UN Climate Change News 30 July 2020 - The UN Climate Change Secretariat has presented three new climate technology publications that document the climate technology “journey” - the pathway from the identification of technology needs to the full implementation of technologies that are required for countries to green their economies and build resilience to climate change.
Zooming in on different aspects of the journey, the publications highlight how best to respond to countries’ technology needs, the important role of innovation in speedy technology implementation and new technology approaches for increasing resilience in coastal regions.
A launch event for the publications was organized virtually by the Technology Executive Committee (TEC), which is the policy arm of the technology mechanism under the UNFCCC. The mechanism was designed to support developing country efforts to address both policy and implementation aspects of climate technology development and transfer. Its implementation arm is the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), based in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Welcoming the three publications, the Chair of the TEC, Mr. Mareer Husny said: “While we are aware of the challenges posed by COVID-19, they should not be an excuse for us to delay our work to address climate change. These publications are timely. As governments prepare green economic recovery packages for the period after COVID-19, the publications show the crucial role of technologies in the transition to low-carbon, resilient economies.”
Climate technology publications provide multiple examples of action on the ground
The topics of the publications are interlinked and provide examples of action on the ground. The first publication, ENHANCING IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RESULTS OF TECHNOLOGY NEEDS ASSESSMENTS (TEC Brief #13) , is part of the TEC’s regular briefing series and explores the starting point of the climate technology journey -the identification and prioritization of the best suited climate technologies for countries.
To determine their climate technology priorities, countries undertake technology needs assessments (TNAs). A TNA supports national sustainable development, builds national capacity and facilitates the implementation of prioritized climate technologies. One example is in Senegal, where the uptake of biomass-based technologies for electricity production, as prioritized in its Technology Needs Assessment, has been accelerated through public–private collaboration, that has resulted in biomass-based electricity production that supports the inclusion of biomass use in Senegal’s energy transition programme for its Nationally Determined Contribution (national climate action plan under the Paris Agreement).
The implementation of the identified technologies for climate change mitigation and adaptation is the next step. This is taken up in the second publication, INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO ACCELERATING AND SCALING UP CLIMATE TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION FOR MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION, which focuses on how to accelerate and scale up the implementation of such technologies through innovative approaches. An example of an innovative approach is the Plantwise programme in Bangladesh that established a global plant clinic network, run by trained plant doctors, where farmers can find practical plant health advice and solutions.
The third publication, POLICY BRIEF: TECHNOLOGIES FOR AVERTING, MINIMIZING AND ADDRESSING LOSS AND DAMAGE IN COASTAL ZONES takes a sector specific perspective and showcases country examples of implemented climate technologies in coastal zones, a home for millions of people, including those that are particularly vulnerable to loss and damage from the impacts of climate change.
“As a citizen of a Small Island Developing State from the Caribbean, I believe what this policy brief covers is a synthesis of current knowledge on loss and damage experienced in coastal zones, an overview of available technologies, and illustrating good practices from different regions and possible ways for countries to overcome the challenges for scaling up their use. This adds value to inform policy-makers and practitioners on technological solutions to assess and manage climate-related risks comprehensively in coastal zone,” said Ms. Dawn Pierre-Nathoniel, the Co-Chair of Executive Committee of the Warsaw International mechanism on loss sand damage.
The publication features, for example, technology to assess risk such as ecosystem risk assessments that are being used at the local, regional and global levels to understand the level of risk of collapse that coastal ecosystems face, and identify which ecosystems are a priority for conservation actions.
See the page with information on the TEC launch event here and the page with all the reports here