News facts
UN Climate Change News, Bonn, Nov 7 – Senegal is cutting its energy costs and reducing emissions at the same time by tapping into coordinated support from an increasingly effective international technology network under the UN Climate Change Convention.
The country’s project to raise industrial energy efficiency through the UNFCCC Technology Mechanism network is helping it achieve electricity savings of almost 440,000 MWh over the next 8 years, which is part of the national climate plan it submitted under the 2015 Paris Agreement.
The mechanism’s comprehensive support across research, policy, funding sources and implementation helps countries realize the climate action they have put in these plans – known as nationally determined contributions. It already has a proven track-record of making climate technology action a reality to the benefit of both people and planet and is open to requests from all developing countries.
At COP23 in Bonn, the Technology Mechanism is showing how it is supporting countries to accelerate climate technology development in 2017 at the CTCN and TEC exhibition space. And you can follow updates on climate technology in Twitter through #climatetech!
Translating National Priorities into Action
Senegal first took advantage of a UN Technology Needs Assessment, which identified that while its growing industrial sector accounts for only 0.2% of energy consumers, it represents 36% of national energy consumption.
This clearly showed that readily available options for energy and resource efficiency offered a great potential for energy savings in the sector.
This is where the Technology Mechanism stepped in to provide the next step of concrete support.
The mechanism consists of two complementary bodies: the Technology Executive Committee (TEC), which delivers policy recommendations, and the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), that provides technical assistance.
The Senegalese government took action and contacted the CTCN to support local industries implement energy efficient solutions and better utilize waste and by-products.
“We first had to identify the technologies. The CTCN, through its wide network, not only helped us to find the right experts to develop those technologies, it also assisted us in identifying financial partners to support technology implementation”, said Professor Issakha Youm, Senegal’s National Designated Entity for liason with the UN technology network.
In response to Senegal´s request, the centre then harnessed the expertise of the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), as well as partners ENDA Energie (of Senegal) and Swiss-based Sofies SA.
They are all now supporting Senegal to introduce relevant cutting edge technologies for key industrial sectors, including integrated efficiencies across the country’s Diamniadio Industrial Park. This will enable integrated energy and resource use by various industries so that by-products of one sector can be utilized by another for energy and production use.
In this way, Senegal’s industrial sector is improving its energy efficiency, productivity and competitiveness.
Policy Support for Climate Technology
The UNFCCC Technology Executive Committee (TEC) works in tandem with the CTCN by focusing on policies that can be used and implemented by countries. It works by bringing together global experts from diverse backgrounds, to identify policies that can address some of the most challenging climate technology questions.
In a thematic dialogue held by the Committee earlier this year, experts concluded that industrial energy efficiency has a greenhouse gas reduction potential that is equivalent to that of renewable technologies.
Many ideas and approaches on how countries are improving efficiency in industries were presented. For instance, participants considered the experiences and lessons learned from South Africa’s industrial energy efficiency programmes.
Following the thematic dialogue, TEC published policy recommendations to COP23 on industrial energy efficiency and a policy brief identifying how countries can accelerate sustainable development by focusing on this sector.
The recommendations include tailored summaries of actions that different stakeholders, including financial institutions, international organizations, industries and domestic policy makers can undertake to boost energy efficiency.
Bridging the Technology Gap
The TEC work also includes linking developing country technology goals with finance and private sector initiatives. In this regard, the TEC and the CTCN are working with the Green Climate Fund and relevant stakeholders to support the implementation of these technologies and to ensure that the many investment opportunities in NDCs come to life.
For instance, the Green Climate Fund and CTCN are collaborating with the government of Tonga to develop an energy efficiency master plan for the small island state.
The Technology Mechanism – Further Details
The UNFCCC Technology Mechanism works to enhance climate technology action through two complementary bodies: the Technology Executive Committee (TEC) and the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN). Read their joint annual report for 2017.
The TEC, as the policy arm of the Technology Mechanism, analyses technology policy issues and provides recommendations to support countries in effecting low-emission and climate resilient development. It consists of 20 technology experts from around the world. The Committee has developed key policy recommendations on innovation, energy efficiency and mitigation and it has published three briefs on South-South cooperation, industrial energy efficiency and innovation.
The Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) connects developing countries with technology experts and financiers from around the world, identifying the best matches and providing capacity building and climate technology transfer. The CTCN is working with 73 countries to provide technology solutions and support, and provides access to thousands of climate technology publications, webinars and tools.
The Centre is co-hosted by UN Environment and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and supported by 400 network partners around the world.