate the emergence of ‘game changing’ technologies—
innovations that could dramatically alter the energy landscape like
the shale gas extraction technology. Technology policy needs to be
able to enable, identify, and support positive disruptive processes
and technologies.
• Invest in cross-cutting technology areas—such as advanced
materials, nanotechnologies, life sciences, green chemistry,
and information and communication technologies—because
breakthroughs in energy technology often depend on progress in
other fields. For example, chemistry research helps increase the
efficiency with which energy is generated, transmitted, stored,
and used. Advanced materials research is essential to develop and
produce more efficient photovoltaic products, lighter vehicles and
better batteries, and enable ultra-supercritical coal-fired power
plants, hydrogen storage, and fusion power. China and India can
examine how research advances in other fields could cross-fertilize
innovation and accelerate energy technology development.
• Expand international technology collaboration to increase and
leverage public and private resources and improve efficiency of
national energy RD&D investments.
• Improve public and private RD&D data quality, completeness,
transparency, and mutual sharing among domestic organizations
and institutes.
• Provide support for business innovation in addition to RD&D-
related government-run programmes (e.g., support for venture
capital, public–private partnerships and business networks, nascent
entrepreneurial activities) and create explicit links between research
programmes and market needs to encourage cost reductions,
information sharing and technology transfer.
• Combine public funding programmes with policies that foster
demand (e.g., pricing mechanisms, public procurement, minimum
energy performance standards) in order to attract private
investment, enable continued learning and cost reductions,
help available technologies penetrate the market faster, and
improve the long-term cost-effectiveness and feasibility of climate
policy. This will require mechanisms to enhance government
62 Low Carbon Development in China and India
in promising energy technologies such as CSP, advanced biofuels,
advanced vehicles, and capital-intensive technologies such as CCS
and IGCC, which have significant potential but still face technology
and cost challenges.
• Facilitate the emergence of ‘game changing’ technologies—
innovations that could dramatically alter the energy landscape like
the shale gas extraction technology. Technology policy needs to be
able to enable, identify, and support positive disruptive processes
and technologies.
• Invest in cross-cutting technology areas—such as advanced
materials, nanotechnologies, life sciences, green chemistry,
and information and communication technologies—because
breakthroughs in energy technology often depend on progress in
other fields. For example, chemistry research helps increase the
efficiency with which energy is generated, transmitted, stored,
and used. Advanced materials research is essential to develop and
produce more efficient photovoltaic products, lighter vehicles and
better batteries, and enable ultra-supercritical coal-fired power
plants, hydrogen storage, and fusion power. China and India can
examine how research advances in other fields could cross-fertilize
innovation and accelerate energy technology development.
• Expand international technology collaboration to increase and
leverage public and private resources and improve efficiency of
national energy RD&D investments.
• Improve public and private RD&D data quality, completeness,
transparency, and mutual sharing among domestic organizations
and institutes.
• Provide support for business innovation in addition to RD&D-
related government-run programmes (e.g., support for venture
capital, public–private partnerships and business networks, nascent
entrepreneurial activities) and create explicit links between research
programmes and market needs to encourage cost reductions,
information sharing and technology transfer.
• Combine public funding programmes with policies that foster
demand (e.g., pricing mechanisms, public procurement, minimum
energy performance standards) in order to attract private
investment, enable continued learning and cost reductions,
help available technologies penetrate the market faster, and
improve the long-term cost-effectiveness and feasibility of climate
policy. This will require mechanisms to enhance government
62 Low Carbon Development in China and India
