Technology Deployment Agreements: Increasing Participation in Climate Cooperation

The role of technology cooperation in international climate policy has drawn considerable attention in recent years. In this article, I examine the strategic benefits of a technology deployment agreement. I find that although technology deployment produces mostly private benefits for each country, a formal treaty can strategically increase global pollution abatement efforts. If technology deployment allows countries to credibly commit to pollution abatement, the international community can form two coalitions. One deploys the technology and then abates pollution, whereas the other only abates pollution. Empirically, a technology deployment agreement is useful and feasible when the total number of concerned countries is high and technology deployment is very costly but effective in reducing the cost of future pollution abatement. In addition to revealing a new strategic rationale for technology deployment agreements, I offer a nuanced analytical distinction between deployment versus research and development. For practical policy formation, I characterize the conditions and form of successful technology deployment cooperation. Prepared for the 2011 Yale Conference on International Environmental Agreements. † Postal: 420 W 118th St, 712 IAB, New York, NY 10027, USA. Tel: +1-734-757-0161. Email: [email protected].