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The author of chapter 11 analyzes the global issue of climate change and its international dynamics. The main issues presented are the dichotomy North-South, the challenge of technology transfer and some considerations regarding the importance of policies. First, Elena Cima considers the role played by technology transfer in developing countries, describing the principal international rules governing the process, and identifying the obstacles that prevent the transfer from being as successful as it should. Second, the author analyzes the Chinese renewable energy market and the role of the government in the sector’s growth. In the conclusive part, the role played by the enactment of domestic policies in facilitating the technology transfer process and enhancing the country’s own domestic capacity is considered. Developing and least-developed nations tend to look at climate change as a North-South issue rather than simply as an environmental one. This dichotomy is clearly connected to the different impacts climate change has on the regions of the world under a geographical perspective but also considering how the level of poverty (and weak infrastructure compound) may increase them. Third, the author stresses that there is the necessity to investigate each country’s contribution to this global challenging issue. According to the data, among the 20 countries that release the highest emissions, eight are developing ones but it has to be noticed that most developing countries (such as, for example, China, India, and Brazil) have average pro capita emissions lower than in the developed countries. Furthermore, past emissions, starting from the phenomenon of industrialization of the eighteenth century, should be considered when dealing with the South which has just started to experience industrialization. The international community is developing a number of mechanisms to encourage such transfer to developing countries, as it is seen as a way to overcome the North-South division that characterizes the climate change debate. What is lacking is a cohesive strategy by the receiving countries. For this reason, the author highlights the importance of the Chinese lesson according to which while designing and implementing domestic policies it helps to keep in mind international rules and obligations. China can represent a good model of legal framework and prioritization of investments, furthermore, it shows how governments should be careful when implementing their plans, without forgetting international rules and standards. Domestic policies can play a crucial role in advancing a country’s technological development, and they will if they are integrated into the broader international legal framework each country is part of.
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