Contents
Page
Abbreviation and acronyms …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5
I. Executive summary ……………………………………………………………………………. 7
A. Finance ……………………………………………………………………………………… 8
B. Technology………………………………………………………………………………… 12
C. Capacity-building ……………………………………………………………………….. 13
II. Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………. 14
A. Mandate…………………………………………………………………………………….. 14
B. Scope ………………………………………………………………………………………… 15
- Elements under the Paris Agreement related to finance, technology and
capacity-building………………………………………………………………………… 15
- Relationship between Article 2, paragraph 1(c), and Article 9 of the Paris
Agreement …………………………………………………………………………………. 17
- Contextual information on the scale of climate finance and investments
and means of implementation needed ……………………………………………. 18
C. Methods and information sources ………………………………………………… 19
(a) Finance…………………………………………………………… 20
(b) Technology………………………………………………………. 20
(c) Capacity-building………………………………………………… 20
- Overview of approaches used in the preparation of available sources of information, including information on definitions, methodologies,
data gaps and uncertainties related to the transparency of climate finance 22
- Information related to finance flows pursuant to Article 2, paragraph 1 (c)
of the Paris Agreement ……………………………………………………………………….. 25
1. Information on consistency of finance flows ………………………………. 25
2. Information on finance sector initiatives related to Article 2,
paragraph 1(c), of the Paris Agreement………………………………………….. 28
A. Finance ……………………………………………………………………………………… 33
(a) Biennial reports …………………………………………………. 33
- Multilateral climate funds……………………………………….. 33
- Thematic distribution of climate finance from developed to developing countries through bilateral and multilateral channels, including
information on financial instruments……………………………………………… 35
3. Geographical distribution …………………………………………………………. 35
- Country-driven strategies, priorities and needs of developing country Parties 36
- Insights from quantitative data on needs…………………….. 37
- Thematic distribution of costed needs……………………….. 38
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- Regional distribution of costed needs………………………… 39
- Insights from qualitative data on needs………………………… 40
- Thematic distribution…………………………………………… 42
- Regional distribution……………………………………………. 42
- Distribution by means of implementation………………………. 43
- Sectoral and subsectoral distribution……………………………. 43
(ix) Other areas of needs……………………………………………… 43
- Information and data from reports by regional and global actors…….. 44
- Challenges and barriers derived from the fourth biennial assessment and overview of climate finance flows and the first Report on the determination of the needs of developing country Parties related to implementing the
Convention and the Paris Agreement …………………………………………….. 45
- Information contained in the biennial communications received
in accordance with Article 9, paragraph 5, of the Paris Agreement ……. 49
B. Technology development and transfer…………………………………………………… 51
- Progress made in strengthening cooperative action on technology development and transfer for mitigation and adaptation and support
provided…………………………………………………………………………………….. 51
- Scale and channels of support 51
- Targeted areas, sectors and technologies 53
- Support provided to developing country Parties for strengthening cooperative action on technology development and transfer at different
stages of the technology cycle …………………………………… 54
- Endogenous capacities and technologies…………………………. 55
- Geographical distribution…………………………………………. 55
- Technology needs to achieve the long-term vision on fully realizing technology development and transfer in order to improve resilience to
climate change and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions ………………….. 55
- Technology development and transfer for nationally determined
contribution implementation……………………………………. 56
- Technology needs of developing country Parties………………. 56
- Targeted sectors and technologies for mitigation56
- Targeted sectors and technologies for mitigation
and adaptation……………………………………………….. | 59 |
(iii) Budgets estimated in technology action plans……………… | 62 |
3. Gaps and challenges for cooperative action on technology development and transfer and support provided……………………………………………………….. | 64 |
(i) Barriers to and enablers of mitigation technologies…………… | 64 |
(ii) Barriers to and enablers of adaptation technologies………….. | 64 |
C. Capacity-building ………………………………………………………………………………. | 65 |
1. Progress made on enhancing the capacity of developing country Parties……………………………………………………………………………………….. | 66 |
(a) Mitigation and adaptation……………………………………….. | 66 |
(b) Technology development, dissemination and deployment……… | 67 |
(c) Access to finance………………………………………………… | 68 |
(d) Education, training and public awareness……………………….. | 68 |
(e) Transparent, timely and accurate communication of information.. | 68 |
2. Enhancing support from developed country Parties and international cooperation for capacity-building in developing country Parties ……….. | 69 |
(a) Enhanced support provided by developed country Parties………. | 69 |
(i) Distribution of capacity-building support across thematic areas | 69 |
