From technology transfer to technology absorption: addressing climate technology gaps in Africa

Abstract

Despite many years of technology transfer to Africa under various mechanisms and programmes of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Africa remains the continent with the lowest level of technology required for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Several studies on how to fix Africa's climate technology needs, including policy prescriptions by African leaders, tend to focus primarily on the need for more technology transfer to the African continent. In contrast, this article emphasises how African countries can proactively address current technology gaps by strengthening their domestic capacities to absorb, assimilate and deploy imported climate technologies. This article examines the importance of climate technology absorption as a critical component of a holistic climate technology diffusion plan for Africa. It discusses inadequate access to information about imported climate technologies, weak legal protection for imported technologies, lack of domestic capacities to deploy and maintain imported technologies, the weak regulatory environment to stimulate clean technology entrepreneurship, and the absence or inadequacy of climate change laws, as barriers that must be addressed in order to effectively bridge current climate technology gaps in Africa.

Keywords:

• climate technology
• absorption capacity
• entrepreneurship
• innovation
• Africa

Notes

1 See D Olawuyi, ‘Proposal for a Climate Compensation Mechanism for Small Island States: Response to Maxine Burkett’ (2015) 13 Santa Clara J Int’l L 133; also, A Ben Mohamed, N van Duivenbooden and S Abdoussallam, ‘Impact of Climate Change on Agricultural Production in the Sahel – Part 1. Methodological Approach and Case Study for Millet in Niger’ (2002) 54 Climatic Change 327.

2 The Sahel region covers nine countries: Burkina Faso, Chad, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and The Gambia. These countries have dual vulnerability to climate change, both as arid countries in the Sahel region and as impoverished small island states. See A Chappell and C Agnew, ‘Modelling Climate Change in West African Sahel Rainfall (1931–90) as an Artifact of Changing Station Locations’ (2004) 24 Int’l J Climatology 547.

3 Water is a scarce resource in all Sahel countries. Besides erratic rainfall patterns, poor soils and unfavourable socio-economic conditions are key constraints to agricultural development in Sahelian states. See A Dietz, R Ruben and Jan Verhagen, ‘The Impact of Climate Change on Drylands with a Focus on West Africa’ (2001) 39 Env’t & Pol’y 465.

4 See I Ajibade and D Olawuyi, ‘Climate Change Impacts on Housing and Property Rights in Nigeria and Panama: Toward a Rights-Based Approach to Adaptation and Mitigation’ in D Stucker and E Lopez-Gunn (eds), Adaptation to Climate Change through Water Resources Management: Capacity, Equity and Sustainability (Routledge 2014) 264–84.

5 African Development Bank, ‘Solutions for a Changing Climate: African Development Bank's Response to Impacts in Africa’ (African Development Bank 2012) 2; also, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), ‘Climate Change: Impacts, Vulnerabilities and Adaptation in Developing Countries’ (UNFCCC Secretariat 2007) https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/publications/impacts.pdf accessed 10 May 2017.

6 United Nations Development Programme, ‘Handbook for Conducting Technology Needs Assessment for Climate Change’ (United Nations Development Programme, 2010) ix. Achieving climate change mitigation and adaptation goals will only be possible through large-scale deployment of climate technologies. See, for example, the 2007 Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which concluded that GHG stabilisation levels could be achieved by the deployment of a ‘portfolio of technologies that are currently available and those that are expected to be commercialised in coming decades’: IPCC, Climate Change 2007: Mitigation of Climate Change, Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Summary for Policymakers (Cambridge University Press 2008) 16; also, the Stern Review of 2007 noted that, ‘the development and deployment of a wide range of low-carbon technologies is essential in achieving the deep cuts in emissions that are needed’. N Stern, The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review (Cambridge University Press 2007) xix.

7 Some African countries – for example, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda – have already made progress in promoting the use of ‘soft’ climate technologies, such as locally made fuel-efficient cooking stoves, as a way of reducing the deforestation and GHG emission effects of burning wood for cooking. As well, the African Development Bank, alongside regional and national governments across the continent, has increased efforts aimed at promoting climate-resilient infrastructure development. However, despite these efforts, the development and deployment of advanced climate technologies remain very low in Africa. See African Development Bank, ‘Poor Technological Capability Undermining Africa's Growth Potential’ (11 January 2014) www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/article/poor-technological-capability-undermining-africas-growth-potential-13684 accessed 19 May 2017; African Development Bank, ‘Solutions for a Changing Climate’ (n 5) 29; United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), ‘Innovation and Technology Transfer for Enhanced Productivity and Competitiveness in Africa’ (Background Paper, 2014) at paras 1–2.

8 See IPCC, Methodological and Technological Issues in Technology Transfer: Summary for Policymakers (Special Report of Working Group III Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press 2000) 3; also, P Speser, The Art and Science of Technology Transfer (Wiley 2006) xxii–xxiii; B Biagini and others, ‘Technology Transfer for Adaptation’ (2014) 4 Nature Climate Change 828.

9 See B Oyelaran-Oyeyinka and P Gehl Sampath, Latecomer Development: Innovation and Knowledge for Economic Growth (Routledge 2010) 1–15; also, V Ruttan, Technology, Growth and Development: An Induced Innovation Perspective (Oxford University Press 2001).

10 See UNFCCC, Marrakech Action Proclamation for Our Climate and Sustainable Development https://unfccc.int/files/meetings/marrakech_nov_2016/application/pdf/marrakech_action_proclamation.pdf accessed 13 June 2017.

11 See Adoption of the Paris Agreement, UNFCCC Conference of the Parties, 21st Session, UN Doc FCCC/CP/2015/10/Add.1 (12 December 2015) at 9 http://unfccc.int/files/home/application/pdf/paris_agreement.pdf accessed 12 May 2017.

12 Article 4(5) of the UNFCCC provides that developed countries ‘shall promote, facilitate and finance, as appropriate, the transfer of, or access to, environmentally sound technologies and know-how’ needed by developing country parties to meet the targets of emission reductions. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, 20 January 1994, A/RES/48/189).

13 See UNFCCC, ‘Capacity Building for Technology Transfer in the African Context: Priorities and Strategies’ 1–5 https://unfccc.int/files/documentation/workshops_documentation/application/pdf/maya.pdf accessed 13 June 2017, rightly noting that, although it sounds crude, the reality is that climate technology internalisation is yet to be fully ingrained in the thought process at governance levels in Africa. See also African Development Bank, ‘Poor Technological Capability Undermining Africa's Growth Potential’ (n 7).

14 See, for example, UNECA (n 7); also J Boldt and others, Overcoming Barriers to the Transfer and Diffusion of Climate Technologies (UNEP Risø Centre 2012) 130; N Agola, Technology Transfer and Economic Growth in Sub-Sahara African Countries: Lessons from East Asia (Springer Nature 2016) 7–21; F Castellacci, ‘Closing the Technology Gap?’ (2011) 15 Review of Development Economics 180.

15 The key focus area of the Technology Mechanism is to facilitate the implementation of enhanced action on technology development and transfer. By focusing exclusively on technology development and transfer, the Technology Mechanism has done little, so far, in addressing barriers to the absorption and deployment of climate technologies in technology-importing countries. See UNFCCC, ‘Technology Mechanism’ http://unfccc.int/ttclear/misc_/StaticFiles/gnwoerk_static/TEM/0e7cc25f3f9843ccb98399df4d47e219/174ad939936746b6bfad76e30a324e78.pdf accessed 12 May 2017.

16 UNFCCC, ‘Benefits of the Clean Development Mechanism’ (2011) https://cdm.unfccc.int/about/dev_ben/ABC_2011.pdf accessed 4 October 2017.

17 IPCC, Methodological and Technological Issues in Technology Transfer: Summary for Policymakers (Special Report of Working Group III, IPCC 2000).

18 See UNECA, ‘A Technological Resurgence? Africa in the Global Flows of Technology’ (Paper for the UNECA Series on Technology Transfer for Africa's Development, UNECA/ICT, Science and Technology Division 2010) http://repository.uneca.org/handle/10855/459 accessed 20 June 2017; also UNFCCC, ‘Capacity Building for Technology Transfer in the African Context’ (n 13) at 4–5.

19 See Patricia Succar, ‘International Technology Transfer: A Model of Endogenous Technological Assimilation’ (1987) 26 Journal of Development Economics 375; W Cohen and DA Levinthal, ‘Innovation and Learning: The Two Faces of R&D’ (1989) 99(397) The Economic Journal 569; W Cohen and DA Levinthal, ‘Absorptive Capacity: A New Perspective of Learning and Innovation’ (1990) 35 Administrative Science Quarterly 128; G Dosi, ‘The Nature of Innovative Process’ in G Dosi and others (eds), Technical Change and Economic Theory (Pinter 2001); G Stock, N Greis and WA Fischer, ‘Absorptive Capacity and New Product Development’ (2001) 12 Journal of High Technology Management Research 77.

