1 December 2014: The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) and Institute of Development Studies (IDS) organized a side event, titled ‘Innovation and Collaboration for Transforming Knowledge into Climate Action,’ at the Lima Climate Change Conference. The Climate Knowledge Brokers (CKB) Group presented their efforts as “21st century librarians” to differentiate between useful and non-useful climate change information.

Geoff Barnard, Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), who moderated the discussion, explained that knowledge brokers are needed to help users find, filter, discuss and make sense of the overwhelming amount of climate information in existence. He said the CKB Group’s Climate Knowledge Grid aims to address these needs by understanding user needs, pointing users to best available sources and connecting existing knowledge platforms.

Martin Hiller, REEEP, stressed the value of open access information to accelerate markets for green growth by helping to identify successful, sector-specific technologies and business models. He underscored the need for innovative tools such as weADAPT, a website that maps adaptation projects against predicted climate change.

Karina Larsen, Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), described her organization’s efforts to disseminate outputs and facilitate knowledge sharing by working closely with CTCN national focal points to identify users’ information needs and enable data sharing. She said the “mathematics of sharing” multiplied the utility of shared information.

Kiran Pandey, Centre for Science and Environment, presented the India Environment Portal, saying it is the world’s largest open access data platform dedicated to environmental issues in the global South. She outlined the portal’s 500,000 manually tagged records across 9000 subjects, covering a diversity of actors, thematic areas and data sources.

In the discussion, panelists highlighted the difficulty of persuading donors to fund knowledge management initiatives but noted that forthcoming evaluation frameworks are starting to address this challenge. They recommended viewing knowledge management as a long-term infrastructural investment.

The CKB Group is an alliance of approximately 50 organizations, including REEEP, IDS, CDKN, India Environment Portal, weADAPT and the UNFCCC Secretariat, specializing in producing and maintaining information on climate change. [IISD RS ENBOTS Coverage] [IISD RS Coverage of Lima Climate Change Conference] [REEEP Event Announcement] [IDS Website] [CKB Group Website]