PhD student: Dr D.B. Shabalala

Promotor: Prof A.W.J. Kamperman Sanders

Duration: 1/9/2009 - 31/8/2013

PhD defence: Maastricht, 15/10/2014

Abstract:

Technology transfer of climate change related technologies has become a key element of action to respond to climate change. The UNFCCC has established legal obligations, frameworks and mechanisms for achieving technology transfer, with limited success. There is an ongoing debate as to the role that intellectual property may play as a barrier or an enabler of technology transfer in the arena of climate change, but key challenges remain including a dearth of empirical and legal research. This project aims to analyze and clarify the legal relationship between intellectual property obligations and rules, on the one hand, and the UNFCCC obligation and rules on technology transfer on the other hand, analyze the empirical data on patenting and licensing and reach some conclusions regarding the implications that this will have for the design, implementation and interpretation of the post-Kyoto protocol legal instrument.