20 M Nieto and P Quevedo, ‘Absorptive Capacity, Technological Opportunity, Knowledge Spillovers, and Innovative Effort’ (2005) 25 Technovation 1141; A Arbussa and G Coenders, ‘Innovation Activities, Use of Appropriation Instruments and Absorptive Capacity: Evidence from Spanish Firms’ (2007) 36 Research Policy 1545; F Castellacci and M Natera, ‘The Dynamics of National Innovation Systems: A Panel Cointegration Analysis of the Coevolution Between Innovative Capability and Absorptive Capacity’ (2013) 42 Research Policy 579.

21 See B Xu, ‘Multinational Enterprises, Technology Diffusion, and Host Country Productivity Growth’ (2000) 62 Journal of Development Economics 477.

22 UNECA, ‘A Technological Resurgence?’ (n 18).

23 See UNFCCC, ‘Compilation and Synthesis of Technology Transfer Activities Reported in the Fifth National Communications’ (2011) http://unfccc.int/ttclear/misc_/StaticFiles/gnwoerk_static/IMS_BLS/a70e62d7861e4f1c9a6fb250af63d1c2/56314f26379d4df4aa8dd1285d438036.pdf accessed 10 June 2017; also K Das, ‘Technology Transfer under the Clean Development Mechanism: An Empirical Study of 1000 CDM Projects’ (2011) The Governance of Clean Development, Working Paper Series No 14, Economic and Social Research Council and University of East Anglia; A Dechezleprêtre and others, ‘The Clean Development Mechanism and the International Diffusion of Technologies’ (2008) 36 Energy Policy 1273; N Kreibich and others, ‘An Update on the Clean Development Mechanism in Africa in Times of Market Crisis’ (2017) 9 Climate and Development 178.

24 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Report on Climate Change (African Regional Implementation Review for the 14th Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-14) Report on Climate Change) 2–3, highlighting lack of access to technology and cultural practices as key barriers to reducing Africa's climate change vulnerability.

25 Ibid.

26 See United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Transfer of Technology and Knowledge Sharing for Development: Science, Technology and Innovation Issues for Developing Countries (UNCTAD Current Series on Science, Technology and Innovation, Vol 8, 2014) 5–14; S Zahra and G George, ‘Absorptive Capacity: A Review, Reconceptualization and Extension’ (2002) 27 Academy of Management Review 185; Arbussa and Coenders (n 20).

27 See UNECA, ‘Innovation and Technology Transfer for Enhanced Productivity and Competitiveness in Africa’ (n 7) at para 42 stating that making the best of transferred technology, adapting it to the local conditions and culture, usually requires active learning, which is not costless.

28 See Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice, UNFCCC, Third Synthesis Report on Technology Needs Identified by Parties Not Included in Annex I to the Convention (2013) http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2013/sbsta/eng/inf07.pdf accessed 3 June 2017. Reports for the respective countries are available at http://unfccc.int/ttclear/tna/reports.html accessed 21 May 2017.

29 George O Essegbey, Barnabas Amisigo, Delali Nutsukpo, KY Oppong-Boadi and Daniel Benefo, Ghana: Technology Needs Assessment: Report on Barrier Analysis and Enabling Framework for Diffusion of Prioritized Adaptation Technologies in the Water and Agriculture Sectors (Technology Needs Assessment Team, 2013) ix–xi.

30 See ibid at 15–17.

31 See Abebe Tadege, Climate Change Technology Needs Assessment Report of Ethiopia (Federal Ministry of Water Resources, 2007); also L Le Grange and AJ Buys, ‘The Management of Maintenance Technology Transfer in the South African Aviation Industry’ (2002) 13(2) South African Journal of Industrial Engineering 131; ‘The Need and Challenges of Harmonizing CAA Trainings in Africa’ (ICAO, Aviation Panel 3); D Olawuyi, ‘Sustainable Aviation and the Transfer of Environmentally Sound Technologies to Africa: Paradoxes, Barriers and Prospects’ (McGill Occasional Paper Series: No 13, Sustainable International Civil Aviation, 2016) 17–19.

