“The serious threat to human well-being posed by climate change has imparted a sense of urgency to the search for remedial measures. Among the most important steps identified to combat climate change is the application of energy-efficient technologies that will curb the carbon emissions responsible for global warming.However, access by developing countries to these climate-friendly technologies can be impeded by patents and other intellectual property rights (IPRs) over the technologies, most of which are held by developed-country entities. The monopoly rights conferred by intellectual property ownership hinder diffusion of these technologies and undermine the capacity of developing-country parties to use, maintain and adapt the technologies to local conditions.This paper examines the relationship between IPRs and technology transfer, and explores options to overcome the IPR barrier in order to facilitate the dissemination of climate-friendly technologies to the developing world with the aim of tackling one of the major environmental problems of our time.”Reference: Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Issues in the Context of Climate Change by Sangeeta Shashikant and Martin Khor