The United Nations approach to climate policy is and has been to focus on emission caps. Since emission of greenhouse gases is the direct cause of human-made climate change, capping country-specific emissions may at first appear to be a precise policy instrument. Thus, both the Kyoto Protocol and now the Paris Agreement aim at limiting country-specific emissions of greenhouse gases (UNFCCC 2016 ).
At the same time, it is well recognized that to be able to deal with reduced consumption of fossil fuels, the world must develop alternatives. Green technologies, such as abatement technologies and renewable energy sources, are necessary if we are to sustain our way of life. Despite this fact, the treaties have not discussed or attempted to pin down technology investments.
Ideally, one would think that technology will be driven by demand if countries and companies are limited in their capacities to emit. With such limits, the demand for technology will increase and firms will find it profitable to develop, invest in, and purchase new and green technology