Public–Private Partnerships for Climate Technology Transfer and Innovation: Lessons from the Climate Technology Centre and Network

Abstract

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Paris Agreement, and a number of important agreements call on the United Nations (UN) to strengthen a relationship with the private sector to develop and transfer climate technology in global action on climate change. The Technology Mechanism (TM) is anchored in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change as a key enabler for the attainment of the Goals of the Paris Agreement. The growing interest for collaboration with the private sector sets new ambitions for the UN Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN). The active engagement of the private sector is critical for successful technology transfer and successful innovation. This paper reviews and analyses the role of the private sector in facilitating technology transfer in CTCN’s Technical Assistance. Furthermore, the shared interest for partnership between the CTCN and the private sector was evaluated by analysing in-depths interviews with major CTCN stakeholders. Based upon this analysis, several recommendations are made on how to enhance public–private partnerships in order to strengthen private sector participation in climate technology transfer activities with a special focus on technology–push and market–pull innovation.