Manila: A new Climate Technology Network and Finance Center will expand the availability of low-carbon and climate-resilient technologies in Asia and the Pacific with support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), with core funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
“The countries of Asia and the Pacific need to rapidly deploy new technologies capable of decoupling their growth from high emissions of greenhouse gases, and they need to build their resilience to climate change impacts,” said S. Chander, Director-General of ADB’s Regional and Sustainable Development Department.
The technology finance center will be set up in Manila, Philippines, to be managed by ADB, while the climate technology network secretariat will be based in Bangkok, Thailand, to be managed by UNEP.
The new center will help mobilize financing for clean technology by folding technology considerations into national investment plans and strategies, and by piloting innovative financing mechanisms. The network, meanwhile, will provide complementary technical support and policy advice and be a forum for knowledge sharing.
A pilot technology marketplace to spur transactions in climate-friendly technologies will also be established.
Asia and the Pacific is the fastest-growing source of greenhouse gas emissions, with emissions from the energy sector alone up 183% since 1990, and has more people at risk who live in the region’s coastal cities, and in rural areas where livelihoods are heavily dependent on agriculture and other climate-sensitive sectors.
The new center and secretariat aim to generate investments that will cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 12 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent over the next 10 years. During the same period, they hope to cut energy use by the equivalent of 1.5 million barrels of oil or 12.3 million megawatt hours of electricity.
GEF is providing a grant of roughly $11 million to support the center. "The project shows GEF's commitment to technology transfer and innovative approaches that encompass both mitigation and adaptation. It is an example of GEF's support for the operationalization and activities of Climate Technology Network and Finance Centers in response to the United Nations Framework Convention Climate Change decision received as guidance from the 2011 Durban Conference of the Parties, in line with GEF procedures," said Monique Barbut, GEF Chief Executive Officer.
Further cofinancing will come from the governments of Denmark, Finland, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the VITO-Flemish Institute for Technological Research NV.