16 April 2014: In an open letter to Nationally Designated Entities (NDEs), the Director of the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), Jukka Uosukainen, reports on recent progress and future plans in relation to the CTCN, including country requests for technology assistance, awareness-raising workshops, the Climate Technology Network (CTN) and the forthcoming Knowledge Management System.

Uosukainen reports that 72 countries have nominated their NDEs and asks those that have yet to nominate theirs to do so urgently in order that the CTCN can best serve them. He notes that the CTCN has thus far received six official requests for technology assistance from Chile, Colombia, Honduras and Pakistan; adding that in order to make requests for assistance, countries can consult the NDE manual for guidelines.

Stressing the need for more capacity building and awareness raising, Uosukainen calls for the NDEs to send ideas and suggestions, based on the needs and issues in their respective countries. He indicates that the CTCN has already held workshops and seminars in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the US to raise awareness about the services offered by the CTCN.

On the CTN, Uosukainen underlines that it is growing and that he has endorsed four of ten applicants for membership: the Renewable Energy Policy Network of 21st Century (REN21); the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP); the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO); and the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN). Uosukainen encourages NDEs to inform relevant academic institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and private companies of the opportunity to apply to the CTN.

Uosukainen also announces that the CTCN hopes to make its Knowledge Management System available by September 2014. The System will allow monitoring of the request process and provide information on a wide range of climate technologies and their use.

The CTCN aims to assist developing countries to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve resilience to the impacts of climate change. The Centre is hosted and managed by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in collaboration with the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and with the support of 11 centres of excellence located in developing and developed countries. The CTCN is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. [UNFCCC Website] [UNFCCC CTCN Website] [UNEP CTCN Website] [NDE Manual] [CTCN Director’s Open Letter]