Resumed 36th Meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol

Organizers: IGSD & C2ES

Description:
Presentation of the findings of two new papers: 1) Steve Seidel, Stephen O. Andersen and Jason Ye Technological Change in the Production Sector Under the Montreal Protocol, which helps resolve whether and when alternatives to high-GWP HFCs will be available in adequate quantities, from multiple suppliers, and at reasonable prices; whether patents on the new technology held by a few companies could limit access to substitutes by other companies, particularly those in Article 5 Parties; and whether the guidelines under the Protocol’s Multilateral Fund for the production sector would support funding for patents and licensing. 2) Steve Seidel and Jason Ye, Patents and the Role of the Montreal Protocol Multilateral Fund (MLF), which 1) documents that the mandate establishing the MLF explicitly calls for paying for patents and royalty fees and that several sector specific MLF technology guidelines include such costs, 2) shows that in only a relatively few investment projects were the explicit payment of license or technology transfer fees required, 3) finds that in other cases the costs of patents and licenses were embedded in the technology costs or that technologies were no longer covered by patents; and 4) concludes that the MLF should continue to pay for patents and royalty fees where required by investment projects in Article 5 Parties and therefore replenishing the MLF should take into consideration the costs associated with license and technology transfer fees.  

Katie Fletcher
Phone: +1 202 338 1300
E-mail: kfletcher@igsd.org