Roundtable Executive Report: Accelerating Low-Carbon Technology Transfer: Helping Developing Countries Implement Nationally Determined Contributions

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) organised a roundtable at Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) 2016 to discuss the challenges of accelerating transfer of low-carbon technologies (LCTs) to developing countries.

Shifting to low-carbon energy is crucial to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, as energy-related carbon dioxide emissions account for two-thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions. Many of the Agreement’s signatories have identified the adoption of LCTs for this transition to be part of their priority actions in implementing their National Determined Contributions (NDCs).

Challenges faced in accelerating transfer of LCTs

That said, outside of the developed countries, critical support is required to accelerate effective transfer of LCTs to developing countries and make the energy transition happen.

Pham Van Tan, Deputy Director General, Department of Hydrology, Meteorology and Climate Change, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, shared that developing countries like Viet Nam face several challenges in deploying LCTs to implement NDCs – including a lack of information on climate technologies and their benefits, low levels of investment in R&D and technology transfer, and high risks in investing in new LCTs.

Other challenges faced by developing Asian countries include the cost of prioritising LCTs at the national level, tariff and non-tariff barriers, and building an ecosystem for LCT innovation, added Dr Venkatachalam Anbumozhi, Senior Energy Economist, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).

Meeting these challenges locally and regionally

To overcome these challenges, action is needed at the project, national and regional levels. At the project level, Dr Yongping Zhai, Technical Advisor (Energy) of ADB emphasised the need for more feasible projects that are innovative in terms of technology, business and financing models – benefiting both consumers and investors. Zhai added that ADB targets to finance at least US$6 billion worth of energy projects annually by 2020, half of which will be for renewable and energy efficiency projects and the other half to finance transmission and distribution.

At the national level, appropriate planning tools, technology databases, strengthened ecosystems for technological innovation, and integrated economic (i.e. trade, tax, and innovation) and energy policies are vital for accelerated technology transfer to fulfil NDCs. Professor Xianchun Tan, Deputy Director of Research Center of Overall Planning, Safety and Security Management, Institute of Policy & Management, Chinese Academy of Sciences, demonstrated how the use of low-carbon development planning toolkits proved useful in assessing current policies and informing low-carbon development plans and policies.

Dr Krishnan Raghavan, Coordinator, Technology Transfer Services, Asian and Pacific Centre for Transfer of Technology (APCTT) at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific (UNESCAP), said that without strengthening linkages between all actors of an innovation system involved in technology development and transfer, targets such as NDCs and sustainable developments goals would not be achieved.

Strengthening regional cooperation

Panellists agreed that enhancing regional cooperation is essential to accelerate the transfer of LCTs in developing Asian countries in order to meet climate goals. This is especially so for south-south cooperation in areas such as harmonising regional standards, transforming low-carbon markets, innovating business models, capacity building, financial validation of technologies, and knowledge sharing. Success stories such as the UN’s collaboration with ASEAN and ADB to promote energy efficiency and LCTs, or Thailand’s collaboration with ASEAN and Japan to exchange knowledge and scale up biofuels for low-carbon transportation, provide useful lessons and insights.

Working with businesses is also important. ENGIE Rassembleursd’Energies, for example, supports entrepreneurs in providing innovative clean energy access solutions to poor off-grid populations, while IPEx Cleantech Asia facilitates the accelerated deployment of clean technologies. With strengthened regional cooperation, new and more focused partnerships and collaboration among stakeholders involved in technology transfer and meeting NDC targets can be expected to happen in the near future, said the panellists.

Roundtable participants:

• Pham Van Tan, Deputy Director General, Department of Hydrology, Meteorology and Climate Change, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Vietnam

• Dr Venkatachalam Anbumozhi, Senior Energy Economist, ERIA, Indonesia

• Dr Krishnan Srinivasaraghavan, Coordinator, Technology Transfer, APCTT, UNESCAP

• Sasank Goli, CEO, IPEx Cleantech Asia

• Laure Vinçotte, Managing Director, ENGIE Rassembleurs d’Energies SAS

• Prof Tan Xianchun, Deputy Director, Center of Overall Planning, Safety and Security Management, Institute of Policy and Management, Chinese Academy of Sciences

• Dr Manida Tongroon, Researcher, National Metal and Materials Technology Center (MTEC)

• Dr Yongping Zhai, Technical Advisor (Energy), ADB

• Dr Xuedu Lu, Advisor, Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department, ADB

By : Asian Development Bank (ADB)