This UNFCCC COP31 side event will explore how international trade cooperation can work hand in hand with UNFCCC mechanisms for climate technology transfer, adaptation, co-development, and deployment in African LDCs.
Objectives
- Identify the kinds of trade and technology partnerships that can best respond to LDC priorities for technology development, transfer, adaptation and deployment, while strengthening local technological and productive capabilities.
- Unpack how initiatives such as LDC-GIF, AGII and the AfCFTA work together to support technology diffusion, knowledge and skills transfer, cross-border partnerships, regional capabilities and participation in climate-related value chains.
- Identify the practical design features that can make technology partnerships more durable and effective, and explore how COP31 and relevant UNFCCC processes help connect LDC technology priorities with wider trade and technology partnerships without duplicating existing initiatives.
Speakers
- H.E Muhammadou M.O. Kah, Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary of The Gambia to Switzerland and other international organizations in Geneva (TBC)
- Chantal Line Carpentier, Head, Trade, Environment, Climate Change, and Sustainable Development Branch, UN Trade and Development
- Christophe Bellmann, Head of Policy Analysis and Strategy, TESS
- Peter Oksen, Green Technology and Research Manager, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) (TBC)
Moderated by: Serwah Prempeh, Head, Just Green Technology Transitions Programme, Africa Policy Research Institute
Background
African least developed countries (LDCs) require affordable climate technologies to implement their nationally determined contributions. Yet, they face debt distress, limited fiscal space, expensive capital, and broader macroeconomic constraints, and technology gaps identified in the UNFCCC Technology Mechanism and its Technology Needs Assessments rarely translate into funded projects, sustained technical assistance, or long-term capacity development. Trade cooperation and climate diplomacy can help enable technology transfer, joint research and innovation, and skills partnerships between local firms and international technology providers.
A growing range of initiatives, including the LDC Green Industrialisation Facility (LDC-GIF), the Africa Green Industrialisation Initiative (AGII), the African Continental Free Trade Area and its industrial policy priorities, and the Belém Technology Implementation Programme, provides useful ground for exploring innovative cooperative approaches. Against this backdrop, APRI and TESS will convene a side event to explore how trade and technology partnerships can better support the transfer, co-development, and deployment of technologies for climate-resilient development.
Co-organized with Africa Policy Research Institute (APRI), and UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
