Two-day High-Level New Delhi Conference to Focus on Sharing Clean,

Climate-Friendly Technologies with Developing Countries

 

With just over a month left before the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, countries will discuss one of the linchpin issues for a new climate deal -- the transfer of technology -- at a two-day meeting in New Delhi from 22 to 23 October.

The Delhi High Level Conference on Climate Change:  Technology Development and Transfer will address an issue that has long been pivotal in the climate negotiations, as developing countries need access to cleaner energy producing technologies in order to meet their development needs without increasing emissions or pollution.  Without progress on the technology transfer issue, developing countries will be forced to rely on older and less climate-friendly technologies.

Organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs in partnership with the Government of India, the Conference will be attended by ministers and other high-level officials, many of whom will join the negotiations in Copenhagen in December.  The outcome of the meeting will be conveyed to the Copenhagen meeting by the Government of India.

“The sooner countries are able to shift onto low-emissions paths and to strengthen their resilience to climate change’s impacts, the better the prognosis for humanity and the planet,” says Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General for the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.  “We have a responsibility to find ways to make that happen.”

Mr. Sha said the New Delhi meeting can send a clear message to Copenhagen that there is a way forward on technology cooperation and technology sharing, one that will enable the international community to tackle both climate change and poverty, to promote development and save the planet. 

Tariq Banuri, Director of the Division for Sustainable Development, added that:  “Giving countries access to affordable technologies for fighting climate change can also prevent the lock-in effect of less sustainable pathways.  The fact is, we can accelerate mitigation and adaptation globally, all while helping people rise out of poverty.”

The international community has long emphasized the importance of technology for sustainable development and most recently in the Bali Action Plan, for overcoming climate-related challenges.  Building on this momentum, the Delhi Conference will focus on how to create a platform and institute mechanisms that allow countries, especially those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, to access and benefit from proven and emerging innovations.

“This is an opportunity for informal and very frank discussions -- to move towards consensus on technology issues where there is still no meeting of minds,” Mr. Sha added.

The New Delhi Conference builds on last year’s Beijing High-level Conference on Climate Change:  Technology Development and Technology Transfer, which took stock of clean technologies, the barriers to transfer and the potential for technology collaboration.

For further information, please contact Dan Shepard of the United Nations Department of Public Information, tel: +1 212 963 9495, e-mail: shepard@un.org; or visit http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/dsd_aofw_cc/cc_conf1009.shtml and http://www.newdelhicctechconference.com.

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For information media • not an official record