32 For a discussion of the several practical and logistical constraints facing aviation training in Africa, according to the Africa Civil Aviation Commission. ‘Efforts and Commitment Towards the Provision of Sustainable Aviation Training in Africa’ (ICAO) www.icao.int/safety/afiplan/documents/aato%20assembly,%20abuja,%20nigeria,%20april%202013/presentations/presentation%20by%20afcac.pdf accessed 12 May 2017.

33 Ibid.

34 See Republic of Kenya, Barrier Analysis Framework for Technologies Mitigation (National Environment Management Authority-Kenya, 2013) stating that lack of skilled personnel to deploy and maintain low carbon emission technology is a critical barrier to the adoption of solar home systems technology in Kenya.

35 See Republic of Rwanda, Barrier Analysis and Enabling Framework for Technology Transfer and Diffusion (Federal Ministry of Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, 2012) 19–20; see also Government of Zambia, Technology Needs Assessment and Technology Action Plans for Climate Change Mitigation (Ministry of Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, 2013) 23–24. Also for detailed discussions of these, see D Olawuyi, The Human Rights Based Approach to Carbon Finance (Cambridge University Press 2016) 1–15.

36 See Republic of Kenya, Barrier Analysis Framework for Technologies Mitigation (n 34).

37 Republic of Rwanda, Barrier Analysis and Enabling Framework for Technology Transfer and Diffusion (n 35) 19–20.

38 See (n 34).

39 UNFCCC, Ghana: Technology Needs Assessment (n 29) at x; see also Government of South Africa, South Africa's Climate Change Technology Needs Assessment (2007) 40; Republic of Rwanda, Barrier Analysis and Enabling Framework for Technology Transfer and Diffusion (n 35) 19–20.

40 Ibid. See also N Roht-Arriaza, ‘Human Rights in the Climate Change Regime’ (2010) 1(2) J Human Rights & Env, in which the author identifies areas where current climate change regimes may cause human rights violations in local communities. These include some projects under the Clean Development Mechanism, large hydropower and biomass projects, use of biofuels, choices on energy and adaptation, and REDD+ projects 211.

41 See Republic of Zambia, Technology Needs Assessment for Climate Change Adaptation: Barrier Analysis and Enabling Framework Report (Water and, Agriculture & Food Security Sectors, 2013) 14–15.

42 Ibid.

43 Ibid.

44 See F Onojiribholo, ‘Kwale Chief Laments Plight of Communities’ Daily Independent (16 August 2011); also K Adeyemo, ‘Nigerians Oppose Climate Development Projects’ Tribune (Ibadan, 12 September 2010); F Allen and others, ‘Niger Delta Niger Delta Oil Flares, Broken Laws, Pollution and Oppression’ in Why the Carbon Trading Gamble and the Clean Development Mechanism Won’t Save the Planet from Climate Change and How African Civil Society Is Resisting (Report by the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Centre for Civil Society and Dartmouth College, Climate Justice Research Project, April 2012); N Bassey, ‘Foreword’ in Mired in a Fossil Trap: The Nigerian CDM Report (Envtl Rights Action/Friends of the Earth, May 2011); D Olawuyi, ‘Fostering Accountability in Large Scale Environmental Projects: Lessons from CDM and REDD+ Projects’ in J Wouters and others (eds), Improving Delivery in Development: The Role of Voice, Social Contract, and Accountability (The World Bank Legal Review, World Bank 2015) 127–47.

45 Onojiribholo, ‘Kwale Chief Laments Plight of Communities’ (n 44).

46 See P Speser, The Art and Science of Technology Transfer (Wiley 2006) 282–84; also UNFCCC, ‘Capacity Building for Technology Transfer in the African Context’ (n 13) at 13–15.

47 See Luís Augusto Barbosa Cortez et al ‘Flightpath to Aviation Biofuels in Brazil: Action Plan’ (June 2013) www.fapesp.br/publicacoes/flightpath-to-aviation-biofuels-in-brazil-action-plan.pdf accessed 20 June 2017.

48 Olawuyi, ‘Sustainable Aviation and the Transfer of Environmentally Sound Technologies to Africa’ (n 31) at 12–24.

49 Infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa (World Bank 2008), stating that closing Africa's infrastructure gaps, including technology gaps, must include improving the efficiency with which existing resources are used. It identifies lack of timely maintenance activities, inefficient distribution networks, weak revenue collection performance, underpricing of services, and low capital budget execution as key reasons for infrastructure deficits in Africa. See also UNFCCC, ‘Capacity Building for Technology Transfer in the African Context’ (n 13) at 10–15.

