UN invites proposals for host of new climate technology centre

The secretariat of the United Nations climate change convention today invited proposals for hosting the climate technology centre as requested by Governments at a UN conference held last year in the South African city of Durban.

The Climate Technology Centre (CTC), along with its Network, is the implementing arm of the Technology Mechanism established at the conference in Cancún, Mexico, in 2010, the secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) said in a press release.

The mechanism is designed to stimulate technology cooperation and to enhance the development and transfer of climate-sound technologies to support action on mitigation and adaptation by developing countries.

The UNFCCC secretariat urged interested organizations, including consortiums, to submit their proposals for hosting the CTC by 16 March this year.

“At the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban, Governments gave themselves a heavy workload for 2012, and the call for proposals is the first big follow-on step from that meeting,” said Christiana Figueres, the UNFCCC Executive Secretary. “It is also a major step towards delivering real and tangible transfer of technologies and know-how to developing countries.”

“Governments decided in Durban to launch the selection process of the host of the CTC which is an important step to make the Technology Mechanism become fully operational in 2012, so we should very soon see concrete results,” she added.

The CTC and its Network are also intended to assist developing countries to build or strengthen their capacity to make their technology choices, and to facilitate the preparation and implementation of technology projects and strategies.