Transparency Without Results: UN Climate Reports Fail to Show Effective Transfer of
Technology to Developing Countries
By Ningxiner Li, intern of the Health, Intellectual Property and Biodiversity Programme (HIPB) at the South Centre
This report synthesizes the findings of research on the reporting and compliance mechanisms governing transfer of technology obligations of developed country Parties under the United Nations climate change regime. The legal basis for transfer of technology has evolved from foundational principles in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to an enhanced transparency framework (ETF) as part of the Paris Agreement, with defined modalities, procedures and guidelines for the transparency framework for action and support (MPGs). The ETF requires that developed countries submit Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) detailing their transfer of technology provided to developing countries. Our review of developed countries’ first BTR submissions reveals significant shortcomings that hinder proper evaluation of compliance with the transfer of technology obligations. The current system allows reporting that meets procedural requirements but fails to deliver clear, comparable, and outcome-oriented data essential for enforcing the legal obligations on transfer of technology and ensuring it serves as a genuine catalyst for global climate actions. This report argues that the ETF, as currently operationalized, prioritizes procedural transparency over substantive effectiveness. The design of the reporting requirements is characterized by discretionary language, fragmented methodologies, and weak linkages between financial and technological support. These features undermine the ability of Parties, review bodies, and the global stocktake to assess whether technology is being delivered in a manner that meaningfully supports developing countries’ climate action. Recommendations are advanced to strengthen reporting requirements, enhance traceability and comparability, and reorient the transparency framework toward measurable outcomes rather than process-based compliance. As the first comprehensive review of the first BTR submissions by developed countries, this report is intended to provide an evidentiary foundation for the 2028 MPGs review.
The sixty-fourth sessions of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice and the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SB64), Belém indicators, plastic treaty and Santa Marta outcomes
Informal Note, 5 June 2026
By Daniel Uribe Terán, Lead Programme Officer, and Touba Esfahani Nejad, Intern, of the Sustainable Development and Climate Change Programme (SDCC) at the South Centre
The Belém Adaptation Indicators agreed at COP30 to make adaptation more measurable. While the measurement of the adaptation efforts is a step forward, it is not sufficient. The indicators can be used for comparison and surveillance. However, the adaptation objective of the Paris Agreement is to enhance adaptive capacity, strengthen resilience and reduce vulnerability of persons and of vulnerable ecosystems that are critical for the maintenance of forest ecosystems and the provision of forest ecosystem services. To achieve these objectives, it is necessary to take effective action to provide finance, technology transfer, debt relief and capacity-building. In SB64, developing countries will have the opportunity to discuss what is the role of reporting while support for implementing adaptation measures are missing.
Three Decades of Global Engagement: The South Centre’s Contribution to Intellectual Property and Development
By Nirmalya Syam
South Centre 30th Anniversary Series No. 2, 30 April 2026
This paper is part of a series of publications made in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the South Centre, an intergovernmental organization established in 1995 to advance the interests of developing countries in global governance. Tracing its origins to the 1990 South Commission, it examines the Centre’s pivotal role in shaping intellectual property (IP) policies to promote equitable development. Through rigorous research, advocacy, and technical assistance, the South Centre has supported negotiations at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and World Trade Organization (WTO), influencing milestones like the 2007 WIPO Development Agenda and extensions of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) transition periods for least developed countries.
Key contributions include promoting TRIPS flexibilities for public health, biodiversity, and technology transfer, with seminal publications on compulsory licensing, patent examination, and traditional knowledge protection. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centre advocated for IP waivers to enhance access to vaccines and therapeutics. Impacts include empowering Global South nations to implement development-oriented IP strategies and reform patent laws. Looking ahead, the paper addresses challenges from digital transformation, artificial intelligence (AI), and data governance, calling for strengthened South-South cooperation and proactive advocacy to ensure inclusive IP frameworks. The South Centre remains essential for fostering sustainable development and reducing global inequalities.
Evidence of Partnerships in the Cuban Pharmaceutical Sector
By Graziela Ferrero Zucoloto
This article analyzes the pharmaceutical partnership agreements of Cuban institutions. It identifies various partnerships with national and foreign firms that spanned 17 countries, with several developed nations appearing as recipients of Cuban technologies, and with Cuban institutions acting as the primary technology holder and licensor in the majority of agreements identified. These findings suggest that Cuba’s state-directed pharmaceutical model has produced an active, innovation-generating sector, with potential lessons for other countries, including Brazil, that maintain public pharmaceutical laboratories.
Statement by the South Centre to the WIPO Assemblies on the Reappointment of the Director General, Daren Tang
21 April 2026
The South Centre looks forward to a further engagement of WIPO Director General Daren Tang during his second term with the development dimension of intellectual property.
In our statement to the WIPO Assemblies on 21 April, we highlight priorities that should be included in the new Medium-Term Strategic Plan. These include: prioritize development, technology transfer, fee reductions for developing countries and LDCs, and a broader focus on innovation, not only on the role of IP.
