First draft reports are already being submitted from some of the 26 countries participating in the second phase of the Technology Needs Assessment project (TNA Phase II), which started up in January 2015. The project’s second phase was officially launched May 27 and 28 at a workshop in Bangkok organized in collaboration with UNEP, CTCN and UNFCCC. In addition to presentations by national coordinators for TNA Phase II, coordinators from TNA’s first phase were invited to share their experiences with the new country participants.
The GEF-funded program, which is implemented by UNEP with the collaboration of the UNEP-DTU Partnership, helps countries assess their needs for new equipment, techniques, knowledge, and skills that will both mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and reduce their vulnerability to climate change. Once identified, countries develop Technology Action Plans to use as a roadmap for getting these technologies up and running.
The project’s second phase includes countries from Africa, the Middle East, Asia, CIS, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the first round of four regional training workshops were conducted last June and July 2015. Workshops in Africa were conducted back-to-back with the Climate Technology Centre and Network’s regional forums for National Designated Entities (which are national focal points for the CTCN). The project’s next milestone will be the second round of regional training workshops, which are tentatively scheduled for February and March 2016.
A strong link has developed between the CTCN’s Request Incubator Programme for Least Developed Countries and TNA activities, building on existing work and creating connections between stakeholders and country focal points. From efficient lighting, to coastal management, to agricultural biogas technologies, a large number of requests for technical assistance submitted to the CTCN by developing countries were related to specific technologies or ideas prioritized in TNAs produced during Phase I. This trend shows that the TNA process can be an important tool for identifying concrete actions and technologies in developing countries.