POST-KYOTO NEGOTIATIONS: CLEAN TECHNOLGY TRANSFER

Africa contributes only about 3.8% of total GHGs

Yet African countries are among the most vulnerable to climate change, because of the following factors: High poverty levels Heavy reliance on climate-sensitive sectors (e.g. rain-fed

agriculture, mining, oil & gas, fisheries, forests, tourism, etc.) Poor economic and social infrastructure Existing stresses on health and well being (e.g., HIV/AIDS,

illiteracy) Conflicts Low adaptive capacity (limited human, institutional,

technological and financial capacities)

Africa is already witnessing impacts of Climate change, which will worsen with time, if decisive actions are not taken now:

Constrained agricultural production and increasing food crisis/insecurity

Increasing water stress and related water conflicts Increasing energy constraints, further impeding industrial

development Expanding range and prevalence of vector-borne diseases

(malaria, cholera, yellow fever, rift valley fever) Rising sea level impacting livelihoods in coastal areas Loss of biodiversity, forests and other natural habitats Increased risks of conflicts arising from climate-induced

population migrations (pastoralists)

Bali Roadmap: a two-year process of multilateral negotiation to finalize a post-2012 global agreement (regime) on climate change by December 2009

Review of the Protocol scheduled from 2008

Negotiations to be articulated around:

Mitigation

Adaptation

Technology development and transfer

Financing

Funding for a new mechanism should be:  Adequate, stable, and secure: Developed

countries should commit to provide stable funding that is sufficient to the task at hand, and that will remain so in the future.  

Measurable, reportable and verifiable: Consistent with the requirements of the Bali Action Plan, capacity building and technology financing and transfer to support mitigation efforts in developing countries should be measurable, reportable and verifiable.  

Additional to existing ODA: Funding for technology transfer must be new and additional. Developed countries should not meet their commitments under the UNFCCC and the Bali Action Plan to finance the transfer of environmentally sound technologies by diverting funds from other development assistance programs. Similarly, funding provided outside of the authority of the UNFCCC should not be regarded as part of these commitments.

UNFCCC, Art. 4.3 emphasizes the need for “adequacy and predictability” in the flow of funds from developed countries in financing their commitments under the Convention. See also, Proposal by the G77 & China for a Technology Mechanism under the UNFCCC.

UNFCCC, Report of the Conference of the Parties on its thirteenth session, held in Bali from 3 to 15 December 2007, Decision 1/CP.13, “Bali Action Plan”, para. 1(b)(ii).

UNFCCC Arts. 4.1c, 4.3 and 4.5. Proposal by the G77 & China for a Technology

Mechanism under the UNFCCC; China’s Views on Enabling the Full, Effective and Sustained Implementation of the Convention Through Long-Term Cooperative Action Now, Up to and Beyond 2012, at 2 (September 2008).

Proposal by the G77 & China for a Technology Mechanism under the UNFCCC.

Financing from the new mechanism should be:  Provided on a grant or concessionary basis: In accordance with

basic principles of equity and “common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities” Article 11 of the UNFCCC specifies that a mechanism for the provision of financial resources and transfer of technology should operate on a grant or concessional basis. Any new mechanisms created for the post-2012 commitment period should also operate on this basis.  

Unencumbered by unrelated policy conditions: The mechanism should be used to support policy reforms to facilitate research and development and investment in clean technology in carbon-intensive sectors such as energy, transportation, and forestry. However, it must be sensitive to preserving the domestic political space to craft policy solutions that are responsive to local needs. Funding therefore should not be tied to unrelated issues such as reforms in macroeconomic policy. UNFCCC, Art. 11.1.

See, e.g. UNDP’s proposal for a Climate Change Mitigation Facility, UNDP, Human Development Report 2007/2008: Fighting Climate Change: Human Solidarity in a Divided World, Summary, at 30; Proposal by the G77 & China for a Technology Mechanism under the UNFCCC.

The mechanism should prioritize the transfer and dispersion of

technologies that:   Have been prioritized through an inclusive and

participatory country-driven assessment processes: Technology needs should be identified through a country-driven process such as Technology Needs Assessment or a National Adaptation Plan of Action. Key stakeholders from government, civil society, and business should have a meaningful voice in assessing technology needs, and designing and implementing technology transfer strategies plans. Funds should be available for research and development to promote indigenous solutions to local needs.

 

Promote the transition to low-carbon energy pathways: The mechanism should only finance technologies that will facilitate a shift away from fossil fuel-based energy sources. It should not support new investments in incrementally more efficient processes for burning fossil fuels, such as supercritical coal technology.  

Improve the efficiency of existing infrastructure and systems: The mechanism should prioritize end-use efficiency and demand side management systems that are often the least-cost energy solutions. (Climate Technology Initiative, Methods for Climate Change Technology Transfer Needs Assessments and Implementing Activities (2002).UNFCCC, Decision 5/CP7 and Decision 28/CP7 (2002). World Resources Institute, Contributions to a World Bank Administered Clean Technology Fund, at 2 (2008).

The mechanism should also prioritize the transfer and

dispersion of technologies that: Expand access to essential energy services

for the poorest: The mechanism should prioritize affordable, locally controlled technologies that can provide secure and affordable energy services to the 2 billion of the world’s poorest citizens who currently lack such services.  

Promote economic self-determination and empowerment of the poorest: The mechanism should also finance technologies that reduce dependence and promote self-sufficiency for poor communities.

Address the particular needs of women: Priority should also be given to energy technologies that may alleviate the disproportionate burdens of poverty that fall on women, such as the physical and health burdens associated with collecting and cooking with firewood.

inadequate access to information about clean technology, including cost comparisons, records of performance, technical specifications, and suitability

technical barriers to transferring technology, including a lack of infrastructure, limited skills and technical capabilities of firms to manage and adapt technologies, as well as a technology knowledge-base with capacity for operation and maintenance.

lack of access to financing instruments and credit for higher-cost of clean technologies, as well as insufficient investment for research and development.

cultural barriers exist, such as consumer preferences and social biases for absorbing, adapting, and accepting technologies.

 Many developed countries cite political instability, corruption, and lack of civil society in the developing world as barriers to transfer.

intellectual property rights (IPRs) has emerged as a one of the most serious potential barriers to transferring clean technology. IPRs are creations and inventions, including copyrights, trademarks, and patents that provide the holder of these properties exclusive legal rights to control how their inventions are used, especially for commercial purposes.

Developing countries, however, see IPRs as limiting their access to at least two of the most essential ingredients of sustainable development: knowledge and technology.

The degree to which IPRs will act as a significant barrier to transferring technologies depends on many questions, including whether the particular technology already patented or will be patented, whether substitutes are available and affordable, and, if so, whether they are competitive in cost and performance. Another key question is whether the licensing terms of technology will be acceptable to those who most need it.

some broad patent might complicate the development of a major category of new more-efficient or less-expensive technologies,” blocking the way for innovation by others, including in solar but particularly in wind, where four firms control seventy-five percent of the global market. IPRs can restrict access in several ways, including ripple effects due to the existing concentration in the industry.

Shifting financial incentives to make climate technologies not only affordable to buy but profitable to sell

Share Clean Energy “Software” by Capacity-Building with Lessons Learned

Share Clean Energy “Hardware” by relaxing Intellectual Property Rights

relax IPRs for climate friendly technologies

Submission, technical consultant has drafted a submission on the importance of bio-carbon in Africa for consideration by member states(Zambia & Kenya have expressed interest to make the formal submission to the HLF)

Side Event Ministerial Statement Press Conference with Media follow

up(EU & USA)