Source organisation:

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

Sectors:

Cross-sectoral

Cross-sectoral enabler:

Innovation & RDD

Publication date:

Friday, December 8, 2023

December 8, Dubai, UAE –  The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Technology Mechanism hosted a high-level, dedicated event to drive enhanced international cooperation on the development and deployment in developing nations of transformative technologies that are urgently required to tackle climate change.

The event – Uniting for Climate Action: Calling for International Cooperation in Technology and Innovation aimed to address climate change and drive technology innovation, investment, and deployment.

The event highlighted progress made the UNFCCC’s Joint Work Programme, which was launched at last year’s COP27 by the Technology Executive Committee (TEC) and the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) – respectively, the policy and implementation arms of the Technology Mechanism. The five-year Programme aims to promote climate technology solutions in developing countries.

H.E. Sarah Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology delivered the opening address at the event, where she highlighted the importance of supporting developing countries. Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, Inger Andersen, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and Collins Nzovu, Zambia’s Minister of Green Economy and Environment, also gave keynote speeches at the event, with private-sector leaders also speaking.

“The widespread adoption of cutting-edge technologies – across both developed and developing countries – is critical to driving zero-carbon growth and reaching global climate goals,” said H.E. Sarah Amiri. “The good news is that many of these transformative technologies are already available for use or are under development. Such technologies could remove tens of billions of tons of carbon emissions annually and help to meet the most urgent needs of developing nations – if we provide them with the right support to access them.”

“Today’s event should help to accelerate the deployment of climate technologies for developing countries and support their sustainable socio-economic development,” she added.

The event also included a panel discussion on forming new public- and private-sector partnerships to achieve sustainable goals. Speakers included Esteban Valenzuela, Minister for Agriculture, Chile; Hao Xu, Vice President and Head of Climate, Tencent, representing the Innovate for Climate Coalition; and Thomas Guillot, Chief Executive, Global Cement and Concrete Association.

Commenting on the event, Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC said, “The Technology Executive Committee and the Climate Technology Center and Network have shown commendable leadership in the past year. They have laid a roadmap for positive change. Now it's our turn to walk it. The monumental task of transforming our societies and economies is on all of us. We must all do our part to build a world where prosperity and sustainability are not competing ideals, but two sides of the same coin.”

Technology is integral to climate action and is a cross-cutting theme in the COP28 thematic agenda, with the COP28 Presidency emphasizing the important role that the private sector and technology can play in delivering climate action on the required scale.

“The science is clear: we need ambitious action and we need it quickly. The good news is we already have proven technologies available to us, and thanks to the work of CTCN, a strong business case for these technologies being rolled out in developing countries. Now we need to bring together both finance and resources to scale the capacity building and technology transfer we need to deliver low carbon and climate resilient development for those communities most impacted by climate change,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP.

Climate technologies could at least double their contribution to global growth while removing up to 25 billion tons of carbon emissions annually.  Further, electrification, renewables, nuclear, carbon capture, utilization and storage, and hydrogen combined could deliver over 70 percent of the emissions reductions needed to bring the global energy system to net zero by 2050, according to the International Energy Agency. However, countries in the Global South receive just a quarter of current global climate-technology investment, and greater investment in research and development is urgently required to bring down costs for existing and emerging technologies.