(ii) Priority sectors for capacity-building support………………… | 70 |
(iii) Geographical distribution of capacity-building activities……. | 70 |
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(iv) Implementation channels and modalities…………………….. 71
- Sharing of experiences and good practices among developing country Parties…………………………………………………………….. 71
- Capacity-building enhanced through institutional arrangements
under the Convention………………………………………….… 71
- Paris Committee on Capacity-building…………………….. 72
- Adaptation Committee……………………………………… 72
- Consultative Group of Experts……………………………… 72
- Executive Committee of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with
Climate Change Impacts…………………………………… 72
- Least Developed Countries Expert Group…………………. 72
- Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform
Facilitative Working Group……………………………….. 72
- Katowice Committee of Experts on the Impacts of the
Implementation of Response Measures……………………. | 73 | |
Standing Committee on Finance……………………………Technology Executive Committee and Climate Technology Centre and Network……………………………………….. | 73 73 | |
(d) Communication on support for enhancing capacity of developing country Parties…………………………………………………… | 73 | |
3. Capacity gaps and needs of developing country Parties………………… | 73 | |
(a) Mitigation and adaptation………………………………………. | 73 | |
Technology development, dissemination and deployment……..Access to finance75Education, training and public awareness………………………. | 75 76 | |
(e) Transparent, timely and accurate communication of information. | 76 | |
(f) Other capacity gaps and needs…………………………………… | 77 | |
V. Conclusions ………………………………………………………………………………………. | 77 | |
References | …………………………………………………………………………………………………. | 80 |
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Abbreviation and acronyms
AC | adaptation communication |
AF | Adaptation Fund |
Annex I Party | Party included in Annex I to the Convention |
Annex II Party | Party included in Annex I to the Convention |
BA | biennial assessment and overview of climate finance flows |
BR | biennial report |
BTR | biennial transparency report |
BUR | biennial update report |
CMA | Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement |
COP | Conference of the Parties |
COVID-19 | coronavirus disease 2019 |
CTCN | Climate Technology Centre and Network |
CTF | common tabular format |
DAC | Development Assistance Committee |
EU | European Union |
GCF | Green Climate Fund |
GDP | Gross domestic product |
GEF | Global Environment Facility |
GHG | greenhouse gas |
IPCC | Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change |
KCI | Katowice Committee of Experts on the Impacts of the Implementation of Response Measures |
LDC | least developed country |
LDCF | Least Developed Countries Fund |
LEDS | low-emission development strategy(ies) |
MDB | multilateral development bank |
MRV | measurement, reporting and verification |
NAMA | nationally appropriate mitigation action |
NAP | national adaptation plan |
NAPA | national adaptation programme of action |
NC | national communication |
NDA | national designated authorities |
NDC | nationally determined contribution |
NDE | nationally designated entity |
NDR | Report on the determination of the needs of developing country Parties related to implementing the Convention and the Paris Agreement |
ODA | Overseas Development Institute |
OECD | Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development |
PCCB | Paris Committee on Capacity-building |
PPCR | Pilot Program for Climate Resilience |
REDD+ | reducing emissions from deforestation; reducing emissions from forest degradation; conservation of forest carbon stocks; sustainable management of forests; and enhancement of forest carbon stocks (decision 1/CP.16, para. 70) |
SBI | Subsidiary Body for Implementation |
SCCF | Special Climate Change Fund |
SCF | Standing Committee on Finance |
SDG | Sustainable Development Goal |
SIDS | Small island developing State(s) |
SREP | Scaling Up Renewable Energy Program |
TA | technology action plan |
TEC | Technology Executive Committee |
TNA | technology needs assessment |
UNFCCC | United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change |
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WIM | Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts |
WB | World Bank |
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- Executive summary
- The global stocktake is to assess collective progress made in achieving the purpose of the Paris Agreement and its long-term goals, including with regard to the issue of support relating to finance, technology and capacity-building. The mandate of this synthesis report is elaborated in the introduction.
- To facilitate the deliberations during the technical assessment component of the first global stocktake and in order to set the frame for the information provided in this report, this synthesis report provides an overview of the various relevant mandates and elements pertaining to finance, technology and capacity, followed by contextual information on the scale of climate finance flows, the integration of climate change considerations in broader finance flows and investments, and the means of implementation needed.
