Cancun, 30 November: Intervention at the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI), at item 8, on technology transfer
Delivered by Silvia Ribeiro, ETC Group
Thank you Chair. I will speak on behalf of the Climate Justice Now network (CJN).
Environmentally sound and socially just technologies that integrate and respect traditional knowledge and livelihoods are part of the solution to climate crisis and need to be supported.
But often, “technology transfer” in these negotiations seem rather to be a way for big companies to expand their markets and patent monopolies.
An agreement on technology that is not precautionary will result in the release of untested and high-risk technologies: carbon capture and storage, biochar, more industrial plantations and monocultures and other forms of so-called “bio-energy”. Multinational companies are stockpiling patents on “climate-ready crops”, undermining the ability of farmers to adapt to climate change, by making them dependent on patented seeds. Increasing industrial agriculture and this corporate grab on biomass will increase, not decrease, greenhouse gas emissions.
Therefore, a new Technology Mechanism must have the mandate to evaluate the social and environmental impact of technologies and to fully include civil society, indigenous peoples and affected communities. All bodies must be transparent, accountable to the COP, and have clear mechanisms for public participation. Intellectual property on all forms of life and on technologies to confront the climate crisis should be abolished.