Chapter 1　Introduction

1.1　Background

A huge earthquake accompanied by a tsunami hit off the east coast of Japan，followed by the explosion of the first，second，and third nuclear reactors in turn and the burning of the 4th reactor afterwards on March 11，2011.The accident and the continued struggle to contain radiation at the 4.7 GW nuclear facilities have plunged the greater Tokyo area's electricity sector into a massive crisis.The nuclear meltdown in Fukushima has underscored that energy policy is more than just the production，transformation，distribution and provision of energy.Energy policy can often lead to major encroachments upon the environment as well as the life and work of human beings（Netzer and Steinhilber，2011：3）.Historically，the nuclear leakage has brought us numerous disasters，such as the accidents happened in the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl.The cataclysmic accidents in Fukushima have once again emphatically underscored that the dangers of nuclear energy cannot be controlled by human beings despite all the technological progress that has been made and all the safety precautions instituted.Therefore，many countries have subsequently begun to reconsider their energy policies（Netzer and Steinhilber，2011：12）.For example，the Swiss authorities have suspended nuclear plant construction；Germany's coalition government agreed to shut down all of the country's nuclear reactors by 2022（Thomson，2011：464-482）.

But crises also hold out opportunities.The crisis of Fukushima，for instance，offers an opportunity to organize energy supply in a more sustainable manner throughout the world.In fact，before the Fukushima Nuclear Crisis，renewable energy sources，such as wind，solar，geothermal，ocean，biomass，and waste-to-energy，have attracted wide attention and developed rapidly in many parts of the world.It is reported that renewable energy sources constituted almost 30％ of the increase in global power generation in 2010，reflecting their prospects of satisfying the world's increasing energy needs.In addition，the increasing share of renewable energy may help to resolve the problem of energy security faced by many countries because of uncertain markets for fossil fuel.Based on the increasing public awareness of potential risks of nuclear energy，many countries set ambitious goals to foster the development of a sustainable energy system.According to the 12th Five-Years Plan of China，the government will preferentially develop renewable energy technology.It aims to promote the solution for many problems related to the public interest，such as environment pollution，climate change，and energy crisis，which are getting more and more serious with the rapid economic development in China since the economic opening and reform program launched in 1978.In order to achieve an energy supply based on 100 percent renewable energies，several structural changes need to be made to stake out the course towards a sustainable future——ranging from the technical arrangements such as expansion of electricity grids to the political regulations and the introduction of new market mechanisms（Netzer and Steinhilber，2011：11）.

However，most of renewable energy patents are held in developed countries，which play important roles in developing renewable energy technology.According to the OECD，“Large countries such as Germany，Japan and the United States have the highest number of patents”.It notes that Denmark is leading in renewable energy with 161 patents on wind energy in 2003～2005.Similarly，Stuttgart region of Germany leads in automobile pollution control technologies with 37.4％ of car emissions control patents（Srinivas，2009：5）.A compulsory license permits a government（or a third party authorized by the nation）to use a patented invention without permission of the patent owner in exchange with the payment of a government's determined royalty（Cynthia，2011：127）.Therefore，in order to promote renewable energy technology in developing countries，appropriate restrictions of the right of patentee of renewable energy technology are worthy of exploration.Especially China's challenges in addressing environmental problems are particularly acute as it is a country struggling to prevent even more pollution and natural disasters that stem，in part，from 30 years of unchecked economic growth.This paper purposes to argue that compulsory licenses should be introduced into renewable energy sector in China and to explore system design from the viewpoint of political philosophy.