- The contextual information draws from a range of sources, including (a) reports mandated by the COP and CMA that encompass available data and information on finance, technology and capacity-building from national reports submitted to the UNFCCC, regional and global reports and databases; (b) national reports submitted to the UNFCCC; and (c) other available sources of information. It should be noted that several reports mandated by the COP and CMA from which this synthesis report draws, particularly BAs and the first NDR, aggregate data and information from national reports to the UNFCCC, as well as from other available regional and global reports and databases. Therefore, at the point that this synthesis report was being prepared, these reports represent the most comprehensive sources of overview of available information on matters relating to global, developed-to-developing countries, and domestic climate finance flows; information related to Article 2, paragraph 1(c); and the needs of developing countries. Furthermore, most of the available underlying data and information across all sources of information cover the period up to 2017–2018 on climate finance flows and up to 2020–2021 on Article 2, paragraph 1(c) matters and needs. Therefore, and in order to avoid overlap or duplication of underlying data and information, this synthesis report relies mostly on data and information on trends up to and including 2020, as collected and analysed in the fourth BA and the first NDR.
- Although improvements have been made over the past few years, challenges and limitations remain, including in collecting, aggregating and analysing data and information from diverse sources. These limitations should be taken into consideration when deriving conclusions from, and assessing the information on, global climate finance flows, flows from developed to developing countries, domestic finance and other subflows.
- The fourth BA and first NDR, prepared by the SCF in 2021 and acknowledged by COP 26 and CMA 3, provide important insights. The following are of particular relevance to the technical assessment component of the first global stocktake:
- Information related to Article 2, paragraph 1(c), of the Paris Agreement:
- The fourth BA and first NDR, prepared by the SCF in 2021 and acknowledged by COP 26 and CMA 3, provide important insights. The following are of particular relevance to the technical assessment component of the first global stocktake:
- Estimates of global climate finance flows increased by 16 per cent in 2017– 2018 compared with 2015–2016, reaching an annual average of USD 775 billion per year. The growth was largely driven by further investment in renewable energy, aided by lower technology costs, as well as investments in sustainable transport infrastructure, including electric vehicles;
- Although flows are increasing, they remain relatively small in the context of investments needed to fulfil a pathway towards low GHG emissions and climate- resilient development, which are typically USD 1.6–3.7 trillion per year in the energy sector alone;
- In contrast, financial flows in GHG-intensive activities remain concerningly high. Fossil fuel investments globally amounted to USD 977 billion per year on average in 2017–2018, while fossil fuel subsidies amounted to USD 472 billion in 2018. Fossil fuel corporate capital expenditure at risk of becoming stranded amounted
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to USD 50 billion in 2018, while investments with deforestation risks amounted to USD 43.8 billion in 2017–2018, and net agriculture subsidies amounted to USD 619 billion per year on average from 2017 to 2019;
- Significant growth in relevant initiatives has been apparent since the Paris Agreement entered into force, particularly in coalitions fostering collective commitments on climate action. This highlights the importance of network effects, knowledge-sharing and common goal setting. Efforts relevant to Article 2, paragraph 1(c), occur across all types of actor within the financial sector, including investors, banks and regulators. Investors and asset managers representing USD 6.6 trillion and USD 43 trillion in assets under management, respectively, and banks representing USD 38.6 trillion in financial assets have pledged to align lending and investment portfolios with net zero emissions by 2050;
- Assessing the real-economy impact and the risk of greenwashing remains a challenge. Many actors in the financial sector operate at a number of steps removed from real-economy activities, through stock or bond trading, portfolio allocations, or microprudential supervision, which have little direct effect on real-economy investment decisions related to banks lending to projects, corporations approving capital expenditure plans or governments announcing support incentives. Therefore, measuring the effective role of financial actors in the context of Article 2, paragraph 1(c), is a notable topic of debate among initiatives, including which metrics are most important as indicators of success.
