Driving Innovation: TEC’s global push for climate technology solutions
Photo credit: UNDP
The climate crisis requires innovation and collaboration at an unprecedented scale, and the Technology Executive Committee (TEC) plays a critical role in supporting the development and transfer of climate technologies. Meeting from 17 to 20 September in Bonn, Germany, the TEC highlighted its progress helping countries scale up their climate actions through technology.
The TEC’s partnership with the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) – the operational arm of the UNFCCC Technology Mechanism – is crucial for accelerating the development of climate technologies. Their joint session during the meeting reviewed progress on shared activities in the 2024 Joint Annual Report. The TEC showcased its ongoing commitment to boost global cooperation on climate technology deployment, especially in regions hit hardest by the climate crisis.
Ahead of COP 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, policy recommendations were prepared to help countries integrate technology considerations into their national climate plans (known as nationally determined contributions or NDCs). These are presented in the TEC’s annual report to COP, aiming to guide policymakers as they ramp up climate commitments, focusing on the following areas:
Realizing Early Warnings for All: innovation and technology in support of risk-informed climate resilience policy and action.
Climate technologies for agrifood system transformation.
Integrating hard-to-abate industries into the process of preparing and implementing NDCs.
Gender-responsive technology and infrastructure for sustainable urban mobility.
Climate Technology Progress Reports (2022 and 2023).
In 2024, the TEC intensified its regional outreach, participating in National Designated Entity (NDE) Forums across Asia, the Pacific, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean. These forums allowed the TEC to showcase its efforts on technology development and transfer under the UNFCCC, and to promote the work of the Technology Mechanism Initiative on Artificial Intelligence for Climate Action (#AI4ClimateAction), as well as its latest knowledge products.
The TEC’s participation in these regional forums underscores its commitment to ensuring that countries have the support they need to implement effective and innovative climate solutions. Noura Hamladji, UN Climate Change Deputy Executive Secretary, stressed the importance of cooperation: “Climate action requires collaboration across all sectors, countries and stakeholders.”
The Initiative on Artificial Intelligence for Climate Action focuses on exploring the use of AI to boost and scale up climate solutions for mitigation and adaptation action in developing countries, especially in least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing states (SIDS).
As part of the initiative, the TEC, in collaboration with Enterprise Neurosystem, is undertaking the AI Innovation Grand Challenge, a global competition to identify AI-powered solutions for climate adaptation and mitigation in developing countries. The Grand Challenge winner will be selected from 114 entries across 62 countries, including 19 LDCs and SIDS. The announcement will take place at COP29.
On 18 November, the TEC will hold its flagship event, Technology Day on Transformative Industry, in partnership with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the CTCN, in collaboration with the Government of Japan.
This year the TEC will also hold a High-Level Dialogue on Climate Technology in Agrifood Systems on 19 November, hosted jointly with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the CTCN.
Additionally, Earth Information Day on 11 November will feature the launch of a new knowledge product on early warnings by the TEC, produced in collaboration with the Group on Earth Observations (GEO). This product will contribute to the global Early Warnings for All initiative, specifically addressing risk knowledge for multi-hazard early warning systems.
