Principles and structure of the technology framework and scope and modalities for the periodic assessment of the Technology Mechanism

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Gervais Simmons
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1 SUBMISSION BY GUATEMALA ON BEHALF OF THE AILAC GROUP OF COUNTRIES COMPOSED BY CHILE, COLOMBIA, COSTA RICA, HONDURAS, GUATEMALA, PANAMA, PARAGUAY AND PERU Subject: Principles and structure of the technology framework and scope and modalities for the periodic assessment of the Technology Mechanism Reference: FCCC/SBSTA/2016/4, para 30 and FCCC/SBI/2016/8, para 96 Introductory Remarks 1. AILAC welcomes the opportunity to submit its views on the principles and structure of the Technology Framework and scope and modalities for the periodic assessment of the Technology Mechanism. 2. AILAC aims to present views which are additional to, and build upon, the progress achieved in COP22 regarding the purpose and key themes of the Technology Framework (TF) i. The purpose of the TF is as stipulated in Article 10, paragraph 4 of the Paris Agreement (PA), and should address the broader context of the transformational changes and the long-term vision for technology development and transfer. ii. Parties agreed that the initial key themes for the technology framework are: innovation, implementation, enabling environments and capacity building, collaboration and stakeholder engagement, and support. 3. AILAC believes the Paris Agreement (PA) is a watershed in the efforts of the international community to tackle climate change. By expressing concrete targets in Adaptation and Mitigation, it provides a quantitative and qualitative backdrop against which all efforts, including but not limited to those regarding Means of Implementation, must be considered. Article 10.1 further lays out an agreed long-term technology vision, which creates a positive impulse for enhanced implementation on technology-related matters. 4. The PA establishes the Technology Framework to help achieve its goals, which are clearly laid out in Article 2 of the Agreement. Therefore, the ambition of the PA must be reflected directly in the objectives, principles, structure, modalities, guidelines, operationalization, evaluation, and all other aspects of the TF. With regards to the Technology Mechanism (TM), comprised of the Technology Executive Committee (TEC) and the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), its continuing operation is to be governed by its mandate to serve the PA in the achievement of its objectives. Therefore, their objectives, principles, structure, modalities, guidelines, evaluation, and scope of work must be updated to reflect this. Specifying the changes to the TM which will enable it to fully support the implementation of the PA will be one of the principle aims of the TF. 5. In light of these considerations, AILAC expects the TF and its operationalization in relation to technology innovation, development, transfer, deployment, and operation in close 1

2 synergy with the other Means of Implementation and other bodies under and outside the Convention to be of defining importance to the likelihood that the aims of the PA will be met, and invites other Parties and non-party stakeholders to see it in this light and dedicate significant efforts to the relevant planning and deliberations. Proposed principles 6. AILAC believes the guiding principles for the TF must ensure a balanced, collaborative approach to fully realizing technology development and transfer in order to improve resilience to climate change and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as stated in Article 10.1 of the Paris Agreement, with a view to achieving the goals of Article The principles proposed here would apply to action related to technology innovation, development, transfer, deployment, and operation, not only that related to the TM or other Means of Implementation but across all bodies under the Convention, as well as addressing linkages with the implementation of other articles of the PA. In putting forward these principles, AILAC would expect they will trigger a positive dynamic (or race to the top ) where Parties which seek to receive support make efforts to communicate how the support will advance the objectives of the PA, and Parties or bodies seeking to provide support respond to the confidence given by these efforts, increasing volumes of support. The proposed principles are: i. Decisions and actions related to technology innovation, development, transfer, deployment, and operation under the Convention must be aligned with the long-term vision of the Agreement; o At a national level, robust country plans which lay out a technological transition promoting sustainable economic development and achieving levels of change consistent with the PA goals should help present a compelling case when seeking support. AILAC believes the formulation of long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategies (LT-LEDS) described in Article 4.19 of the Agreement presents a valuable opportunity in which to include such technology transition pathways within national planning. LT-LEDS which address short, medium and long-term technology perspectives, and related issues such as emissions lock-in, stranded assets, and economically efficient pathways, will be directly relevant to technology planning discussions. o Country plans guiding the technological transition should also include Adaptation goals, and any other goals which benefit from technological deployment. o The development of an aggregate vision, which may deal with greater uncertainties, could combine more varied inputs, including national technology pathways and LT-LEDS, IPCC publications and other studies, and expert views, leading to a range of agreed technological elements and timeframes which are likely to be required to accomplish the PA. These elements will in turn provide inputs to Parties who wish to develop or strengthen their national pathways. o ii. The nature and scale of support made available for technology innovation, development, transfer, deployment, and operation, must be commensurate with that required to achieve the PA targets; o For developing country Parties seeking to achieve sustainable, low carbon development, spending on technologies and infrastructure related to 2

