Countries halfway through the global Technology Needs Assessment (TNA) project met in late September to share experiences and receive training on the way towards implementation of climate technologies at a workshop in Cape Town, South Africa.
With a focus on how to develop Technology Action Plans (TAPs), implementation and finance was at the forefront of the training.
Participating country teams and experts engaged in meaningful discussion on how to overcome challenges at country level, updating of workplans, and how to complete the final steps of the project, while providing valuable feedback on the TNA project and process.
The workshop covered anglophone African and Middle East countries that are part of the fourth round of the TNA project comprising of 15 countries, mainly Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States.
The regional workshop involved teams from three countries: Lesotho, Somalia and South Sudan and was organized and hosted by the TNA regional centre, the African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI), at the University of Cape Town.
The training was carried out by experts from UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre and ACDI, with an emphasis on facilitated group work, allowing cross-fertilization and inspiration between the country teams.
Plans for mitigation and adaptation technology action
Having prioritized climate technologies for their national contexts, the country teams are roughly midway through their TNA process, and close to completion of the barrier analysis and enabling framework (BAEF) step.
The countries have selected a range of technology options, spanning different sectors and types of technology, and addressing climate change mitigation (e.g. energy-efficient cook stoves, portable solar lanterns, mini- and micro-hydropower, solar home systems, promoting forest based enterprises, and agroforestry) and adaptation (e.g. drip irrigation, early warning systems for agriculture, rainwater harvesting, solar powered boreholes, and drought-resistant crop varieties).
The third and next step in the TNA process is the development of TAPs which was the subject of the training workshop. Following status updates from the country teams, the methodology for developing the TAPs was described, converting identified measures from the BAEF step into concrete actions, with responsibilities, timelines, and costs.
The training also covered the importance of estimates of capacity needs for implementing the actions, as well as provisions for planning, accounting for risks, reporting and tracking progress. Policy briefs and project ideas are essential parts of the TAP process and these were discussed and practiced in group sessions.
Finally, the key subject of financing for implementation was presented and discussed, familiarizing participants with the different kinds of financial instruments available for climate financing, leading to the development of concept notes for investment proposals.
The TNA project
The TNA project, implemented by UNEP and executed by the UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre, helps developing countries determine their technology priorities for mitigating and adapting to climate change, identifies barriers to greater technology deployment and develops national Technology Action Plans for implementation.
The TNA Project is funded by the Global Environment Facility and is implemented in close collaboration with the UNFCCC Technology Mechanism.
