News facts
The CTCN convened its inaugural Stakeholder Forum from 5-7 April at carbon-neutral Strathmore University in Nairobi, Kenya. This workshop, entitled Facilitating Transfer of Climate Technologies in East Africa, was co-hosted with WIPO Green, PFAN, DNV GL, CIPIT and the Kenya Climate Innovation Centre. Forum participants were drawn from among CTCN institutions as well as private sector actors with expertise in climate technologies and finance, with the goal of addressing gaps and barriers among key stakeholders and realizing scalable climate change projects. The priority areas of focus for the workshop was technologies addressing mitigation (energy and forestry) and adaptation (water and agriculture) that are central to the national situation of countries in the region.
"Research which is not applied, which does not change people's lives is just the first step. Its impact is zero and I call it a disease: "pilot-itis". That pilot unit is thus a monument to celebrate the failure of Academia to work with Government and the Private Sector. However, if these partners bring their unique gifts to the fight for development, the impact will be wide, deep and lasting. Events such as this CTCN/WIPO collaboration provide an opportunity to do just that", says Dr. Izael Da Silva, Director, Centre of Excellence in Renewable Energy and Sustainable Development, Strathmore University.
The two most valuable components of the CTCN architecture are its NDE focal points and its network of ~150 climate technology-focused organizations. The Stakeholder Forum brings these two groups together to engage in targeted discussions to identify the actual barriers to technology transfer and development faced by the private sector and the potential for new and enhanced markets for climate technologies in developing countries. Working from the climate technology needs expressed in national contributions, climate finance and development experts are able to inform government action to build an environment that enables investment in transformational climate technologies.