Low-carbon innovation for industrial sectors in developing countries

The document argues that developing countries can avoid high-carbon lock-in by adopting strategic industrial policies to build technological capabilities. It examines energy efficiency in the sub-Saharan African cement sector and the growth of renewable energy manufacturing in China and India, recommending a mix of targeted protectionism, best available technology regulations, and international support to transition toward climate-compatible development.

• Developing countries face a risk of 'carbon lock-in' if new industries follow business-as-usual pathways, which would lead to escalating CO2 emissions, with non-OECD countries expected to account for the majority of industry-related greenhouse gas increases up to 2100.
• In the sub-Saharan African cement industry, a performance gap exists between multinational firms and locally-owned companies; the latter are often less efficient due to poor access to low-carbon technology and weak incentives to innovate, sometimes exacerbated by import bans that allow firms to extract rents rather than innovate.
• Energy efficiency gains in the sub-Saharan African cement sector can be undermined by a shift toward higher-carbon energy sources, specifically the use of coal to reduce production costs.
• India's wind power industry developed technological capabilities through a combination of licensing foreign technologies, joint ventures, collaborative R&D, and aggressive market-creation policies such as Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) and import tariffs on turbines.
• China's photovoltaic (PV) industry achieved global competitiveness by initially importing production lines and then vertically integrating both upstream (polysilicon, ingot, wafer) and downstream (system integration, installation) segments of the value chain to reduce costs.
• Effective national policies for low-carbon industrialization should include the strategic use of protectionism to allow local firms to build capabilities before facing international competition, the enforcement of Best Available Technologies (BATs), and the alignment of policies with national priorities.
• International institutions can support low-carbon innovation through the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) for capability-building, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) via a potential technology facility and revolving fund, and the World Bank's Climate Innovation Centres (CICs).

APA

Byrne, R., de Coninck, H., & Sagar, A. (2014). Low-carbon innovation for industrial sectors in developing countries. Climate Strategies. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/policy-brief-low-carbon-innovation-for-industry-final.pdf

Chicago

Byrne, Rob, Heleen de Coninck, and Ambuj Sagar. Low-carbon innovation for industrial sectors in developing countries. Climate Strategies, 2014. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/policy-brief-low-carbon-innovation-for-industry-final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Byrne |first1=Rob |last2=de Coninck |first2=Heleen |last3=Sagar |first3=Ambuj |title=Low-carbon innovation for industrial sectors in developing countries |publisher=Climate Strategies |date=January 2014 |url=https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/policy-brief-low-carbon-innovation-for-industry-final.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{byrne2014lowcarbon, author = {Byrne, Rob and de Coninck, Heleen and Sagar, Ambuj}, title = {{Low-carbon innovation for industrial sectors in developing countries}}, institution = {Climate Strategies}, year = {2014}, month = jan, url = {https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/policy-brief-low-carbon-innovation-for-industry-final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }