STL Assistant Professor Stephen Minas was elected vice-chair of the Technology Executive Committee (TEC) of UN Climate Change, at its meeting during the first week of April. The TEC was established in 2010 by the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The TEC also serves the Paris Agreement on climate change adopted in 2015.
The functions of the TEC include to recommend actions to promote technology development and transfer, in order to accelerate action on mitigation and adaptation, recommend guidance on policies and programme priorities related to technology development and transfer, and promote and facilitate collaboration on the development and transfer of technologies for mitigation and adaptation between governments, the private sector, non-profit organizations and academic and research communities.
Members of the TEC serve in their personal capacity and should represent a balance of technical, legal, policy, social development and financial expertise relevant to the development and transfer of technology for adaptation and mitigation.
Since its creation, the TEC has provided advice to the UNFCCC Conference of Parties on a broad range of technology issues and has established cooperative relationships with a variety of relevant bodies, including the Climate Technology Centre and Network (which provides technical assistance to developing countries) and the Green Climate Fund. Information on the outcomes of the TEC’s 20thmeeting, held virtually due to the pandemic, isavailable here.
