3 December 2015: The Clean Energy Ministerial’s (CEM) Clean Energy Solutions Center and the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) announced a new collaboration aimed at expanding clean energy policy assistance for developing countries.

Under the new initiative, the Solutions Center and CTCN will coordinate their technical assistance efforts to developing countries. The Solutions Center will provide assistance on clean energy quick-response type requests submitted to the CTCN, while the CTCN will provide assistance on requests submitted to the Solutions Center that require longer-term, more in-depth support. The two may also work jointly on in-depth policy requests and extend their collaboration to areas such as clean energy finance measures and investment mobilization, similar fast-response programmes related to other mitigation and adaptation topics, and documenting and sharing best practice.

The Solutions Center features an ‘Ask an Expert’ programme and roster of clean energy experts to respond to quick-response type requests. As a result of the new collaboration, the Center’s roster will include CTCN Consortium Partners and Network members, as well as experts from other technical institutions.

The Clean Energy Solutions Center, a CEM initiative, provides no-cost expert policy assistance, webinars and training forums, clean energy policy reports, data and tools to help create policies and programmes that advance the development of clean energy technologies. CTCN, the operational arm of the UNFCCC Technology Mechanism, is hosted and managed by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in collaboration with the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and supported by 11 partner institutions. The CTCN provides technical assistance and capacity building at the request of developing countries on a range of mitigation and adaptation sectors. [CTCN press release] [CTCN website] [Clean Energy solutions Center website]