Technological Innovation And Climate Change: Navigating The Legal Path To A Low- Carbon Future

Naman Goyal, Law College Dehradun, Uttaranchal University, Dehradun -2480007, Uttarakhand, India

Dr. Lakshmi Priya Vinjamuri, Associate Professor, Law College Dehradun, Uttaranchal University, Dehradun-2480007, Uttarakhand, India

ABSTRACT

This article explores the interplay between technological development, legal rules and climate change mitigation law, and how legal architecture has to be put in place to usher in the much-needed transition to a low-carbon future. It underlines that technological breakthroughs that provide the much-needed alternative pathway for transition today include but are not limited to large- scale renewable energy sources (solar, wind and other), energy efficiency, carbon capture and storage (CCS), and smart technologies. Realizing the potential of these technologies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving resilience to climate impacts requires enabling legal and institutional architecture to be put in place that incentivizes innovation, development and the widespread dissemination and use of these technologies. International climate change treaties, national laws and policy frameworks play a crucial role in the governance of climate change and technological innovation, as exemplified by the Paris Agreement. India is one country that has been taking sweeping action on both counts – the National Action Plan on Climate Change and the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. There are many opportunities, alongside serious obstacles, including those relating to laws, legal rules and regulations, finance and institutions that threaten the use of technology for climate change mitigation. Intellectual property rights (IPRs) emerge as a double-edged legal sword that both incentivizes innovation and at the same time makes access to technology more difficult, especially for developing countries. In conclusion, a panoply of public-private partnerships, international cooperation and policy prescriptions for RD and deployment of ‘climate technologies’ might be the necessary way forward in overcoming this hardship.

Keywords: Climate change, Paris Agreement, renewable energy, carbon capture, smart technologies