As a party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the United States is engaged in multilateral talks regarding a possible international treaty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The GIPC supports these efforts and believes that any new climate change agreement must fully protect IP rights. During the UNFCCC discussions, unfortunately, some countries have proposed provisions to weaken IP protections for clean technologies, which could have a severe impact on U.S. businesses and workers, if adopted. A report by Garten Rothkopf details future green job losses if efforts to weaken IP rights prevail. The study finds that compulsory licensing and other anti-IP policies would lead to U.S. green job losses of 1 million by the year 2020, increasing exponentially after that.  

The GIPC believes that achieving greater diffusion and adoption of clean technologies worldwide should remain an important goal of the UNFCCC discussions. However, this must be addressed in a manner that maintains respect for intellectual property rights, acknowledges their value, and is achieved through market solutions that are readily available. Mark Esper’s, Executive Vice President, GIPC, testimony before the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming noted that any international agreement that includes weakened IP protections will stifle critical research and development investments in new technologies and slow their deployment at a time when technology improvement, development, and diffusion are crucial.