What drives technology transfer? A study of Clean Development Mechanism projects in China

Abstract

With climate change becoming a global problem more people are paying attention to, a common goal to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions is recognized by most countries. However, usually emission reduction is more difficult to achieve in developing countries because of the lack of advanced emission reduction technology. Thus,one of the important ways to improve emission reduction technology in developing countries is through technology transfer, which is to import more advanced emission reduction technology from developed countries to developing countries. In this study, I explore the level and determinants of technology transfer using data of projects from four sectors under the CDM(Clean Development Mechanism) in China. I find that large scale projects with higher emission reduction amount tend to have higher probability of technology transfer. Also, more economically and technologically advanced provinces tend to have more projects with technology transfer.