3 iii. iv. climate in areas such as energy, water, urban, and land-use technologies could become significant drivers of local economic activity. Hence support should seek to drive investment across the value chain of climate technologies in countries. o Technology activities across the key themes should include a broad range of actions across the different stages of technological maturity to help countries build up their climate technologies and related economic activity throughout the related value chains. o In all areas of activity, support should address the current weaknesses within developing and developed economy Parties, which may include, inter alia, education, capacity building, program design, development and implementation, and funding. The transparency in planning, resource management, and reporting regarding technology-related activity and support must provide confidence that support is being effectively and efficiently used, and must feed back information and lessons learned for improvement and dissemination of best practices in the provision and use of technology support; o Requests for support should be considered within the context of the overall country plans, whose elaboration may require significant support to ensure they are consistent with long-term climate objectives. o Management of resources for implementation should comply with best practices. o Reporting on both management and impact metrics, using a range of indicators, should be considered, to enhance the learning within the international community about which sorts of actions work best, and how. o The operationalization of the TF should aim to account for the resources mobilized, and consider contributing information consistent with the requirements of the Enhanced Transparency Framework and the Global Stocktake efforts to reflect progress towards the overall long-term goals. Skills and knowledge at all levels, both within developing country Parties and within developed Parties and bodies under the Convention, must be rapidly built up in order to ensure human resources are available to bring about the technological change that is required. o The credibility of successfully implementing the vision encapsulated within the previous three principles derived directly from Articles 2 and 10.1 requires efforts to provide a full range of skills and knowledge, at significant depth, and to sufficient people within Parties, in a manner commensurate to the challenge. Views on Structure 8. AILAC believes the structure of the TF must be designed to ensure the effective and efficient achievement of the targets described in Article 2 of the PA, in a manner consistent with the principles described above. 3

4 9. For this purpose, we propose that the TF take the form of a foundational document which lays out the conceptual and operational framework elements under which the technology vision of Art 10.1 will be achieved. i. As an analogy, the Technology Framework may be likened to a Constitution or a Charter, that is to say, a foundational document with broad authority and explicit functions which enable it to impact upon a broad range of future decisions regarding, inter alia, mandates, institutional arrangements, resource gathering and allocation, and information, in as much as they are related to technology matters, while at the same time not specifying in a granular manner what the detail of these interactions may be, but leaving the operationalization to other instances which are specifically tasked to do so by the TF itself. 10. The structure of the TF should include provisions to address the mandates of bodies under the Convention whose activity is relevant to technology matters and which were established prior to the entry into force of the PA, as well as addressing linkages with the implementation of other articles of the PA, in order to ensure they adequately reflect the aims of the Agreement. 11. The TF will stipulate the overarching principles, conceptual elements and operational requirements needed to accomplish its functions. Changes to the institutional arrangements to achieve these, if any, would depend on future decisions of the COP/CMA, advised by the bodies under the Convention and other stakeholders, with a view to ensure the TF can drive the delivery on the Article 2 goals and the vision of Article The TF should include structural elements which provide for bodies related to the delivery of the technology agenda to have the necessary resources at their disposal to comply with the principles noted above, and for the human resource involved to have the necessary experience and skills, notably in the implementation of technology innovation financing and support, technology ecosystem management, technology transfer, infrastructure development, and other related fields as deemed by the detailed mandates which emerge from the operationalization of the TF. The implementation of technology support and action will benefit from the operational involvement of technically qualified professionals with the relevant skills and experience, and appropriate autonomy over operational governance. This must take into account the oversight of the COP/CMA and the partydriven nature of guidance, as is illustrated by the concrete example of the Green Climate Fund (GCF). The GCF is a body under the Convention which, while maintain governance links with the COP and the Standing Committee on Finance and observing the representation of UN constituencies on its Board, has professional staff selected on their technical expertise in matters of project finance, infrastructure investment, and other relevant areas. Scope and modalities for the Periodic Assessment of the Technology Mechanism 13. The scope and modalities of the Technology Mechanism should derive from its mandate and concrete functions and responsibilities. Since the entry into force of the Paris Agreement may alter them, they may not be completely determined until the Technology Framework is operationalized, AILAC considers that a detailed discussion relating to the periodic evaluation of the Technology Framework has to be conducted in light of these circumstances. 4

5 14. AILAC expects that the periodic assessment of the TM will serve the purpose of determining what have been the successes, and what are the opportunities for improvement, regarding the achievement of the purpose and principles of it and the TF, as well as the operationalization of its structure, and should be consistent with requirements of, and synergies with, the enhanced transparency framework and the Global Stocktake. 15. Furthermore, AILAC is of the view that best practices in evaluation under and outside the Convention should be reviewed when defining the scope and modalities of the periodic evaluation of the Technology Mechanism. 5

II. The mandates, activities and outputs of the Technology Executive Committee

II. The mandates, activities and outputs of the Technology Executive Committee TEC/2018/16/13 Technology Executive Committee 27 February 2018 Sixteenth meeting Bonn, Germany, 13 16 March 2018 Monitoring and evaluation of the impacts of the implementation of the mandates of the Technology