Green Position on technology transfer

Everybody is quick when it comes to asking for more technology transfer to developing countries. The parliament has stated several times in different resolutions to foster technology transfer. Obviously, developing countries need better access to climate friendly technology if we want to realize the transition to a zero carbon economy. But when it comes to the details, there is a lot of disagreement and it is not clear what it really means and implies?

The Green Group in the European Parliament has finalized for the first time a group position paper on Climate Change, Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property. 

The paper examines the relation between rigid IPR and the transfer of climate friendly technology. As evidence shows that the way exclusive rights over knowledge and information are commonly currently implemented too often generate obstacles to both technology transfer and global collaborative research efforts, we call for the EC and European countries to implement and promote a flexible, innovative and effective approach. The main demands are:

• Public domain resources should not be privatized. They should be enriched by results from publicly funded research and should be made easily accessible.
• In the effort to make the public domain resources accessible, the EC and MemberStates should support initiatives aimed at gathering innovations in the form of patents which have either expired, are no longer maintained and make them publicly accessible.
• Publicly funded prizes and/or prize funds for climate change technology should be established at European level
• The EC should consider the stetting up of patent pools in order to allow the sharing of patented scientific data and increase collaborative efforts and R&D cooperation on specific technological needs.
• A more drastic possibility to ensure the diffusion of new technologies in poor countries could be to exclude climate change technologies from patenting and revoke existing IPR protections on such technologies in Least Developed Countries (LDCs). We encourage full discussion and consideration of this option.

EU-India Free Trade Agreement - Commission does not want a pause in the negotiations

At the beginning of February we initiated a letter to the Commission, signed by MEPs from different political groups 

The letter asked for a pause in the negotiations that could be used for a human rights impact assessment. Now, we have the answer by the Commission (in German)

Commissioner de Gucht sticks to his opinion that the agreement will benefit both the EU and India and therefore he does not consider a break in the negotiations. Responding to our question on the FTA's negative impact on the production of generic medicine in India, the Commission said that they do not ask India to change their relevant legislation.

Similarly, the Commission does not share our concern about the entry of big European retail companies in the Indian market and the competition it would create for small farmers and street vendors. According to the Commission, foreign direct investment would even increase food security in India.

Environmental degredation and poverty

In a committee hearing initialized by the Greens, UNEP presented theMillennium Ecosystem Assessment. This study examined the impact of changing ecosystems on human well-being and the environment.