Editing IPCC:AR6/WGIII/Chapter-13 (section)

==== 13.6.4.2 Technology Standards ====

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Technology standards take a more prescriptive approach by requiring a specific technology, process or product. They typically take one of three forms: requirements for specific pollution abatement technologies; requirements for specific production methods; or requirements for specific goods such as energy efficient appliances. They can also take the form of phase-out mandates, as applied for example to planned bans of internal combustion engines for road transport ( [[#Bhagavathy--2020|Bhagavathy and McCulloch 2020]] ), coal use; for example, Germany’s decisions to phase out coal ( [[#Oei--2020|Oei et al. 2020]] ), and some industry processes and products, for example, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and use of sulphur hexafluoride (SF 6 ) in some products (see Box 13.10 on non-CO 2 gases). Technology standards are also referred to as command-and-control standards, prescriptive standards, or design standards.

Technology standards are a common climate policy particularly at the sector level (Chapters 6–11). Technology standards tend to score lower in terms of economic efficiency than carbon pricing and performance standards ( [[#Besanko--1987|Besanko 1987]] ). But they may be the best instrument for situations where decisions are not very responsive to price signals such as consumer choices related to energy efficiency and recycling and decisions relating to urban land use and infrastructure choices.

By mandating specific compliance pathways, technology standards risk locking-in a high-cost pathway when lower cost options are available or may emerge through market incentives and innovation ( [[#Raff--2020|Raff and Walter 2020]] ). Furthermore, standards may require high-cost GHG reductions in one sector while missing low-cost options in another sector. Technology standards can also stifle innovation by blocking alternative technologies from entering the market ( [[#Sachs--2012|Sachs 2012]] ). Benefits of technology standards include their potential to achieve emission reductions in a relatively short time frame and that their effectiveness can be estimated with some confidence ( [[#Montgomery--2019|Montgomery et al. 2019]] ).

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