[Urbanstudy] Indian Youth Climate Network Policy Briefs for COP 20 Lima on Agriculture, Education & Awareness, Technology Mechanism

[Kabir Khan]

Need for Resilient Agricultural Systems in the face of Climate Variability
<http://whatswiththeclimate.org/2014/11/29/need-for-resilient-agricultural-systems-in-the-face-of-climate-variability/>

*Indian Youth Climate Network Policy Brief on Agriculture under UNFCCC*

*Background & Current Status: *Agriculture contributes to and is threatened
by climate change, thus jeopardizing global food security. Increasing
variability in weather patterns makes agriculture one of the sectors this
is most vulnerable to impacts of climate change. Smallholders, comprising
approximately 500 million small farms globally, are particularly vulnerable
to climate change, potentially making nearly two billion people food
insecure worldwide.

Agriculture is recognized as integral part for both adaption and mitigation
on climate change. Article 2 of the UNFCCC outlines as ultimate objective
the need to stabilize concentration of green house gases to ‘ensure that
food production is not threatened’ by climate change. Article 4.1 (c) of
UNFCCC detailing the commitments of parties provides for ‘promotion and
cooperation in the development of technologies, practices and processes
that can mitigate emissions from the relevant sectors’, including
agriculture. It also states that parties need to cooperate in preparing to
adapt to the impacts of climate change, and develop and elaborate
appropriate and integrated plans for agriculture amongst other things Art
4.1 (e). (Continued Here...)
<http://whatswiththeclimate.org/2014/11/29/need-for-resilient-agricultural-systems-in-the-face-of-climate-variability/>
Importance of Education & Involvement of Youth in Climate Dialogue
<http://whatswiththeclimate.org/2014/11/29/importance-of-education-involvement-of-youth-in-climate-dialogue/>

*Indian Youth Climate Network Policy Brief on Article 6 of UNFCCC*

Climate change and its impacts would severely test the capacities of
nations to curb the instances of loss and damage, and also of communities
to continue to adapt to unpredictable and rapidly changing weather
patterns. Thus, to prepare for a world that is dealing with climate change,
capacities of the nations, vulnerable communities, youth, and individuals
need to be enhanced. Role of education and training for developing both
mitigation and adaptation action will become significant as the world tries
to develop resilient, equitable and just systems.

Article 6 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
address this need and stipulates the promotion of education, training and
public awareness on climate change. It defines activities under two
sections in six priority areas, and lays emphasis on the participation at
all levels and of all stakeholders in the climate change process. (Continued
Here...)
<http://whatswiththeclimate.org/2014/11/29/importance-of-education-involvement-of-youth-in-climate-dialogue/>
Strengthen CTCN, Encourage Energy Efficiency & Renewables,
Involve Communities
<http://whatswiththeclimate.org/2014/11/29/strengthen-ctcn-encourage-energy-efficiency-and-renewables-and-involve-communities/>

*Indian Youth Climate Network Policy Brief on Technology Transfer under
UNFCCC*

*Background & Current Status*

The world economy at large is still dependent on carbon intensive sources
of energy. There are significant steps undertaken by many developed
countries to move from carbon intensive sources to renewable sources. But
there is lot left to do. The development trajectory followed the west after
the industrial revolution can no longer be a safe pathway for developing
countries to move on. Poverty, low access to financial services and
political instability have kept many developing countries in the fossil
fuel based carbon trap. Thisformed the backdrop for the adoption of Article
4.5 in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that refers
to commitment on the issue of transfer technology to help poor countries
leapfrog to a less carbon intensive future. The article states

*“The developed country Parties and other developed Parties included in
Annex II shall take all practicable steps to promote, facilitate and
finance, as appropriate, the transfer of, or access to, environmentally
sound technologies and knowhow to other Parties, particularly developing
country Parties, to enable them to implement the provisions of the
Convention. In this process, the developed country Parties shall support
the development and enhancement of endogenous capacities and technologies
of developing country Parties. Other Parties and organizations in a
position to do so may also assist in facilitating the transfer of such
technologies.”*

*Technology Transfer* in UNFCCC has been one of the most contested issues
as it involves added financial costs for developed countries to help
developing countries leapfrog. There are additional concerns over
“Intellectual Property Rights” that are currently under the rubric of
“World Trade Organization” and not the UNFCCC that impede work under
article 4.5. Some of these obstacles were addressed in COP 7 in Marrakesh,
resulting in an accord, which had *Technology needs assessment, technology
information, enabling environments and capacity building as its four
pillars.  *These are described below -

*Technology needs assessment: “**Technology Needs Assessments (TNAs) are a
set of country-driven activities that identify and determine the mitigation
and adaptation technology priorities of Parties other than developed
country Parties, and other developed Parties not included in Annex II,
particularly developing country Parties.”*

*Technology information: “**The technology information component of the
framework defines the means, including hardware, software and networking,
to facilitate the flow of information between the different stakeholders to
enhance the development and transfer of environmentally sound
technologies.”*

*Enabling environments: **“This component of the framework focuses on
government actions, such as fair trade policies, removal of technical,
legal and administrative barriers to technology transfer, sound economic
policy, regulatory frameworks and transparency, all of which create an
environment conducive to private and public sector technology transfer.”*

*Capacity Building: “**The capacity building component is a process which
seeks to build, develop, strengthen, enhance and improve existing
scientific and technical skills, capabilities and institutions in Parties
other than developed country Parties, and other developed Parties not
included in Annex II, particularly developing country Parties, to enable
them to assess, adapt, manage and develop environmentally sound
technologies.”*

These components were expanded in the *Cancun Agreement in COP 16* and
termed *Technology Mechanism*, “*fostering public-private partnerships;
promoting innovation; catalyzing the use of technology road maps or action
plans; responding to developing country party requests on matters related
to technology transfer; and facilitating joint R&D activities.”*

The Technology mechanism consists of Technology Executive Committee (TEC)
and Climate Technology Center and Network (CTCN).  The Technology executive
committee that worked on the technology mechanism, formulated a report
based on the needs of 31 parties who submitted their application including
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan from South Asia. In order to compile the
report, the existing frameworks of the parties were studied, sectors were
prioritized for adaptation and mitigation and barriers were identified.
Following this recommendations for technology action plans were prepared
and submitted for consideration to the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and
Technological Advice in 2013. This has been a good starting point with more
parties sending their requests to become the beneficiaries of the
technology mechanism in subsequent months. (Continued Here...)
<http://whatswiththeclimate.org/2014/11/29/strengthen-ctcn-encourage-energy-efficiency-and-renewables-and-involve-communities/>
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Regards

कबीर/کبیر
Indian Youth Climate Network
Phone:00-91-96-63-427-315
email: kabir at iycn.in

http://www.iycn.in
Follow me on:
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<http://maleccha.wordpress.com/> & Twitter <https://twitter.com/Maleccha>

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