By Dele-Yaro Daniel Ademola[1]

INTRODUCTION

Since the inception of the century, there has been rapidly-increasing awareness of the impact of mankind’s modern lifestyle on the environment. This impact arises from pollution, consumption, and destruction of natural resources, all of which result in the emission of greenhouse gases.[2] The results of these emissions are climate change and global warming.[3] As humanity progresses into an era where there is substantial increase in the awareness on the need for sustainable and environmentally-friendly practices, there is now an intensifying debate with regard to the role that intellectual property rights should play on the attainment of this. Intellectual property rights may be seen as a valuable tool to promote the development and diffusion of green technology.[4] Energy supply makes up the largest portion of sources of greenhouse gas emissions globally.[5] The primary contributor to the atmospheric release of man-made CO2 is the burning of fossil fuel, eighty percent of such CO2 arises as a result of burning oil, coal, and gas.[6] Green technology has been adopted in this paper and shall be taken to mean technology which is used, or may be used, to promote sustainability, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, or otherwise assist in the solution to climate change. Green technologies encompass various aspects of technology which help us reduce the human impact on the environment and create mechanisms of sustainable development.[7] Perhaps the most significant green technology is that which facilitates clean and renewable energy and much of this technology is, or will be, subject to intellectual property rights.

Solid waste management is the most pressing environmental challenge faced by urban and rural areas of Nigeria. Nigeria with population exceeding 170 million is one of the largest producers of solid waste in Africa. Despite a host of policies and regulations, solid waste management in the country is assuming alarming proportions with each passing day. Nigeria generates more than 32 million tons of solid waste annually, out of which only 20-30% is collected. Reckless disposal has led to blockage of sewers and drainage networks, and choking of water bodies thus leading to environmental catastrophe. Waste-to-energy has become a promising strategy catering to these issues because the utilization of Municipal solid waste MSW is a viable source of energy for electricity generation and minimization of green house gas emissions.[8]

IMPERATIVE OF WASTE TO ENERGY

The electricity sector in Nigeria generates, transmits, and distributes megawatts of electric power that is significantly less than what is needed. Electricity in Nigeria is generated through thermal and hydro power sources. The main source of electricity in Nigeria is derived from fossil fuels which accounts for 86% of the capacity in Nigeria with the remainder generated from hydro power sources. Nigeria needs 40,000 megawatts to sustain the basic needs of the population but generates only about 4,000 megawatts.

Waste to energy is rapidly growing all over the world because it can reduce the demand for landfills, prevent dependence on fossil fuels; reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and have a positive impact on economic growth. The advanced MSW management technology with the benefit of recovering energy from the solid waste is a promising alternative in resolving the waste disposal complexity in the country. WTE process can reduce a community’s land fill volume by up to 90% and prevent the emission of one tone of green house gases. The typical range of net electrical energy that can be produced is about 50-60 kWh of electricity per ton of waste incinerated. Thus, the incineration of about 2,200 tons per day of waste will produce about 1200 Mwh of electrical energy, and since Nigeria generates more than 32 million tons of solid waste annually she would be able to generate about 112,539 Megawatts of electrical energy and meet the needs of the population.

THE ROLE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Intellectual property rights are central to technology as they are often embodied and conceptualized in the form of proprietary rights, which are transferrable, licensable, and subject to trespass in the form of infringement.[9] A patent is granted under the law to protect an invention that is new or essentially better in some way than what was made before. Establishing a firm system of patency makes development of a nation’s IPRs policy effective and sustainable. This is because one of the most commonly known set of IPRs is Patents. Article 7 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) acknowledges this role of intellectual property rights:

The protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights should contribute to the promotion of technological innovation and to the transfer and dissemination of technology, to the mutual advantage of producers and users of technological knowledge and in a manner conducive to social and economic welfare, and to a balance of rights and obligations.

A strong intellectual property system with adequate protection and incentives will bring about a decline in the “second-mover advantage;” this occurs when research and development firms wait for innovations and proceed to imitate them. Such “free riding” is regarded as a cause of delay to the investment and development of technology. It is undeniable that strengthened intellectual property protection will facilitate the enlargement of green technology markets, and, in particular, will encourage firms from countries to become more open to the commercial transfer of their green technology. Such an environment will facilitate more markets to absorb green technology and promote innovation through this second mover advantage.[10]

CONCLUSION

Green technologies factor environmental awareness into their design and use. Green technologies aim to reduce waste, cut pollution, and even diminish fossil fuel use. By converting everyday products to alternative energy power sources, green technology can help reduce fossil fuel use and help users cut energy bills. Approximately only 3.3% of the world’s energy comes from renewable energy sources. Accordingly, there is still enormous room for development and diffusion of green technology.

WTE is capable of providing waste management and electricity supply solutions, especially in densely populated areas that generate large amounts of garbage, therefore instead of landfilling, waste should therefore be used for producing energy in Nigeria and the revenue generated from WTE would be of immense benefit to the Nigerian government. It is risky to propose a solution that protects other interests and undermines an intellectual property protection system because this may discourage investors from supporting the technology in the first place, thereby running the risk of losing research and financial resources involved in the development of the technology. Intellectual property rights are perhaps the driving force to incentivize investment in the technology.

[1] Associate member of the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators.

[2] See Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Annex A, Dec. 11, 1997, U.N. Doc FCCC/CP/1997/7/Add.1, 37 I.L.M. 22, available at http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/kpeng.pdf [hereinafter Kyoto Protocol] (listing the six major greenhouse gases: Carbon dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), Nitrous oxide (N2O), Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), Perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and Sulphur Hexafluoride (SF6)).

[3]  Corinne Scown, ‘Lifecycle Greenhouse Gas Implications of U.S. National Scenarios for Cellulosic Ethanol Production’ (2012), < http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/7/1/014011/pdf/17489326_7_1_014011.pdf> accessed 27 April 2020.

[4]  Russell Thomson & Elizabeth Webster, ‘The Role of Intellectual Property Rights in Addressing Climate Change’ <http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/aboutwipo/en/wipo_journal/pdf/wipo_journal_2_1.pdf> accessed 27 April 2020.

[5] Susan Solomon, Discussing energy sources as the predominant reason for increased greenhouse gas emissions, (Cambridge University Press 2007).

[6] Bjørn Lomborg, The skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World (Cambridge university press, 2001).

[7] Ghanshyam Das Soni, ‘Advantages of Green Technology’, [2015] (3) (9)  Social Issues and Environmental Problems Journal.

[8] Wale Bakare, ‘Solid Waste Management in Nigeria’, <https://bioenergyconult.com> accessed 27 March 2020.

[9] David Sunding & David Zilberman, ‘The Agricultural Innovation Process: Research and Technology Adoption in a Changing Agricultural Sector’, <http://are.berkeley.edu/~zilber11/innovationchptr.pdf> accessed 27 May 2020.

[10] William Dibble, Justifying Intellectual Property, 1 UCL JURIS. REV. 74, 74 (1994)