Low Carbon Growth: An Indian Perspective on Sustainability and Technology Transfer

This paper provides an Indian perspective on the issue of technology transfer, in the specific context of tackling climate change. The paper examines how technology transfer issues have panned out when developing countries have had to meet standards laid down in international agreements. In addressing climate change, the efficacy of the CDM as an instrument to facilitate technology transfer is analysed. The socio-political and economic analysis of implementing the clean development mechanism provides useful insights. An indicative exercise on India’s export vulnerability in the face of alternative regulatory regimes such as imposition of carbon tariffs demonstrates the importance of technology transfer mechanisms between the developed and developing countries. The attainment of sustainable development through forward looking mechanisms of technology transfer will improve India’s contribution to a global solution for climate change.