Felix Groba
Renewable energy technology is decisive in the nexus of economic development while changing the global energy system towards more sustainability. In this frame international trade is important as it has been identified as a channel for technological change and diffusion. Yet, tensions on the policy level around technology transfer at the UNFCCC and the WTO negotiation obstacles on environmental goods liberalisation necessitate an analysis of the international trade structure and its dynamics with respect to clean energy technologies to outline, inter alia, the impact of sustained trade barriers. However, only few studies focus on trade aspects of the clean energy technology sector. Relevant market studies describe growth dynamics only in terms of investment and added capacity. Structure, development and drivers of cross border trade remain blurred. Additionally, environmental regulation is an important instrument for renewable energy promotion at the national level. Yet, empirical studies on the effect of such regulation on export dynamics remain ambiguous and rarely focus on the renewable energy sector. The aim of this paper is twofold: First, analysing structure and development of international trade with a focus on solar technology components which are assumed to have the largest potential for decarbonising the economy, especially in developing countries. Second, determining drivers of cross border trade through empirical modeling in a panel context. Three hypotheses are tested. First, as components for solar energy systems are research-intensive, the innovative capacity in exporting countries has a positive effect on the export performance. Second, following the Porter hypothesis countries with a strong policy framework of supporting renewable energies have gained a comparative world market advantage as such a framework is likely to support a national renewable energy industry that is a striving for export markets. Third, barriers to trade and an unreliable policy environment in receiving countries are obstacles to clean technology trade as additional costs to exporters are imposed.
Themen: Energiewirtschaft
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