Considering technology within the UN climate change negotiations

Abstract

The treatment of technology within the UNFCCC negotiation process has moved from a relatively marginal subject to one of central importance, and is likely to be critical to ensuring a successful outcome at COP15. The development, deployment and transfer of low-carbon technologies, and overcoming related investment challenges, is, however, an issue considerably wider than the remit and scope of the UNFCCC. Hence there is a need to understand how cooperative action on technology under the Convention can be most effective. The existing UNFCCC technology framework would need to be significantly refined and augmented in order to appropriately address the scale and pace of the low-carbon technology implementation challenge. This paper considers the contours of an enhanced technology framework that could contribute to a future climate change agreement. In doing so, it synthesises aspects of the relevant literature and creates a link to the decision-making process of the UNFCCC. Disclaimer:The content and views expressed in this paper are not attributable to national or organisational positions in the climate negotiations or elsewhere. All of the authors contributed in their personal capacities.

Informing international UNFCCC technology mechanisms from the ground up: Using biogas technology in South Africa as a case study to evaluate the usefulness of potential elements of an international technology agreement in the UNFCCC negotiations process

“…Bazilian et al (2008) re-iterate the value of having more country-led data and empirical project data as many climate models are currently based on assumptions about the technical status and potential scale and rate of deployment, costs and social acceptability. To date there is much literature about technology and investments but little about how technology can be embedded and enabled in the international climate regime.…”

“…Definitions for the term 'enabling environment' are numerous, and range from allencompassing to narrow (Brinkerhoff, 2004 (Bazilian, et al, November 2008). The process of strengthening enabling environments is inherently tied to economic development, and basic issues of governance facing developing countries (Bazilian, November 2008).…”

“…The process of strengthening enabling environments is inherently tied to economic development, and basic issues of governance facing developing countries (Bazilian, November 2008). Due to the current market-based economy, it is usually left up to the market to decide the most efficient technology to reach the required emission targets (Bazilian, et al, November 2008).…”

“…Although the private sector should provide the bulk of technology-related investment, significant public financing will also be required (Tomlinson et al, 2008). Bazilian (2008) Chapter 3 explores South Africa's innovation instititutions, while Chapter 5 considers the enabling environment specific to the biogas sector.…”

“…It is recognised that a technology mechanism cannot encompass all aspects of technology for mitigation and adaptation and that an approach based on adaptive learning and adjustment is more pragmatic (Bazilian, et al, 2008). The importance of technical and absorptive capacity in the technology transfer process will vary for different applications of technology.…”