50 Reports for the respective countries are available at http://unfccc.int/ttclear/tna/reports.html accessed 21 May 2017. For a synthesis report, see Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice, UNFCCC, Third Synthesis Report on Technology Needs Identified by Parties Not Included in Annex I to the Convention (n 28).

51 Ibid; see also UNEP, Report on Climate Change (n 24).

52 See Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice, UNFCCC, Third Synthesis Report on Technology Needs Identified by Parties Not Included in Annex I to the Convention (n 28); also Government of Ghana, Ghana: Technology Needs Assessment: Report on Barrier Analysis and Enabling Framework for Diffusion of Prioritized Adaptation Technologies in the Water and Agriculture Sectors (2013) (n 29); see also Government of South Africa, South Africa's Climate Change Technology Needs Assessment (2007) 40; Republic of Rwanda, Barrier Analysis and Enabling Framework for Technology Transfer and Diffusion (n 35) at 19–20.

53 D Olawuyi, ‘Climate Justice and Corporate Responsibility: Taking Human Rights Seriously in Climate Actions and Projects’ (2016) 34 Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law 27, 33–35.

54 See Republic of Rwanda, Barrier Analysis and Enabling Framework for Technology Transfer and Diffusion (n 35) 19–20; also F Onojiribholo, ‘Kwale Chief Laments Plight of Communities’ (n 44); D Olawuyi, ‘Fostering Accountability in Large Scale Environmental Projects: Lessons from CDM and REDD+ Projects’ in J Wouters and others (eds), Improving Delivery in Development: The Role of Voice, Social Contract, and Accountability (The World Bank Legal Review, World Bank 2015) 127–47.

55 Olawuyi, ‘Climate Justice and Corporate Responsibility’ (n 53) at 33–35.

56 While draft FOI bills have been proposed in these countries over the years, they have not been passed into law, making them legally enforceable. For example, the Draft Access to Information Bill in Zambia has remained unpassed since 2002. See ‘Zambia Moves Forward with Access to Information Bill’ (15 February 2017) www.ifex.org/zambia/2017/02/15/ati_bill accessed 20 June 2017; see also Government of Ghana, ‘Parliament Begins Consideration of RTI Bill’ (12 February 2015) www.ghana.gov.gh/index.php/media-center/news/2565-parliament-begins-consideration-of-rti-bill accessed 20 June 2017.

57 For example, although Ethiopia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe all have Freedom of Information Acts, concerns relating to lack of adequate disclosure of information on climate technologies and projects have been raised. See n 51. In Nigeria, for example, the FOI Act has been criticised as defective, while the Nigerian government has been frequently criticised for failing to comply with public disclosure requests. See ‘Nigeria's Access to Information Law Is Not Working’ (4 December 2012) http://icirnigeria.org/nigerias-access-to-information-law-is-not-working accessed 26 June 2017; see also ‘Nigeria: Reality of the Freedom of Information Act’ Daily Trust (Lagos, 17 September 2012). For a catalogue of FOI laws in Africa, see Freedom of Information in Africa, ‘African Platform on Access to Information’ www.africanplatform.org/resources/national-ati-laws accessed 20 June 2017.

58 Olawuyi, ‘Climate Justice and Corporate Responsibility’ (n 53) at 33–35.

59 Several reports have been released by the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression that recognise access to information (ATI) as part of the right to freedom of expression. Though not binding, these reports provide normative interpretations of the right to information as one of the most essential elements of freedom of speech and expression. According to the Special Rapporteur, ‘The right to seek, receive and impart information imposes a positive obligation on States to ensure access to information, particularly with regard to information held by Government in all types of storage and retrieval systems … ’. See Report of the Special Rapporteur, ‘Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression’ (28 January 1998) UN Doc E/CN.4/1998/40, para 1. See also Report of the Special Rapporteur, ‘Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression’ (4 February 1997) UN Doc E/CN.4/1997/31; Report of the Special Rapporteur, ‘Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression’ (14 December 1995) UN Doc E/CN.4/1995/31, para 35; Joint Declaration of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and the OAS Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression of 26 November 1999 www.article19.org/pdfs/igo-documents/three-mandatesdec-1999.pdf accessed 12 May 2017. See also Joint Declaration of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and the OAS Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression of 6 December 2004; and the Joint Declaration of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and the OAS Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression of 19 December 2006 www.article19.org/pdfs/standards/four-mandates-dec-2006.pdf accessed 12 May 2017.

