[A2k] Reuters: China says rethink of IPR needed for energy saving

[Thiru Balasubramaniam]

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[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
China says rethink of IPR needed for energy saving

Wed Nov 28, 2007 12:49pm GMT



By Lindsay Beck

BEIJING (Reuters) - Rich countries must rethink intellectual property
protection on energy-saving technology if costs of such technology are
to be within reach of developing nations, a top Chinese energy
official said on Wednesday.

China, which is set to surpass the United States as the world's top
emitter of heat-trapping carbon dioxide, has called on rich countries
to focus on technology transfer to help it offset emissions.

"I think we have to resolve a lot of barriers on the so-called
intellectual property rights issues," Zhou Dadi, of China's Energy
Research Institute, told reporters.

"That means if you really want to help China to speed up the
technology transfer process, we have to really think about how to help
China cover the high costs. Most of them are not based on material,
they're based on intellectual property rights."

Asked if China would raise that issue in negotiations opening in Bali
next week that will begin the process of finding a successor to the
Kyoto Protocol, Zhou said: "I think so -- it should."

Zhou spoke at the China launch of the U.N. Human Development Report,
which called on rich countries to cut emissions 30 percent by 2020 and
80 percent by 2050 and for developing nations to cut emissions 20
percent by 2050.

But China has repeatedly said it will not agree to fixed targets on
its emissions, fearing caps could impact its rapid economic growth.

Instead, it says rich countries responsible for most of the greenhouse
gases already in the atmosphere should bear the brunt of emissions
reductions and should help poorer nations by transferring eneThe
United Nations announced on Wednesday a program to support such
technological innovation that brings together U.N. agencies with
China's energy policy-setting National Development and Reform
Commission and its Commerce Ministry.

"It will focus on the provision of the best international expertise to
inform and support China's work and to build further, to strengthen,
China's capacity," said Hans Troedsson, vice chairman of the U.N.
Theme Group on Energy and Environment.

The partnership will initially be funded with $12 million over three
years and will also aim to ensure new technologies are disseminated to
the local level, where officials have typically prioritized economic
growth over environmental protection.

Chinese officials gave mixed views on whether the companies and
countries that benefit from using China as a cheap source of exports
should bear some responsibility in helping it curb pollution and
offset emissions.

"They shouldn't have preferential treatment, but nor should they face
discrimination," Commerce Ministry official Wang Yue said of
multinational corporations.

Investment by such companies was key to China's development and should
not be discouraged, he said.

But Huang Jing, of the Ministry of Science and Technology, said if
multinationals benefit from China, they should also contribute.

(Editing by David Fogarty)


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Thiru Balasubramaniam
Geneva Representative
Knowledge Ecology International (KEI)
thiru@keionline.org


Tel: +41 22 791 6727
Mobile: +41 76 508 0997