OECD Environment Working Papers

ISSN :
1997-0900 (online)
DOI :
10.1787/19970900
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This series is designed to make available to a wider readership selected studies on environmental issues prepared for use within the OECD. Authorship is usually collective, but principal authors are named. The papers are generally available only in their original language English or French with a summary in the other if available.
 

Adaptation and Innovation

An Analysis of Crop Biotechnology Patent Data You or your institution have access to this content

Authors:
Shardul Agrawala1, Cécile Bordier1, Victoria Schreitter1, Valerie Karplus2
Author Affiliations
  • 1: OECD, France

  • 2: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States

Publication Date
26 Mar 2012
Bibliographic information
No.:
40
Pages
40
DOI
10.1787/5k9csvvntt8p-en

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Innovation in technologies that promote mitigation and adaptation will be critical for tackling climate change. It can decrease the costs of policy measures and provide new opportunities for the private sector. However, most discussions of innovation have focused on mitigation, while little attention has been paid to innovation for adaptation. This paper uses agricultural crop biotechnology as a case study of innovative activity. The agricultural sector is considered to be particularly vulnerable to climate change, in addition to facing the pressures of meeting the demands of a rising world population. Innovation in plant breeding to develop crop varieties that are more resilient to climate change impacts is one of several possible adaptation options for agriculture. This paper neither advocates nor discourages the use of biotechnology, but focuses on providing estimates of the level and trends of innovation in this field.
Also available in: French
Keywords:
adaptation, climate change, patents, biotechnology, agriculture, innovation
JEL Classification:
  • O39: Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth / Technological Change; Research and Development; Intellectual Property Rights / Other
  • Q16: Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics / Agriculture / R&D; Agricultural Technology; Biofuels; Agricultural Extension Services
  • Q54: Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics / Environmental Economics / Climate; Natural Disasters; Global Warming