UNDESA High-Level Meeting on Climate Change, Technology Development and Transfer Develops Final Statement

23 October 2009: The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and the Government of India convened a high-level meeting on climate change, technology development and transfer in New Delhi, India, from 22-23 October 2009.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Sha Zukang opened the meeting, noting that it would build on a similar conference that convened in Beijing, China, in 2008, and suggesting that it could “send a clear message to Copenhagen that there is a way forward on technology cooperation and technology sharing.”

Yvo de Boer, UNFCCC Executive Secretary, outlined five essential components for an agreement in Copenhagen: enhanced action to assist the most vulnerable and the poorest in adapting to the impacts of climate change; ambitious emission reduction targets for all industrialized countries on an individual basis; nationally appropriate mitigation actions by developing countries to limit the growth of their emissions, while safeguarding economic growth and sustainable development, with the necessary support; significantly scaled-up financial and technological resources; and an equitable governance structure to guide financial resources. He said the decision on technology would need to provide clarity on: who pays and how cost is shared; what the funding will be used for; and how the funding will be channeled towards the desired result. He also identified elements that could be included in a mechanism for technology development and transfer under the UNFCCC.

The final statement from the meeting indicates participants “believe that there is an urgent need to accelerate the large scale global deployment of environmentally-sound and climate-friendly technologies and to minimize the time lag between their initial development, transfer and deployment particularly in the developing countries,” and suggests creating centres or networks of centres to stimulate deployment of technologies. [UNFCCC Executive Secretary’s statement] [Meeting website] [Final statement]