- Available information related to the provision of means of implementation and mobilization of support with regard to climate finance from developed to developing countries1 covering the period up to 2017–2018 includes the following:
- On the basis of the fourth BRs submitted as of November 2021, total financial support to non-Annex I Parties reached USD 48.8 billion in 2017 and USD 55.3 billion in 2018 respectively. This represents an increase of 5.7 per cent over the 2015– 2016 biennial period. Climate-specific financial support, which accounts for almost three quarters of the financial support average reported, increased by 8 per cent to USD 37.8 billion per year on average. Most climate-specific financial support was channelled through bilateral, regional and other channels;
- In terms of inflows into the operating entities of the Financial Mechanism, the seventh replenishment of the GEF led to USD 4.1 billion in pledges and USD 802 million allocated to the climate change focal area, compared with USD 4.4 billion in total pledges and USD 1.26 billion allocated to the climate change focal area in the sixth replenishment. The GEF noted the climate co-benefits to other focal areas including biodiversity and land degradation, with a goal to provide climate-related finance of at least 60 per cent of total GEF funding commitments over the four-year period for the cross-focal area. The first replenishment of the GCF Pledging Conference in 2019 amounted to USD 9.8 billion, compared with USD 10.2 billion from the Initial Resource Mobilization Pledging Conference in 2014. In terms of climate finance commitments from multilateral climate funds to projects in developing countries, USD 2.7 billion per year on average in 2017–2018 was committed, representing an increase of 39 per cent from 2015–2016;
- MDBs provided USD 34 billion and USD 42 billion in climate finance2 from their own resources to developing and emerging economies in 2017 and 2018,
1 For the purpose of the overview of climate finance, the BA prepared by the SCF uses various data sources to illustrate flows from developed to developing countries, without prejudice to the meaning of those terms in the context of the Convention and the Paris Agreement, including but not limited to Annex I and Annex II Parties to non-Annex I Parties and MDBs; OECD members to non-OECD members; and OECD DAC members to countries eligible for OECD DAC ODA.
2 Climate finance of MDBs includes several types of instrument, including investment loans, equity, bonds and guarantees. The full list of types of instrument can be viewed in the MDB methodology in annex E to the 2020 Joint Report on Multilateral Development Banks’ Climate Finance accessible here: https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/9234bfc633439d0172f6a6eb8df1b881- 0020012021/original/2020-Joint-MDB-report-on-climate-finance-Report-final-web.pdf
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respectively. The annual average (USD 36.6 billion) across these two years represents a 50 per cent increase since 2015–2016. The attribution of these flows to developed countries is calculated at between USD 23.3–24.1 billion in 2017 and USD 25.8–28.0 billion in 2018;
- Estimates of private climate finance mobilized by developed countries through public interventions deployed by bilateral and multilateral channels, including multilateral climate funds and MDBs, amounted to USD 14.5 billion in 2017 and USD 14.6 billion in 2018;
- Estimates of climate finance received through the BURs of non-Annex I Parties remain limited. USD 7.8 billion was reported as received for projects starting in 2017 and USD 2 billion for projects starting in 2018 by 28 Parties;
- Support for mitigation remains greater than support for adaptation. Mitigation finance constitutes the largest share of climate-specific financial support through bilateral channels reported by Annex II Parties, at 66 per cent. However, the share of adaptation finance increased from 15 per cent in 2015–2016 to 20 per cent in 2017– 2018, as it grew at a higher rate than mitigation finance. The remaining 14 per cent was allocated to cross-cutting activities which serve both mitigation and adaptation objectives., Adaptation finance accounted for 20 per cent from multilateral climate funds, and 25 per cent from MDBs;
- Grants continue to be a key instrument for adaptation finance. In 2017–2018 grants accounted for 64 and 94 per cent of the face value of bilateral adaptation finance reported to OECD and of adaptation finance from multilateral climate funds, respectively. During the same period, 9 per cent of adaptation finance flowing through MDBs was grant-based. These figures indicate no change since 2015–2016. Mitigation finance, by contrast, had 30 per cent of bilateral flows, 29 per cent of multilateral climate fund approvals and 3 per cent of MDB investments taking the form of grants;
- In 2017–2018 the Asia region received on average 30 per cent of funding commitments from bilateral flows, multilateral climate funds and MDBs. Sub- Saharan Africa received an average of 24 per cent of commitments across the sources in the same period, Latin America and the Caribbean received 17 per cent and the remainder going to the Middle East and North Africa; Central, Eastern and South- Eastern Europe; the South Caucasus; and Central Asia;
- In 2017–2018 funding committed to projects in the LDCs represented 22 per cent of bilateral flows and 24 per cent of finance approved through multilateral climate funds. Funding committed to SIDS represented 2 per cent of bilateral finance and 10 per cent of finance approved through multilateral climate funds. Of the finance provided to the LDCs and SIDS, the amount targeting adaptation fell slightly in 2017– 2018, although the shares remained stable overall. MDBs channelled 11 per cent of their climate finance to the LDCs and 3 per cent to SIDS. As in previous years, adaptation finance as a share of all climate finance to these countries was significantly higher than that of the overall climate finance spending by MDBs;
- In 2017–2018, there continued to be a push to diversify modalities of access to climate finance. In a 2019 survey of 105 respondents from 45 developing countries, 73 per cent identified finance from multilateral climate funds as the most challenging source of finance to access compared with private finance (62 per cent), MDBs and development finance institutions (30 per cent) and bilateral sources (17 per cent). Data show a continued increase in the number of national implementing entities of multilateral climate funds, as well as an increase in the accreditation of civil society and private entities, with both trends largely driven by the GCF. However, significant shares of climate finance approvals from multilateral climate funds are programmed through international multilateral accredited and implementing entities.
