UN climate change technology mechanism team concludes meeting

Members of the technology executive committee created under the United Nations climate change convention to facilitate the use of technology to support mitigation and adaptation to climate change concluded their first meeting on Saturday, saying they had made important progress on issues discussed. Meeting in Bonn, members of the Technology Executive Committee (TEC), the policy arm of the convention''s Technology Mechanism, deliberated on how the TEC will provide technology needs, assess policy and technical issues related to technology development and transfer. The three-day meeting also discussed sharing information on new and innovative technologies, facilitating action on technology and ways to engage stakeholders to build the momentum on the Technology Mechanism. "This is very good progress," said Christiana Figueres, the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). "The goal of the Technology Mechanism can only be achieved through a wider and deeper collaboration among all countries with the active engagement of relevant stakeholders, including the research community, academia and, importantly, the private sector," she said. The TEC also discussed ways of engaging a wide range of stakeholders at international, regional and national level, including public institutions, the business community, academia and NGOs in conducting its work. The Committee identified options for the engagement of stakeholders, including through participation in the TEC meetings as observers or expert advisers, where applicable. "This means that there are opportunities for stakeholder engagement in the work of the Committee and stakeholders will be informed [on] how to engage in time for the next steps on the road to a functional Technology Mechanism in 2012," said Figueres. The TEC members unanimously elected Gabriel Blanco of Argentina as chair and Antonio Pflueger of Germany as his deputy and gave them the mandate to collaborate closely in chairing the meetings and carrying out the committee''s work to ensure coherence between the meetings. The meeting also set up its housekeeping system, which details the procedures the TEC will adhere to in its work. As the policy arm of the Technology Mechanism, the TEC has the key responsibility of laying the groundwork for making the mechanism fully operational. The Technology Mechanism was established at the UN Climate Change Conference in Cancun in December last year as part of a set of institutions created to protect vulnerable societies from climate change and to use funds and technology to help developing countries plan and build their own sustainable futures.