INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR DOMESTIC CLIMATE POLICIES

The document argues that the transition to a low-carbon energy economy requires a coordinated 'innovation chain' where domestic policies create initial markets and absorptive capacity, while international cooperation reduces R&D risks, smooths budget volatility, and accelerates cost reductions through global scale. It emphasizes that technology must be adapted to local contexts in developing countries and suggests that international support should cover incremental costs of new technologies and facilitate the transfer of intellectual property.

• The innovation process for low-carbon technology follows a chain from research and development (R&D) to demonstration, commercialisation, and finally widespread diffusion, where each stage provides feedback to the others.
• Domestic policies are essential for building 'absorptive capacity'—the ability of a national market to manufacture, install, and operate new technologies—which is a prerequisite for successful technology adoption.
• International collaboration helps mitigate the volatility of national R&D budgets, ensuring that research and demonstration continue even when individual governments shift their priorities.
• Analysis of a clean coal patent dataset reveals that while innovation is geographically dispersed, collaboration is heavily concentrated between North America and Europe, with limited cooperation between developed and developing countries.
• Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) are a point of contention; while some argue they hinder the affordability and diffusion of technology in developing countries, others suggest they provide the necessary incentive for R&D investment and a signal of innovative capability.
• In emerging markets, universities and research institutes are more prominent sources of innovation (as seen in patent filings) compared to developed economies, where the private sector dominates.
• International market scale reduces the risk for innovators by making them less dependent on the policy uncertainties of a single government and allowing for economies of scale that lower costs.
• Effective technology transfer to developing countries requires more than just access to technology; it requires tailoring solutions to local resource constraints and building local technical expertise.
• Strategic deployment of renewables can be accelerated if international support covers the incremental costs between new low-carbon technologies and entrenched, cheaper fossil-fuel alternatives.

APA

CUST, J., GRANT, K., ILIEV, I., & NEUHOFF, K. (2008). INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR DOMESTIC CLIMATE POLICIES. Climate Strategies. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/cust-et-al-261108-final.pdf

Chicago

CUST, JAMES, KATE GRANT, ILIAN ILIEV, and KARSTEN NEUHOFF. INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR DOMESTIC CLIMATE POLICIES. Climate Strategies, 2008. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/cust-et-al-261108-final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=CUST |first1=JAMES |last2=GRANT |first2=KATE |last3=ILIEV |first3=ILIAN |last4=NEUHOFF |first4=KARSTEN |title=INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR DOMESTIC CLIMATE POLICIES |publisher=Climate Strategies |date=25 November 2008 |url=https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/cust-et-al-261108-final.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cust2008international, author = {CUST, JAMES and GRANT, KATE and ILIEV, ILIAN and NEUHOFF, KARSTEN}, title = {{INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR DOMESTIC CLIMATE POLICIES}}, institution = {Climate Strategies}, year = {2008}, month = nov, url = {https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/cust-et-al-261108-final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }