Editing IPCC:AR6/WGII/Chapter-18 (section)

==== 18.4.2.4 Science, Technology and Innovation ====

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Ongoing innovations in technology, finance and policy have enabled more ambitious climate action over the past decade, including significant growth in renewable energy, electrical vehicles and energy efficiency. However, access to, and the benefits of, that innovation have not been evenly distributed among global regions and communities, and continued innovation is needed to facilitate climate action and sustainable development ( ''very high confidence'' ). Policymakers need useful science and information ( [[#Cornell--2013|Cornell et al., 2013]] ; [[#Kirchhoff--2013|Kirchhoff et al., 2013]] ; [[#Calkins--2015|Calkins, 2015]] ; IPCC, 2019 f; [[#Guido--2020|Guido et al., 2020]] ) to make informed decisions about possible risks, and the benefits, costs and trade-offs of available adaptation, mitigation and sustainable development solutions (i.e., Article 4.1 of the Paris Agreement; [[#UNFCCC--2015|UNFCCC, 2015]] ). Moreover, recent literature has emphasised the need for deep technological, as well social, changes to avert the risks of conventional development trajectories ( [[#Gerst--2013|Gerst et al., 2013]] ; [[#IPCC--2014a|IPCC, 2014a]] ).

An effective and innovative technological regime is one that is integrated with local social entities across different modes of life, local governance processes ( [[#Pereira--2018|Pereira, 2018]] ; [[#Nightingale--2020|Nightingale et al., 2020]] ) and local knowledge(s), which increasingly support adaptation to socio-environmental drivers of vulnerability ( [[#Schipper--2014|Schipper et al., 2014]] ; [[#Nalau--2018|Nalau et al., 2018]] ; IPCC, 2019 f). These actors and their knowledge are often ignored in favour of knowledge held by experts and policymakers, exacerbating uneven power relations ( [[#Naess--2013|Naess, 2013]] ; [[#Nightingale--2020|Nightingale et al., 2020]] ). For example, achieving sustainability and shifting towards a low carbon energy system (e.g., hydropower dams, wind farms) remains a contested space with divergent interests, values and future prospects ( [[#Bradley--2014|Bradley and Hedrén, 2014]] ; [[#Avila--2018|Avila, 2018]] ; [[#Mikulewicz--2019|Mikulewicz, 2019]] ), and potential impacts on human rights as embodied by the Paris Agreement ( [[#UNFCCC--2015|UNFCCC, 2015]] ). A number of studies have emphasised the limits of relying upon technology innovation and deployment (e.g., expansion of renewable energy systems and/or carbon capture) as a solution to challenges of climate change and sustainable development ( [[#18.3.1.2|Section 18.3.1.2]] ). This is because such solutions may fail to consider the local historical contexts and barriers to participation of vulnerable communities, restricting their access to land, food, energy and resources for their livelihoods.

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