- Information related to the needs of developing countries includes the following:
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- The needs of developing countries related to implementing the Convention and the Paris Agreement as derived from national reports can be distinguished by quantitative (costed needs) and qualitative (unquantified) needs. As at 31 May 2021, costed needs ranged USD 5.8–5.9 trillion up until 2030 as identified across 78 NDCs, to USD 8.8–8.9 trillion as identified across 46 NCs and USD 11.5 trillion as identified across 24 BURs. Qualitative needs range from 4274 needs identified across 153 NDCs to 6900 identified needs across 149 NCs and 2044 needs identified across 62 BURs.
- In terms of thematic distribution of needs, cumulatively, identified costed mitigation needs tend to be larger than costed adaptation needs across the reports that cover all thematic areas such as BURs (USD 5.3 trillion and USD 3.6 trillion, respectively), NCs (USD 5.02 trillion and USD 3.8 trillion, respectively) and NDCs (USD 2.2 trillion and USD 7.6 billion, respectively). In qualitative terms, needs related to adaptation are mentioned more often than those related to mitigation in all report types except BURs and long-term LEDS, indicating greater attention to supporting the expressed adaptation needs of developing countries. On the basis of the number of mitigation needs expressed across the nine national report types, energy is the lead sector for support needed for climate change mitigation actions, followed by land use and forestry, transport, agriculture, and waste and sanitation. On the basis of the number of adaptation-related needs expressed across the nine national report types, agriculture and water are the two lead sectors for support needed for climate change adaptation actions, followed by disaster prevention and preparedness, coastal zone management and health;
- With respect to distribution of needs by means of implementation, qualitative data show a significant prevalence of capacity-building and technology development and transfer needs. The number of capacity-building needs is higher than that of finance needs and technology development and transfer needs identified in the nine national report types, except in TNAs;
- Developing country Parties also communicate other areas of need that involve issues such as gender, indigenous peoples and vulnerable groups, as well as expressed needs for policy development linked to the SDGs and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. Such needs are in most cases expressed in qualitative terms;
- To outline the mitigation needs of developing countries, regional and global reports use a mix of energy–economy and integrated assessment models for scenarios of below 2 °C, ranging from USD 2.4 to 4.7 trillion in annual energy-related investment needs globally; investment opportunities based on stated national plans and targets including and beyond NDCs, ranging from USD 23.8 to 29.4 trillion for emerging markets from 2016 to 2030; and investment estimates for achieving conditional NDC targets using carbon prices, for example USD 715 billion in Africa;
- Estimates related to adaptation and resilience derived from regional and global reports range from costs based on bottom-up national and sector-based studies (ranging from USD 140 to 300 billion annually by 2030) measuring impacts to GDP (for example, ranging from USD 289.2 to 440.5 billion up to 2030 in Africa) and the incremental investment needed to upgrade or retrofit infrastructure stock (ranging from USD 11 to 670 billion in annual incremental costs).
