The Technology Executive Committee (TEC) of the United Nations Climate Convention (UNFCCC) held its second virtual meeting of the year earlier this month. The TEC is a committee established in 2010 to enhance climate technology development and transfer, including through publications and recommendations to the Parties to the Climate Convention. The TEC also works under the 2015 Paris Agreement. STL Associate Professor Stephen Minas is the current chair of the TEC, having served as vice-chair during 2020.
During this meeting, the TEC achieved several milestones. The TEC met jointly with the Advisory Board of the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), which provides services under the Climate Convention and Paris Agreement including technical assistance to developing countries. The TEC and Advisory Board provided guidance on the further development of the two bodies’ first-ever joint activities. Following this, the two bodies finalized their publication on ‘Technology and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – Stimulating the Uptake of Technologies in Support of NDC Implementation’ and related recommendations to the Parties of the Paris Agreement. NDCs are a key mechanism of the Paris Agreement, through which individual Parties communicate their climate action targets.
During the meeting, it was confirmed that the TEC achieved gender equality in its public events for the first time in its history. Whereas more men than women participated in TEC events during all previous years, in 2021 the majority of participants were women. This outcome was part of broader progress in mainstreaming gender-responsiveness in the TEC's work in 2021, including through joint work with the CTCN.
The TEC also provided key messages and recommendations on a range of topics to Parties of the Climate Convention and Paris Agreement. These inputs will be considered by Parties at the COP26 climate conference, which is scheduled to be held in late October and early November in Glasgow, Scotland, having been postponed from 2020 due to the pandemic. Parties take TEC key messages and recommendations into account when deciding to provide guidance on technology development and transfer.
For more information, see the UNFCCC reports on the TEC meeting (https://unfccc.int/news/accelerating-uptake-of-key-climate-technologies) and the TEC's latest “Technology Day” event (https://unfccc.int/news/building-stronger-resilience-in-ocean-and-coastal-areas) and Dr Minas’ article on gender and climate technology (https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3134053/how-climate-action-and-gender-equality-are-linked-pursuit-justice).
