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10 Key elements to enhance technological innovation for the Paris Agreement

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10 Key elements to enhance technological innovation for the Paris Agreement

In 2015, many countries adopted the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, there by committing to a vision of a low- carbon, climate-resilient and sustainable future for all.

The world events leading to and after the signing of the agreement have shown that climate issues are becoming a reality; for instance, 2016 was the hottest year on record with the average global temperature at almost 1 degrees celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Under the Paris Agreement, countries have developed nationally determined contributions (NDCs), national adaptation plans and mid-century strategies and now their implementation is in full swing.

Technological innovation and the Paris Agreement

In order to achieve their set targets, technological innovation is key as an accelerator and enhancer of the efforts to implement the national climate actions.

To support the countries in this endeavour, the UNFCC Technology Executive Committee has prepared a policy brief that locates the important role of technological innovation in achieving a low-emission, climate-resilient and prosperous future. The Technology Executive Committee recommends that the Conference of the Parties (COP) encourage parties (countries) to:

  • To prioritize resources (human, institutional and financial) for such innovation efforts, in accordance with their needs, priorities, and capacities;
  • To enhance public and private partnerships in the research, development and demonstration of climate technologies by increasing expenditure for it and providing a clear policy signal of a long-term commitment to act on climate change;
  • To strengthen national systems of innovation and enabling environments, including through market creation and expansion, and capacity-building;
  • To enhance existing and build new collaborative initiatives for climate technology innovation, including for sharing expertise, good practices and lessons learned;
  • To create an inclusive innovation process that involves all key stakeholders, facilitating the incorporation of diverse and relevant expertise, knowledge and views and generating awareness of the benefits and impacts.
  • To acknowledge and protect indigenous and local knowledge and technologies and incorporate them in their national innovation systems;

Ten key elements of technological innovation

The committee studies the countries NDC, national adaptation plans and mid-century strategies, and noted that the key to their achievement was the concept of national determination and localisation of plans based on national context, needs and preferences.

The following were identified as 10 key elements of technological innovation:-

  1. Technological innovation is central to low-emission and climate-resilient development.
  2. The journey has just begun
  3. There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach
  4. It’s all about a systematic approach
  5. The right push
  6. Pull a boat over a mountain
  7. Innovation is more than technology
  8. It’s all about people and process
  9. To go far we must go together
  10. UNFCCC bodies : building coherence and synergies

Read more detail on each of the ten-points stated above here

More information on the technological innovation for the Paris Agreement here http://unfccc.int/ttclear/tec/brief10.html#Brief10

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