- COP 26 and CMA 3 resulted in various mandates to ensure the continuation of work on the issue of climate finance, including with regard to assessing progress made on finance matters. This includes the request to the SCF to continue its work on definitions of climate finance, taking into account the submissions received from Parties on this matter, with a view to providing input for consideration by COP 27 and CMA 4.3 On the issue of Article 2, paragraph 1 (c) of the Paris Agreement, CMA 3 invited Parties, the operating entities of the Financial Mechanism, international financial institutions and other stakeholders in the financial sector to submit views regarding ways to achieve this goal, including options for approaches and guidelines for implementation, and requested the SCF to submit a synthesis for consideration by CMA 4. COP 26 requested the SCF to undertake further work on
3 Decision 4/CP.26, para. 12, decision 5/CP.26, para. 7, and decision 10/CMA.3, para 3.
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mapping the available information relevant to Article 2, paragraph 1(c), including its reference to Article 9 of the Agreement, with a view to providing input for consideration by COP 27.4
- Moreover, Parties were encouraged to ensure that just transition financing is incorporated into approaches to align climate action with the goals of the Paris Agreement.5 Parties were also requested to continue to enhance their enabling environments and policy frameworks to facilitate the mobilization and effective deployment of climate finance in accordance with decision 3/CP.19.6
- The technical assessment component of the first global stocktake is mandated to assess collective progress towards the long-term goal on finance, pursuant to Article 14 of the Paris Agreement. The Paris decision adopting the Agreement decided that, in accordance with Article 9, paragraph 3, of the Paris Agreement, developed countries intend to continue their existing collective mobilization goal through 2025 in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation; prior to 2025 the CMA shall set a new collective quantified goal from a floor of USD 100 billion per year, taking into account the needs and priorities of developing countries.7 In terms of assessment of progress towards achieving the goal of mobilizing jointly USD 100 billion per year to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation, COP 26 requested the SCF to prepare a report in 2022, taking into account the Climate Finance Delivery Plan and other relevant reports, for consideration by COP 27, and to continue to contribute to assessing the achievement of the goal in the context of the preparation of its BAs.8 The technical assessment of the first global stocktake may assess this information once it becomes available, as well as the progress made in other areas, including with regard to the CMA 3 decision to initiate the process for the deliberations on setting a new collective quantified goal.9
- Under Article 10, paragraph 1 of the Paris Agreement, Parties share a long-term vision on the importance of fully realizing technology development and transfer in order to improve resilience to climate change and to reduce GHG emissions. In addition, the Paris Agreement contains the following provisions on technology development and transfer:
- Parties, noting the importance of technology for the implementation of mitigation and adaptation actions under this Agreement and recognizing existing technology deployment and dissemination efforts, shall strengthen cooperative action on technology development and transfer;10
- Support, including financial support, shall be provided to developing country Parties for the implementation of this Article, including for strengthening cooperative action on technology development and transfer at different stages of the technology cycle, with a view to achieving a balance between support for mitigation and adaptation.11
- Regarding the progress made by Parties in strengthening cooperative action on technology development and transfer for mitigation and adaptation and support provided to developing country Parties, this synthesis report found that:
- The provision of support for technology development and transfer has increased significantly. Developed country Parties have more than doubled their support for technology transfer activities since 2012–2013. The support for technology development and
4 Decision 10/CMA.3, para. 2, and decision 4/CP.26, para. 13.
5 Decision 5/CP.26, para. 10.
6 Decision 4/CP.26, para. 10.
7 Decision 1/CP.21, para 53.
8 Decision 4/CP.26, para.19.
9 Decision 9/CMA.3, para.1.
10 Paris Agreement, Article 10, para. 2.
11 Paris Agreement, Article 10, para. 6.
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transfer encompasses support for both hardware (equipment) and software (know-how, methods and practices);
- Bilateral cooperation continues to be the predominant channel of international support for technology transfer activities. While sources of funding for supporting implementation of technology transfer activities were in most cases public, Parties reported on the increasing role of public–private partnerships in undertaking technology transfer activities;
- More than half of the supported activities related to mitigation technology, almost a quarter to adaptation technology and the remainder related to technologies that cut across both mitigation and adaptation;
- The technology transfer activities reported by Parties are predominantly related to the latter stages of the technology cycle, namely the deployment of mature technologies. However, support for the early stages of the technology cycle (technology research and development and demonstration of new technologies) has increased.