60 IPR relates to legal protection on inventions through patents, utility models, design rights, trademarks, domain names and copyrights.

61 See J De Beer and others, ‘Innovation, Intellectual Property and Development Narratives in Africa’ in J De Beer and others, Innovation & Intellectual Property Collaborative Dynamics in Africa (University of Cape Town Press 2014) 2–5, discussing how administrative bottlenecks, systemic inefficiencies and overzealous IP protection regimes raise the costs of future innovations in Africa and may, therefore, discourage potential innovators and creators who cannot afford high up-front investments; also C Correa, ‘Intellectual Property in LDCs: Strategies for Enhancing Technology Transfer and Dissemination’ (UNCTAD, The Least Developed Countries Report 2007 Background Paper) 7–10.

62 L Branstetter and others, ‘Do Stronger Intellectual Property Rights Increase International Technology Transfer? Empirical Evidence from US Firm-level Data’ (2005) NBER Working Paper 11516, 2–5, stating that innovators will be hesitant to transfer technology to countries known to be hesitant to enforce IPR law; also D Ockwell, Intellectual Property Rights and Low Carbon Technology Transfer to Developing Countries – A Review of the Evidence to Date (Sussex Energy Group, TERI, Institute of Development Studies 2008) 1–5.

63 See Y Qian, ‘Do National Patent Laws Stimulate Domestic Innovation in a Global Patenting Environment? A Cross-country Analysis of Pharmaceutical Patent Protection, 1978-2002’ (2007) 89 Review of Economics and Statistics 436; J Barton, ‘Intellectual Property and Access to Clean Energy Technologies in Developing Countries: An Analysis of Solar Photovoltaic, Biofuels and Wind Technologies’ (ICTSD Trade and Sustainable Energy Series, Issue Paper No 2, 2007); C Tébar Less, ‘Achieving the Successful Transfer of Environmentally Sound Technologies: Trade-Related Aspects’ (2005) OECD Trade and Environment Working Paper No 2005-02; W Park and D Lippoldt, ‘Technology Transfer and the Economic Implications of the Strengthening of Intellectual Property Rights in Developing Countries’ (2008) OECD Trade Policy Working Paper No 62.

64 United Nations Environment Programme, Patents and Clean Energy Technologies in Africa (United Nations Environment Programme, Division of Environmental Law and Conventions 2013) 7–8; also A Abdel-Latif, ‘Intellectual Property Rights and the Transfer of Climate Change Technologies: Issues, Challenges, and Way Forward’ (2015) 15 Climate Policy 103.

65 D Foray, ‘Technology Transfer in the TRIPS Age: The Need for New Types of Partnerships between the Least Developed and Most Advanced Economies’ (International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, Issue Paper No 23, 2009) 1–3.

66 Article 7 of the TRIPS Agreement provides that the objective of the protection and enforcement of intellectual property should be to ‘contribute to the promotion of technological innovation and to the transfer and dissemination of technology, to the mutual advantage of producers and users of technological knowledge and in a manner conducive to social and economic welfare’. www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/27-trips.pdf accessed 12 May 2017.

67 For example, under s 1(4)(a) and (b) Nigerian Patents and Designs Act Cap P2 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, patents cannot be granted or obtained for inventions relating to plant, animal or biological processes. This raises questions on whether, and how, inventions relating to the biofuel industries are patentable under Nigerian law. Also s 1(4)(a) and (b) exclude inventions that are deemed to be contrary to public order or morality. The Act does not define what constitutes public order or morality and how such terms could be measured for the purposes of application in terms of patents. The unclarified power of the patent office to refuse to grant patent on moral grounds raises significant questions especially in a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious country such as Nigeria where the definition of a technology that is morally acceptable could vary from one ethnic or religious group to another. See Templars Law Firm, ‘Patentability under the Nigerian Patents and Designs Act (PDA): An Introductory Analysis’ www.templars-law.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Patentability-Under-the-Nigerian-Patent-Act.pdf accessed 21 September 2017; also FO Babafemi, Intellectual Property: The Law and Practice of Copyrights, Trade Marks, Patents and Industrial Designs in Nigeria (Justinian Books Limited, 2006) 342.

