Comments on: Not the conference that saved the planet https://blogs.dw.com/ice/?p=8684 Ice-Blog Wed, 21 Sep 2016 14:19:30 +0000 hourly 1 By: David Scrimgeour https://blogs.dw.com/ice/?p=8684#comment-151 Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:50:50 +0000 http://blogs.dw.com/ice/?p=8684#comment-151 One interesting aspect of the debate which has not been properly understood or discussed is exactly how the cleantech technologies are going to be transferred across borders. It is a good thing that lots of money will be made available to developing countries but what will persuade the German “Mittelstand” company owner to put his business at risk by investing capital, time and management resources in a risky African location?

Germany has the technology leadership across most of the renewable energy and environmental technology sectors so German companies must also be the leaders in outward investment of cleantech if this concept is going to work. However, anyone who has worked with German businesses on international expansion knows how slow and risk averse these decision-makers are. Many German firms have indeed built up impressive international structures over decades. Time, though, is a scarce resource in the context of climate change.

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