Transfer of Technology by Clean Development Mechanism

Although the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) does not have an explicit technology transfer mandate, it may contribute to technology transfer by financing emission reduction projects using technologies currently not available in the host countries. This paper analyzes the claims of technology transfer made by project participants in the project design documents for 3296 registered and proposed CDM projects. Roughly 36% of the projects accounting for 59% of the annual emission reductions claim to involve technology transfer. Technology transfer is more common for larger projects and projects with foreign participants. Technology transfer is very heterogeneous across project types and usually involves both knowledge and equipment. The technology originates mostly from Japan, Germany, the USA, France, and Great Britain. The rate of technology transfer is significantly higher than the average for several host countries, including Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam and significantly lower than average for Brazil, China, and India. As the number of projects increases, technology transfer occurs beyond the individual projects. This is observed for several project types in China and Brazil. For most project types, project developers appear to have a choice among a number of domestic and/or foreign technology suppliers.