Our ability to deploy effective technologies, on a scale large enough to
significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, depends on two key
factors: the direction, and the pace, of technological innovation. The
direction of technological innovation, to a large extent, is contingent on a
balanced, technology-neutral approach to energy policy (Weiss and
Bonvillian, 2009; Diazanadon, etc. 2009). The pace of technological
innovation, on the other hand, depends on a range of factors including,
critically, the presence of effective domestic policies to spur research and
innovation. Such policies will be particularly important in major developing
countries whose emissions are accelerating and which lack the long
established research and development (R&D) infrastructure of industrialized
countries.