BUSINESS REPORTER
The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion (MoCIIP) has urged researchers and entrepreneurs to explore innovations linked to climate mitigation technologies and solutions that can be commercialized not only for the benefit of the Omani economy, but globally as well.
An official said that, under international conventions signed by the Sultanate, private investments in innovations that offer solutions to climate risks will be protected for their intellectual property rights.
Patented solutions will ensure a return on investments in innovative green solutions, while geographical indicators and brands play an important role in the marketing and development of these solutions, said Fatima bint Khalfan al Balushiya, a biotech patent specialist at the National Intellectual Property Office of the Ministry.
“Patents are an important economic tool for stimulating and developing much required technologies and given the urgent need for global access to effective emission reduction techniques and the economic crises that climate change has left behind, the role of the patent system will help spur innovation,” she said.
she explained that the creation of an effective and unified ip system with other corresponding alternatives to stimulating environmentally sound technologies (green technologies) enhanced the resilience of climate change in accordance with the terms of the trips convention, which set minimum standards for compliance with obligations and conditions and left national regulations and laws in proportion to the nature of each member state free to determine the appropriate way to implement the provisions of the trips convention.
Technological innovation, the official said, is key to uncovering solutions that help mitigate climate change and gradually reduce all harmful emissions that cause environmental consequences to the planet in one way or another. Existing technologies are cost-prohibitive or difficult to implement.
She stressed the importance of ‘green’ or environment-friendly technologies in the areas of energy efficiency, alternatives to fossil fuels, carbon capture, pollution alleviation, water purification, recycling, renewable resources, energy conversion systems, development of hybrid and electric vehicles and other means of transport, and so on. (With inputs from ONA)
