News facts
- The event brings together government officials, NDEs, CTCN Advisory Board members, Technology Executive Committee members, and CTCN Network Members to present case studies of successful climate technology projects, with focus on the LAC region
- Exploring South-South or North-South collaborative R&D and investment opportunities to promote technological solutions to climate change
- Mapping the role of AI in the climate action space, and readiness for AI technology in the LAC region.
San José, Costa Rica – October 1, 2024. The 2024 Latin America and Caribbean NDE Forum and AI4Climate Action Capacity Building Programme welcomed participants today from across the region to enhance the collaboration between national climate representatives and technology experts to advance the fight against climate change.
The conference, organized by the United Nations Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) and co-hosted with the Ministry of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica, will take place over four days in San José. The event brings together National Designated Entities (NDEs) of twenty Latin American and the Caribbean countries, to reinforce their collaboration on climate technology transfer and hear from experts in the field on the latest in innovative sectors such as artificial intelligence and digitization.
Carlos Isaac Pérez Mejía, Vice Minister of Strategic Management of the Ministry of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica, mentioned the importance of technology to contribute to the identification and implementation of innovative solutions for climate action, both in terms of mitigation and adaptation. In addition, he emphasized the interest of developing countries such as Costa Rica in making these technologies accessible to and applicable in local contexts. The Vice Minister recognized the importance of initiatives such as those offered by the CTCN, and highlighted the human capital that Costa Rica can offer to make full use of them.
The participants will spend two days discussing programs and reviewing successful technology projects supported by the CTCN across the region, such as circular economy technical assistance supported by CTCN in Costa Rica and Mexico, and food-security risk mapping in Jamaica. This conference allows participants to share experiences and learn from other countries. Such lessons learned are invaluable for NDEs to inform national climate strategies to leap-frog to suitable technology solutions for reducing emissions and adapting more quickly to a changing climate.
The CTCN technical assistance projects cover a number of different sectors, such as transport, energy, industry, infrastructure, and agriculture, always with the focus on technologies for climate mitigation and adaptation, and are all demand driven: each request for technical assistance is submitted by the country NDE and developed based on needs from local institutions and partners.
“We recognize the catalytic role technology can play to drive climate action, but we also understand the inherent challenges,” said CTCN Director a.i Jonathan Duwyn in his opening remarks. “CTCN assistance in this region allows countries to increase their knowledge on potential climate technology solutions. The technical assistance delivered by CTCN responds to well identified country needs and can help accelerate the adoption and deployment of suitable climate technologies, in countries where it can make a tremendous difference to vulnerable communities, those most affected by climate change.”
The event will also increase the knowledge of participants on how artificial intelligence solutions can support and accelerate climate action, a subject with growing relevance to today’s technologies. Representatives from diverse organizations operating in the region will show examples of initiatives using AI to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or increase resilience to the effects of climate change, such as more effective monitoring of traffic and energy or water monitoring and low-methane rice production, improving the agricultural production chain. This will show the potential of using cutting edge technology to ramp up climate action quickly, and in the process, saving resources.
Other expert speakers include representatives of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Adaptation Fund, and Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigacion y Enseñanza (CATIE), who will speak on successful projects and funding sources and opportunities, including how to scale up technology deployment.
More information on the four-day event, including the agenda, can be found here: LAC NDE Forum 2024 & Capacity Building Programme on AI4Climate Action | Climate Technology Centre & Network | Wed, 09/04/2024 (ctc-n.org)
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ABOUT CLIMATE TECHNOLOGY CENTRE AND NETWORK (CTCN)
The CTCN is the implementation arm of the Technology Mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and is hosted by the UN Environment Programme. The Centre promotes the accelerated transfer of environmentally sound technologies for low-carbon and climate-resilient development at the request of developing countries. The CTCN provides technology solutions, capacity building, and advice on policy, legal, and regulatory frameworks tailored to the needs of individual countries by harnessing the expertise of a global network of technology experts and is committed to supporting the clean tech engagement of men and women, youth, and Indigenous peoples and communities.
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CTCN Communications