Editing IPCC:AR6/WGIII/Chapter-16 (section)

== 16.7 Knowledge Gaps ==

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Filling gaps in literature availability, data collection, modelling, application of frameworks and further analysis in several sectors will improve knowledge on innovation and technology development and transfer, including research and development (R&amp;D) to support policymaking in climate change mitigation as well as adaptation. These policies and related interventions need to benefit from data and methodologies for the ''ex post'' evaluation of their effectiveness.

This section addresses identified knowledge gaps related to: what extent developing countries are represented in studies on innovation and technology development and transfer; national contexts and local innovation capacity; potential and actual contributions of businesses; literature emphasis on mitigation; indicators to assess innovation systems; non-technical barriers for the feasibility of decarbonisation pathways; the role of domestic intellectual property rights (IPR) policy; digitalisation in low-emissions pathways; and Paris Agreement compliance regarding technology and capacity building.

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=== Representation of developing countries ===

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One of knowledge gaps identified when assessing the literature is on the representation of developing countries in studies on innovation and technology development and transfer. This includes the conceptual core disciplines of the economics of innovation, innovation systems and sustainability transitions. This is true for studies on developing countries, and for authors originating from, or active in, developing country contexts. The evidence of the impact of decarbonisation policy instruments applied to developing countries or Small Island Developing States (SIDS) is limited. Expanding the knowledge base with studies that focus on developing countries would not only allow for testing whether the theories (developed by predominantly by developed-country researchers for industrialised countries) hold in developing country contexts, but also yield policy insights that could help both domestic and international policymakers working on climate-related technology cooperation.

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=== National contexts and local innovation capacity ===

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While a growing body of literature has shown how technology characteristics and complexity, national context and innovation capacity can influence the capacity of a country’s innovation ecosystem as a result of incentive and attraction policies, more research is needed to help prioritise and design policies in different national contexts. Important knowledge gaps need to be filled regarding the impact of ‘green’ public procurement, lending, ‘green’ public banking, and building code policies on innovation outcomes.

There is also a superficial understanding of the potential and actual contributions of businesses, educational institutions and socially responsible programmes, particularly in developing countries, as sources of innovation and early adopters of new technologies, and a notable lack of knowledge about indigenous practices.

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=== Emphasis on mitigation ===

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Current literature has a strong bias to studies originating from and based on developed countries. Also, innovation and technology literature is skewed to mitigation and, specifically, energy. Literature on technology innovation for adaptation is largely missing.

In the area of innovation studies, data are limited on the different indicators used to assess the strength of the innovation system, (even for energy), including global figures on R&amp;D and demonstration spending, also for developing countries, and their effectiveness. There is also a lack of a comprehensive framework and detailed data to assess the strengths of low-emission innovation systems, including interactions among actors, innovation policy implementation, and strength of institutions.

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=== Indicators to assess innovation systems ===

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Another gap in knowledge remains between the results from energy-climate-economy models and those emerging from systems and sustainability transition approaches, empirical case studies, and the innovation system literature. If this gap is filled, understanding could be improved of the feasibility of decarbonisation pathways in light of the many non-technical barriers to technology deployment and diffusion.

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=== Non-technical barriers for the feasibility of decarbonisation pathways ===

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In the field of policy instruments, existing evaluations provide insufficient evidence to assess the impact of decarbonisation policy instruments on innovation, as these evaluations mainly focus on environmental or technological effects.

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=== Domestic IPR policy ===

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The potential positive or negative role of domestic IPR policy in technology transfer to least-developed countries remains unclear as the literature does not show agreement. Moreover, gaps remain in impact evaluations of sub-national green industrial policies, which are of growing importance. The interaction between subnational and national decarbonisation policies to advance innovation would also benefit from further research, particularly in developing countries.

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=== Digitalisation in low-emissions pathways and digitalisation ===

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The understanding of the role of digitalisation in decarbonisation pathways is lacking and needs to be studied from several angles. Existing studies do not sufficiently take into account knowledge on the energy impact of digital technologies, in particular the increase in energy demand by digital devices, and the increase in energy efficiency. Studies would benefit from being technology/sector/country-specific.

Further exploration is needed into the way digitalisation influences the framework conditions that cause decarbonisation, the socio-economic and behavioural barriers influencing the diffusion of technologies in the long-term scenarios, and the relationship with society and its effects.

Given the implications of the digital revolution for sustainability, a better characterisation of governance aspects would increase understanding of the implications for policymakers of digitalisation and the possibilities for it and other general-purpose technologies.

Research (theoretical and empirical) on the impacts of imitation, or adaptation of new technological solutions invented in one region and used in other regions, could fill knowledge gaps and accelerate diffusion of climate-related technologies, while taking care not to reduce the incentive for inventors to search for new solutions.

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=== Paris Agreement compliance ===

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An independent assessment is underway to look at the compliance of the Paris Agreement with regard to technology and capacity building as means of implementation. The Enhanced Transparency Framework for action and support is developing a methodology for monitoring, reporting and verification. There is a lack of analysis of the full landscape of international cooperation, of the effectiveness of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement, and what is needed to meet their objectives.

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