Technology transfer for GHG reduction A framework with application to India $ Vinish Kathuria* Environmental Economics Unit, Department of Economics, University of Go ¨teborg, Box 640, SE-405 30, Go ¨teborg, Sweden Received 20 September 2000; received in revised form 6 March 2001; accepted 7 March 2001 Abstract The Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) expressly commits the Annex I countries to provide financial resources and technology to developing countries so as to control, reduce, or prevent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The present paper argues that the ultimate goal of any action in the field of transfer of technology (TT) should not be only just to apply particular technological solutions to the GHG problem but to enhance the capabilities of developing countries to assess the need, select, import, assimilate, adapt, and develop the appropriate technologies. The paper also looks into the various dimensions of TT that results in capacity building in developing countries. Using case studies of two GHG-reducing technologies, one from the demand side [compact fluorescent lamp (CFL)] and the other from the supply side [photovoltaic (PV) cell], the paper tries to find out whether TT has been adequate in significant capacity building. The case studies show that the technology absorption is still incomplete. High up-front costs and lack of awareness (information) has resulted in significant underutilization of capacities, thus acting as major barriers in their diffusion. The paper also looks into the various market- and government-related barriers forestalling the diffusion of various GHG-reducing technologies. D 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Technology transfer; FCCC; Capacity building; Framework; GHG reducing technologies 0040-1625/02/$ – see front matter D 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. PII:S0040-1625(01)00137-8 $ A very preliminary version of the paper was jointly presented with Dr. Jyoti Parikh at Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) UNEP Workshop on Technology Transfer in the Energy Sector on January 19– 20, 1998 at Amsterdam, The Netherlands. * Tel.: +46-31-773-1368; fax: +46-31-773-1043. E-mail address: vinish67@yahoo.com (V. Kathuria). Technological Forecasting & Social Change 69 (2002) 405 – 430