News facts
Baku, Azerbaijan, 20 November 2024 – At COP29, the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) hosted a side event at the Greek Pavilion, bringing together experts from academia, national institutions and think tanks to explore strategies for strengthening National Systems of Innovation (NSI) and advancing collaborative research, development and demonstration (RD&D). The panel, moderated by CTCN Advisory Board Vice-Chair Stephen Minas, featured insights from Edeltraud Guenther, Director of UNU-FLORES; Surachai Sathitkunarat of Thailand’s Office of National Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Policy Council; Magnolia Tovar of Future Cleantech Architects; Joel Onyango from the African Centre for Technology Studies; and Prof. Maria Gavouneli of Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy.
The IPCC Climate Change 2023 Synthesis Report emphasizes that while the technologies needed to limit global warming to 1.5°C already exist, establishing strong NSI remains a challenge. These systems drive effective policy, RD&D, technology transfer, capacity building, and financing. Similarly, the Paris Agreement’s Technology Framework highlights collaborative RD&D as a key driver to innovation, helping countries strengthen the NSI through global partnerships.
The CTCN aligns with these global priorities, emphasizing NSI and digitalization as fundamental enablers for system transformation and focusing on the enabling conditions needed for enabling early markets and for deploying climate technologies.
Edeltraud Guenther of UNU-FLORES emphasized three critical perspectives to enhance the success of innovation and deployment: planning for impact from the outset, tailoring national innovation systems to the specific needs of sectors and contexts, and considering key factors such as power dynamics, legitimacy, and urgency when conducting research to ensure it addresses real-world challenges.
Guenther also noted the value of barrier research, urging efforts to overcome the challenges that set back innovation rather than abandoning promising ideas.
From Thailand, Dr. Surachai Sathitkunarat outlined national efforts to reform its National Innovation System (NSI) by advancing higher education, science, research, and innovation within the framework of NSI and integrating RD&D into its policy framework. He also outlined how the CTCN supported a technical assistance project on developing a hydrogen roadmap. The project is guided by NSI principles and employs a Triple Helix approach combining government facilitation, industry responsiveness to market demands, and academic support through research and policy development.
Ms. Magnolia Tovar of Future Cleantech Architects presented findings from a report on future R&D needs across 59 countries, carried out in collaboration with the UNFCCC Technology Executive Committee, emphasizing the urgency of developing energy storage technologies to support renewable energy integration. She noted that governments play a crucial role in fostering innovation through local capacity building, providing R&D funding, and mitigating investment risks.
Professor Maria Gavouneli, Director General of the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy, highlightedGreece’s efforts to address climate change challenges while reversing the brain drain. This includes expanding the energy grid, leveraging smart grids, fostering academia-industry partnerships, particularly in agriculture, and utilizing technology for resilience, including drones and surveillance systems in areas like wildfire prevention and maritime security.
Mr. Joel Onyango from the African Center for Technology Studies (ACTS) discussed the path to fostering, scaling, and commercializing innovations, particularly in Africa, emphasizing localization – developing solutions by local people for local challenges - and sustainability as key. He stressed the need for a clear commercialization strategy to ensure innovations remain viable and the importance of local agency – empowering those who can drive change and transformation within their communities.
Find the recording of the side event here.
Find the TEC survey findings on future RD&D needs here.