Abstract
This paper is a summary of research undertaken for Friends of the Earth in which two international environmental technology databases were evaluated. Once the importance of cleaner technology to the attainment of sustainable development is established, the databases are assessed in terms of their contribution to both the development and diffusion of cleaner technology. Both the UNEP's ICPIC and the EC's NETT aim to overcome a major obstacle to the adoption of clean technologies: lack of knowledge. However, they are found to do this in two distinct ways, with ICPIC aiming to raise awareness and NETT seeking to bring together potential users and suppliers. Serious doubts are raised concerning the capacity of these initiatives to achieve their aims, given a combination of very small user bases and inappropriate delivery technology. However, the heart of the problem appears to be a lack of demand for information on cleaner technologies. Thus, governments and international institutions are urged to integrate such initiatives with policy measures that can generate demand for this information (e.g. regulation and economic incentives). This is in contrast to current practice which has seen information provision initiatives established in isolation because they are a relatively easy and high profile option.
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