Aligning climate needs and intellectual property: an entitlement-based framework for green technology transfer

Climate change has created a policy paradox in international economic law. On one hand, countries agree in principle that transferring environmentally sound technologies is essential for global climate mitigation and adaptation. On the other hand, the legal regimes governing trade and intellectual property (IP) persistently fragment and often conflict with this goal. This article asks how the international legal framework can be reimagined to reconcile IP protection with the urgent need for green technology dissemination. It argues that existing tools—from treaty interpretation to coordination mechanisms—have failed to resolve the misalignment between strong IP rights under agreements like World Trade Organization Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and the soft, unenforceable commitments to technology sharing in climate accords. As a solution, the article proposes an entitlement-based framework inspired by Calabresi and Melamed’s theory. This framework empowers states to override or adjust patent entitlements in narrowly defined climate emergencies, operating as a unilateral yet normatively justified mechanism to promote green technology transfer. In doing so, it aims to balance incentives for innovation with the imperative of widespread access, offering a structured approach to unlock climate-critical technologies where current international rules fall short.