68 The Nigerian law does not define the term ‘invention’ for the purposes of obtaining or granting a patent. It is, therefore, unclear which technologies or inventions can be patented in Nigeria. Furthermore, s 1 of the Act, which stipulates the circumstances under which an invention could be considered patentable, states that, for an invention to be patentable, it must be one that is ‘new, results from inventive activity and is capable of industrial application’. This raises questions as to whether small-scale climate technologies such as cooking stoves, household solar panels or smaller-scale wind turbines come under the category of industrial and patentable technologies in Nigeria. See T Akande, ‘NOTAPA and Technology Transfer in Nigeria’ (Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research, NISER Joint ICTSD/FES, 2 December 2002) at 2, also I Mgeboji, ‘African Patent Offices Not Fit for Purpose’ in J De Beer and others, Innovation & Intellectual Property Collaborative Dynamics in Africa (University of Cape Town Press 2014) 234.

69 For example, Fernando dos Santos and Simão Pelembe state that, despite the clear articulation of biofuel policies in Mozambique's National Policy and Strategy on Biofuels of 2009, patenting and IPR protection are not adequately addressed in Mozambique's biofuel strategy. See F dos Santos and S Pelembe, ‘The State of Biofuel Innovation in Mozambique’ in J de Beer and others, Innovation & Intellectual Property Collaborative Dynamics in Africa (University of Cape Town Press 2014) 248–66, 248.

70 See United Nations Environment Programme, Patents and Clean Energy Technologies in Africa (n 64).

71 See, for example, ss 55 and 56 of South Africa's Patents Act No 57 of 1978. See also J de Beer and others, Innovation & Intellectual Property Collaborative Dynamics in Africa (University of Cape Town Press 2014).

72 United Nations Environment Programme, Patents and Clean Energy Technologies in Africa (n 64) at 10–12.

73 African Development Bank, ‘Poor Technological Capability Undermining Africa's Growth Potential’ (n 7).

74 Climate Change Technology Needs Assessment Report of Ethiopia (n 31) at 2–3, 35–37.

75 See n 52.

76 See M Diop, ‘Powering Science and Technology for Africa's Economic Transformation’ (World Bank, 20 May 2014) www.worldbank.org/en/news/opinion/2014/05/20/op-ed-powering-science-and-technology-for-africas-economic-transformation accessed 18 July 2017.

77 See UNFCCC, ‘Capacity Building for Technology Transfer in the African Context: Priorities and Strategies’ (n 13) 1–5.

78 See Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice, UNFCCC, Third Synthesis Report on Technology Needs Identified by Parties Not Included in Annex I to the Convention (n 28).

79 See Clean Energy Group, Accelerating Climate Technologies: Innovative Market Strategies to Overcome Barriers to Scale (2010) 27 www.cleanegroup.org/wp-content/uploads/Accelerating-Climate-Technologies.pdf accessed 18 July 2017. See also Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice, UNFCCC, Third Synthesis Report on Technology Needs Identified by Parties Not Included in Annex I to the Convention (n 28).

80 See Clean Energy Group, Accelerating Climate Technologies (n 79).

81 See Republic of Kenya, Barrier Analysis Framework for Technologies Mitigation (n 34) 14–15, Republic of Rwanda, Barrier Analysis and Enabling Framework for Technology Transfer and Diffusion (n 35) 19–20; Government of Zambia, Technology Needs Assessment and Technology Action Plans for Climate Change Mitigation (n 35) 23–24.

82 World Wide Fund for Nature and Cleantech Group, The Global Cleantech Innovation Index 2014: Nurturing Tomorrow's Transformative Entrepreneurs (2014) wwf.fi/mediabank/6751.pdf accessed 4 October 2017).

83 See World Wide Fund for Nature and Cleantech Group, The Global Cleantech Innovation Index 2017: Nurturing Tomorrow's Transformative Entrepreneurs (2017) 14, 38–40 https://wwf.fi/mediabank/9906.pdf accessed 4 October 2017.

84 See Clean Energy Group, Accelerating Climate Technologies (n 79) 12–15.

85 See Government of Ontario, ‘Helping Clean Tech Companies Grow and Compete Globally’ (17 January 2017) https://news.ontario.ca/mris/en/2017/01/helping-clean-tech-companies-grow-and-compete-globally.html accessed 19 June 2017.

86 C Middlehurst, ‘China Dominates Top 200 Clean Tech Companies List’ (Chinadialogue, 22 February 2017) www.chinadialogue.net/blog/9626-China-dominates-top-2-clean-tech-companies-list/en accessed 18 June 2017.