Addressing Barriers to Accessing Monoclonal Antibodies (mAbs) in Developing Countries: Challenges and Potential Solutions
By Nirmalya Syam
Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have revolutionized treatment in oncology, autoimmune disorders, and infectious diseases due to their high specificity and efficacy. However, access to mAbs in developing countries remains severely limited due to high costs, market concentration in high-income regions, regulatory hurdles, and intellectual property barriers. Despite the potential of biosimilars to enhance affordability, their availability remains restricted due to expensive development processes, patent thickets, and complex regulatory requirements. The dominance of multinational pharmaceutical companies in the market further restricts competition, delaying biosimilar approvals and preventing price reductions. Additionally, regulatory agencies in developing countries often lack the resources to expedite biosimilar approvals, further exacerbating delays in access.
Policy interventions such as improved regulatory harmonization, stricter patent examination guidelines, and expanded public investment in mAb production are necessary to address these barriers. The adoption of the revised 2022 WHO Similar Biotherapeutic Products (SBP) Guidelines could streamline biosimilar approval by reducing unnecessary comparative clinical trials. Moreover, technology transfer initiatives and market-shaping incentives, including compulsory licensing, could help lower costs and accelerate the availability of mAbs in underserved regions.
By implementing these strategies, developing countries can bridge the access gap, ensuring that lifesaving mAb therapies reach the patients who need them most. A coordinated global effort involving policymakers, regulators, and industry stakeholders is essential to establishing a sustainable and equitable mAb supply chain.
The South Centre carries out multiple activities to support developing countries with policy-oriented research, inputs and advice for negotiations and capacity building. The Report summarizes the South Centre’s activities in 2025 and highlights the contexts in which they were conducted as well as the objectives that were pursued with their implementation.
G20 Critical Minerals Deal: A Step Toward Equity or a New Extractive Frontier?
By Touba Esfahani Nejad
This paper examines the Group of Twenty (G20) Critical Minerals Framework adopted under South Africa’s Presidency and the extent to which it represents a shift toward more equitable mineral governance. It analyses the Framework’s key pillars and political commitments alongside the Johannesburg G20 Leaders’ Declaration, assessing their implications for mineral-rich developing countries, importing economies, refining hubs, and the G20 itself. The paper pays particular attention to gaps between stated ambitions and practical constraints having in view financing, technology transfer, and the policy space under the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. It concludes by identifying the conditions under which the Framework could support real value addition and industrialization in the Global South rather than function as a supply-security tool for advanced economies.
Analysis of Intellectual Property Issues Ahead of the WTO 14th Ministerial Conference
By Nirmalya Syam, Viviana Munoz Tellez
This policy brief analyses the issues pertaining to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) that were discussed in the General Council meeting on 16-17 December 2025. Despite the strategic importance of these issues, the divergence on TRIPS issues and on the priorities for the future work of WTO among Members did not allow the General Council to decide on any of these matters. None of the issues were noted for decision in the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14), which is scheduled to be hosted in Yaoundé, Cameroon in March 2026. This reluctance of some Members to engage substantively on intellectual property (IP) issues has become a regular dynamic in the TRIPS Council. However, the MC14 should, at the least, decide to extend the moratorium on TRIPS Non-Violation and Situation Complaints and extend the period for acceptances by Members of the Protocol Amending the TRIPS Agreement. Moreover, there is an understanding that all issues remain on the table, regardless of whether they are taken up at the Conference.
South Centre Statement to IGWG5 on the WHO Pandemic Agreement
9 February 2026
The World Health Organization (WHO) Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) is reconvening to negotiate a Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) System to make operational Article 12 of the WHO Pandemic Agreement, concluded in May 2025 but requiring conclusion of the PABS to move towards ratifications. The Fifth Meeting of the IGWG (IGWG5) will meet from 9-14 February 2026, and the negotiations are meant to conclude by May 2026.
The South Centre has made a statement to the IGWG5 highlighting the imbalance in the current Bureau text. The statement of the South Centre is reproduced below.
Towards a Development-Oriented TRIPS Review Under Article 71.1
By Nirmalya Syam
This paper calls for a comprehensive, development-focused review of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) under Article 71.1, a process that has been mandated but never carried out. It critiques the narrow, compliance-driven approach favored by developed countries, which risks sidelining the broader developmental objectives enshrined in Articles 7 and 8 and reaffirmed by the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health. Through a detailed analysis of the political context, procedural history, and legal mandates, the paper argues that the TRIPS review should center on the real-world impact of the Agreement on developing countries—particularly in areas such as public health, access to medicines, technology transfer, and innovation capacity. It proposes an impact assessment framework grounded in empirical indicators to evaluate how TRIPS has influenced public welfare, policy space, and economic development. Ultimately, the paper urges the World Trade organization (WTO) to fulfill its long-overdue obligation to reassess TRIPS not as a compliance checklist but as a living instrument that must align with global equity and development goals.
Promoting a Symbiotic Relationship Between Trade Policy and Climate Action
By Vahini Naidu
This paper is based on remarks delivered in the lead up to COP30. It outlines how African countries are working to align trade, climate action, and development priorities through early transparency on climate-related trade measures, technology transfer, and the protection of policy space for green industrialisation. It also highlights the growing focus on critical minerals, the rise of unilateral climate-related trade measures, and the need to bring scattered initiatives into a coherent multilateral framework that supports fair and sustainable outcomes.
