As we advance towards the middle of our warming century, our understanding of what is needed of us also advances











The scale of need as evidenced by further requests made to ctc-n during 2017 might serve as a wake-up call to those who've hit the snooze button. The Bahamas has committed to achieve a minimum of 30% renewables by 2030 but faces challenges in realising this commitment. Paraguay is a landlocked country dependent on agriculture and highly vulnerable to climate change variations but there is scarcity of information and lack of strategies to deal with the impacts. Sea level rise and increased storm activity in the Pacific Island communities make them amongst the most vulnerable communities in the world; a thorough understanding of the impacts and risks with technical support and training for personnel is needed.


Climate change will not only have severe implications for Palestine's economy, society and environment, but also for the wider political context, there is a need for a Technology Road Map for the Implementation of Climate Action Plan. In Costa Rica, the role of forests in climate change adaptation and mitigation is widely acknowledged but there is a lack of instruments to facilitate access to information for improving the decision-making process for adaptation and mitigation.


There is a large potential for energy conservation and efficient energy use in Pakistan, but no professional certification system exists for energy auditors. Grenada is one of the world’s most at-risk countries for climate change and seeks to reduce the currently high levels of produced water that is lost before reaching the consumer.


Such critical situations are typical of the many requests for assistance being made to the Technical Assistance team at ctc-n. A colleague there told me more; for example how they are helping in Mauritius to recover biodiversity of the sea that has been affected by the moving of the sandbanks. In Benin, a country severely affected by climate change, there is not currently the capacity to forecast. This extra lack greatly increases vulnerability to climate change and efforts are being made to rectify this. Ctc-n is an important organisation for action in the field, yet is missing adequate financial support. At COP22, $23M was pledged from the Green Climate Fund. Funding raised so far from countries and donors represents 30% of the total funds required. Ctc-n require billions, not millions, if they are going to do the work being required of them from all around the world. Due to such under-funding it is sometimes only possible to help a country with one request when in fact, several requests for different types of assistance have been made.


Ctc-n need assistance and are reaching out to corporate and individual donors. As we advance towards the middle of our warming century, our understanding of what is needed of us also advances. The developed world must decarbonise and switch to renewable energy at a much faster rate than is currently happening. The developing world must be assisted to modernise by the implementation of renewable energy systems. And where the impacts of climate change are in evidence, those countries need immediate assistance.


Climate Technology Centre and Network is one of the few specialist organisations with the expertise required to work with developing countries, in the field, to assist with adaptation and mitigation. That the organisation is underfunded is deeply concerning. In order to safeguard the future of our civilisation, it is crucial that the developing world is lifted out of poverty with the implementation of clean, not global warming, energy systems. The work of Climate Technology Centre and Network goes a long way to support this aim.


To learn more about Climate Technology Centre and Network please visit their website