TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER MARKER


DEFINITION
An activity should be classified as transfer of a climate-change-related environmental sound technology (score Principal or Significant) if:
It contributes to the objective of stabilizations of greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system by promoting efforts to reduce or limit GHG emissions or to enhance GHG sequestration.

Includes a flow of know-how, experience, and equipment for mitigating and adapting to climate change among different stake holders such as governments, private sector entities, financial institutions, non-governmental organizations, and research and/or other education institutions.

Comprise the process of learning to understand, utilize and replicate a technology, including the capacity to choose and adapt it to local conditions, and integrate it with indigenous technologies.

CRITERIA FOR ELIGIBILITY

The activity contributes to

a)      the mitigation of climate change by limiting anthropogenic emissions of GHGs, including gases regulated by the Montreal Protocol; or

b)      the protection and/or enhancement of GHG sinks and reservoirs; or

c)      the integration of climate change concerns with the recipient countries’ development objectives through institution building, capacity development, strengthening the regulatory and policy framework, or research; or

d)      developing countries’  efforts to meet their obligations under the Convention.

The activity will score “principal objective” if it directly and explicitly aims to achieve one or more of the above four criteria.

EXAMPLES OF TYPICAL ACTIVITIES

1.  Typical activities take place in the sectors of:

Water and sanitation

Transport

Energy

Agriculture

Forestry

Industry

   

 

·         GHG emission reductions or stabilisation in the energy, transport, industry and agricultural sectors through transfer  of technologies using new and renewable forms of energy, know-how to improve the energy efficiency of existing generators, machines and equipment, or demand side management.

·         Transfer of technologies contributing to methane emission reductions through waste management or sewage treatment.

·        Development, transfer and promotion of technologies and know-how as well as building of capacities that control, reduce or prevent anthropogenic emissions of GHGs, in particular in waste management, transport, energy, agriculture and industry.

·         Protection and enhancement of sinks and reservoirs of GHGs through sustainable forest management, afforestation and reforestation, rehabilitation of areas affected by drought and desertification.

 

2.  Typical non-sector specific activities are:

Environmental policy and administrative management

Biosphere protection

Biodiversity

Env. education/training

Environmental research

·         Protection and enhancement of sinks and reservoirs through sustainable management and conservation of oceans and other marine and coastal ecosystems, wetlands, wilderness areas and other ecosystems.

·         Preparation of national inventories of greenhouse gases (emissions by sources and removals by sinks); climate change related policy and economic analysis and instruments, including national plans to mitigate climate change; development of climate-change-related legislation; climate technology needs surveys and assessments; institutional capacity building.

·         Education, training and public awareness related to climate change.

·         Climate-change-related research and monitoring as well as impact and vulnerability assessments.

·         Oceanographic and atmospheric research and monitoring.

3. Environmentally Sound Technologies Technologies which protect the environment, are less polluting, use all resources in a more sustainable manner, recycle more of their wastes and products, and handle residual wastes in a more acceptable manner than the technologies for which they were substitutes and are compatible with nationally determined socio-economic, cultural and environmental priorities. The term implies hard and soft technologies conducive to mitigation of and adaptation to climate change*

Included in ESTs

  • Technologies, which enable a function to be fulfilled with reduced impact on the environment, without excessive cost of serious impacts on growth.
  • The support necessary for full implementation of ESTs, e.g. training, maintenance, management support.
  • Both end of pipe and integrated pollution prevention technologies ("cleaner production") may be included, with a clear preference for the latter when there is an option
  • As well as cleaner processes, EST includes the production of technological products with improved environmental performance: e.g. low or zero emission vehicles, CFC free refrigerators.
  • Relatively new technologies, where, implicitly, there may be a problem accessing and financing the technologies.

Excluded from ESTs

  • Projects, and the portions of projects which are not technology based: e.g. land management projects, or in many cases, the major part of water and transport infrastructure programs.
  • Management systems and other techniques where there is not a specific technology driver. In addition, support technologies (for instance, Geographic Information Systems, Monitoring equipment, etc.) would generally be excluded from ESTs.
  • End of pipe technologies when a superior technology exists.
  • The simple import of such cleaner products, as opposed to their indigenous production.
  • Established ESTs, where accessing and financing them is not an issue (a simple example is bicycles, undoubtably an EST in a sense, -bicycle use, however, is not generally constrained by financing).

*IPCC SR on Methodological and Technological Issues in Technology Transfer