87 Clean Energy Group, Accelerating Climate Technologies (n 79) at 27–28.

88 See S Tordo and others, Local Content Policies in the Oil and Gas Sector (World Bank 2013); Groupo Faro Acode, ‘Local Content Frameworks in Latin American and African Oil and Gas Sector’ (ELLA Research Design and Methods Papers 2015); also T Muller and M Schitzer, ‘Technology Transfer and Spillovers in International Joint Ventures’ (Discussion Paper No 2003–22, 2003); D Coe, E Helpman and AW Hoffmaister, ‘International R&D Spillovers and Institutions’ (2008) IMF Working Paper No WP/08/104; A Glass and K Saggi, ‘The Role of Foreign Direct Investment in International Technology Transfer’ in A Dutt and J Ros, International Handbook of Development Economics (Edward Elgar Publishing 2008).

89 See ‘The 2015 Global Climate Legislation Study A Review of Climate Change Legislation in 99 Countries: Summary for Policy-makers’ www.lse.ac.uk/GranthamInstitute/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Global_climate_legislation_study_20151.pdf accessed 9 May 2016.

90 Information on the status of climate legislation in Nigeria is available at Federal Ministry of Environment, Climate Change Unit http://climatechange.gov.ng.

91 A Climate Change and Global Greenhouse Emission Reduction Bill 2015 is currently undergoing debates in Nigeria's parliament. If passed, this Bill will provide a comprehensive legal framework for combating climate change in Nigeria. See ‘Nigeria: Climate Change Bill Scales Second Reading in Senate’ Vanguard Newspaper (5 May 2016).

92 See ‘The 2015 Global Climate Legislation Study’ (n 89) at 42–45.

93 See ‘The Global Climate Legislation Study: Summary of Key Trends 2016 COP22, Marrakesh, November 2016’ www.lse.ac.uk/GranthamInstitute/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/The-Global-Climate-Legislation-Study_2016-update.pdf, noting that framework legislation has been shown to encourage a strategic approach to climate policy and generate further policy action; also United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Guidelines for the Development of National Legislation on Access to Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Adopted by the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme in decision SS.XI/5, part A of 26 February 2010).

94 For the distinction between formal and informal norms in law, see S Toope, ‘Formality and Informality’ in Daniel Bodansky, Jutta Brunnée and Ellen Hey (eds), Oxford Handbook of International Environmental Law (Oxford University Press 2007) 107.

95 C Nwapi, ‘Defining the “Local” in Local Content Requirements in the Oil and Gas and Mining Sectors in Developing Countries’ (2015) 8 Law & Development Review 187; also J Ovadia, The Role of Local Content Policies in Natural Resource-based Development (Österreichische Entwicklungspolitik Rohstoffe und Entwicklung 2015) 37–38.

96 See Australia's Climate Change Authority Act 2011, which established the Climate Change Authority to oversee Australia's climate change policies and action, including issues relating to climate technologies. See also the UK's Climate Change Act 2008, which establishes an independent Committee on Climate Change to provide advice to the UK government on these targets and related policies.

97 For a comprehensive list of all environment ministries in Africa, see The World Bank, Africa Environmental Agencies http://web.worldbank.org/archive/website01004/WEB/0__CO-75.HTM accessed 18 July 2017.

98 For example, s 1 of the UK's Climate Change Act 2008 expressly codifies the country's national target on climate change mitigation, while ss 56–60 address national priorities on climate change adaptation.

99 L Branstetter and others, ‘Do Stronger Intellectual Property Rights Increase International Technology Transfer? Empirical Evidence from US Firm-level Data’ (2005) NBER Working Paper 11516, 2–5; Copenhagen Economics, Are IPR a Barrier to the Transfer of Climate Change Technology (January 2009) 26–28.

100 Branstetter and others (n 99).

101 See P Cullet, ‘Rethinking the Legal Regime for Climate Change: The Human Rights and Equity Imperative’ in Steffen Böhm and Siddhartha Dabhi (eds), Upsetting the Offset: The Political Economy of Carbon Markets (MayFly Books 2009) 292–306; also Olawuyi, The Human Rights Based Approach to Carbon Finance (n 35) at 1–25.

102 See Article 19, ‘The Public's Right to Know: Principles on Freedom of Information Legislation’ (1999) www.article19.org/pdfs/standards/righttoknow.pdf accessed 12 May 2017.

103 See (n 15) above.