Breaking barriers: Assessing technology transfer for climate-resilient development

Abstract

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) promotes technology transfer between developed and developing countries as a crucial tool for limiting global temperature rise. This climate change mitigation role of technology transfers has attracted extensive research on the barriers to technology transfer. However, a thematic analysis consolidating the diverse data is lacking. This study aims to fill this gap by conducting a thematic analysis of the barriers to technology transfer, which will consolidate and disseminate information to enhance the chances of successful technology transfer. The study employs a non-time-restricted thematic analysis of the barriers to technology transfer spanning 1990–2023. After analysing a diverse pool of secondary data, 285 codes revealed six primary themes: Organization and knowledge, Government and law, Investment and finance, Consumer and market, Infrastructure and development, and Climate and others. The primary themes of Organization and knowledge (OK) and Government and law (GL), with frequency scores of 108 and 69, respectively, are identified as the top two barriers. Furthermore, within these primary themes of OK and GL, the subbarriers of System and technical and Political issues, with frequency scores of 53 and 26, are the most frequently cited barriers. Addressing the technology transfer barriers identified in this study improves climate resilience and aligns with global climate initiatives such as the Paris Agreement and the "New Global Financing" initiative. Therefore, the study findings can contribute to UN Sustainable Development Goal 12 and the implementation of circular economy practices.