International Technology Diffusion in a Sustainable Energy Trade Agreement (SETA)

ICTSD senior fellow and Professor Emeritus Thomas Brewer, addresses the issues associated with technology transfer used by firms, namely international direct investments, licensing, and trade in services and goods. The author makes a case for the creation of a new international institutional architecture built around a sustainable energy trade agreement (SETA), with a view to enhancing such transfer. The paper considers a wide range of related topics that need to be addressed in designing and negotiating a SETA, especially four key elements: subsidies, government procurement, standards and intellectual property rights.