- In relation to technology needs of developing country Parties for achieving the long- term vision of fully realizing technology development and transfer in order to improve resilience to climate change and reduce GHG emissions, this synthesis report reveals that:
- With regard to information on technology development and transfer for the implementation of NDCs, many Parties referred to technology development and transfer in the context of actions that inherently address both adaptation and mitigation or focus solely on mitigation;
- Information provided by Parties on climate technology related matters was mainly on specific technologies to be deployed; technology needs; policy, regulatory and legal aspects; technology innovation, research and development; and support required by Parties or support provided by Parties for technology development and transfer;
- In terms of specific technologies that Parties intend to use for achieving their adaptation and mitigation targets, those most frequently identified were cross-sectoral energy-efficient appliances and processes; enhanced use of renewable energy technologies such as hydropower, solar, wind and biomass; low- or zero-emission vehicles; blended fuel; waste to energy technologies; and climate-smart agriculture;
- Technology needs mentioned by Parties were mainly in the areas of energy, agriculture, water, waste, transport, climate observation and early warning. With regard to technology innovation, research and development, some Parties included information on promoting collaboration between countries and promoting institutions, mechanisms, tools and business models that foster progress in this area. Actions on policy, regulatory and legal aspects commonly referred to by Parties included developing or updating policies and strategies to promote technology innovation, promoting use of renewable energy and accelerating adoption and transfer of climate technologies.
- Despite the progress made in strengthening cooperative action on technology development and transfer for the implementation of mitigation and adaptation actions and increased support for developing countries for technology development and transfer, gaps and challenges remain in achieving the long-term vision referred to in Article 10 of the Paris Agreement:
- For mitigation, the most commonly reported categories of barrier to the development and transfer of the prioritized technologies reported by developing country Parties were economic, financial and technical. Within the economic and financial category, most Parties identified lack of, or inadequate access to, financial resources as the main barrier. In the technical category, many Parties identified system constraints, insufficient expertise, and inadequate standards, codes and certification as the main barriers;
- For adaptation, almost all Parties reported the following categories of barrier to the development and transfer of prioritized technologies: economic and financial; policy, legal and regulatory; institutional and organizational capacity; and human skills. Within the first two categories, Parties identified lack of, or inadequate access to, financial resources and insufficient legal and regulatory frameworks as the main barriers.
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- Capacity-building is addressed in the Paris Agreement under Article 11. Although Article 11 does not state a long-term goal, capacity-building efforts in developing country Parties support the implementation of the Paris Agreement and all its long-term goals. In particular, capacity-building efforts aim to increase the ability to foster climate resilience. and low GHG emissions development (Article 2, para.1(b)).
- In this context, some progress has been made on enhancing the capacity of developing country Parties at the systemic, institutional and individual levels for implementing the Paris Agreement. Developing countries have increasingly developed and refined policies, regulatory frameworks, laws, institutional capacities, technical skills and knowledge for adaptation and mitigation action and transparency. Progress in enhancing institutional capacity has focused on the capabilities and performance of institutions and their ability to adapt to change and to cooperate with one another as well as on individual capacity on knowledge and skills development, including for effective participation, knowledge exchange, and behavioural change
- Progress has been achieved through the enhanced support provided for capacity- building by developed countries, South–South cooperation, and endogenous resources of developing countries, as well as by bodies established under the Convention that serve the Paris Agreement, including the PCCB.
- Since the entry into force of the Paris Agreement, developed country Parties have reported the provision of enhanced support for capacity-building, as reflected in the increasing number of activities reported in their BRs. The 686 capacity-building activities reported in their latest BRs represent an increase of more than 77 per cent compared with the previous reporting period. The majority of reported activities were focused on building capacity for adaptation, mainly in the areas of agriculture, infrastructure and water. To a lesser extent, capacity-building activities were focused on mitigation, mostly in the area of energy, forestry and MRV. Most of the capacity-building activities supported by developed country Parties were implemented in the African and Asia-Pacific regions. However, trends in support for capacity-building can only be taken as indicative, given that comprehensive and comparable data in this regard remains unavailable, as developed country Parties continue to apply different approaches for reporting on support provided for capacity- building.
- Despite the progress made on enhancing the capacity of developing country Parties, many developing country Parties continue to face significant capacity gaps and have urgent needs for enhancing capacity at the national, subnational and local levels to implement the Paris Agreement. Most developing country Parties identified capacity-building as a prerequisite for achieving their NDC targets, with many specifying capacity-building needs for formulating policies, integrating mitigation and adaptation into sectoral planning processes, accessing finance, and generating and providing the necessary information for clarity, transparency and understanding of NDCs.