1 March 2007 Overview of the UNFCCC technology information clearing house (TT:CLEAR) and the work done on networking Iulian Florin Vladu Adaptation, Technology and Science Technology Sub-programme UNFCCC Bonn, Germany

Iulian Florin VLADU – Adaptation, Technology and Science2 TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION (I) o The need to enhance the access of the developing countries, within the UNFCCC process, to information on state of the art environmentally sound technologies was recognized since the first Conference of the Parties o That information includes, inter alia:  Technology cooperation projects  Mitigation and adaptation technologies  Directories of companies, organizations technology centers and experts  Case studies and lessons learned  Financial resources, project documents and financing  Internet resources, information exchange forums

Iulian Florin VLADU – Adaptation, Technology and Science3 TT:CLEAR o In order to address the needs of information on environmentally sound technologies, the Convention secretariat has designed and developed a web-based technology transfer information system/clearing house (TT:CLEAR)  The main objective of TT:CLEAR is to improve the flow of, access to and quality of the information relating to the development and transfer of environmentally sound technologies under the Article 4.5 of the Convention and contribute to a more efficient use of the available resources by providing a synergy with other ongoing efforts

Iulian Florin VLADU – Adaptation, Technology and Science4 CHARACTERISTICS (I) o Targets experts from all stakeholders involved in the process of technology transfer, from regional specialists, public interest groups, intergovernmental organizations, lending agencies and trade associations to business and industry o Complements and works with existing web sites and clearing houses of other relevant international organizations and national/regional technology information centres o It has the potential to act as a gateway for fast access to up-to-date information on the latest technology transfer projects and case studies of successful technology transfer, environmentally sound technologies and know- how, and organizations and experts involved in the development and transfer of technologies

Iulian Florin VLADU – Adaptation, Technology and Science5 CHARACTERISTICS (II) o Includes an innovative search engine which enables users to access distributed sources of information such as UNFCCC, GEF, IEA, OECD and some national databases

Iulian Florin VLADU – Adaptation, Technology and Science6 CONTENT (I) o Inventory of technology cooperation projects. The inventory contains at present some 1,850 projects and programmes, including:  Projects cited in National Communications of Annex I Parties  Projects cited in initial national communications of Parties not included in Annex I to the Convention  Projects cited in submissions from Parties within the consultative process on technology transfer  Some Global Environmental Facility climate projects and programmes  Some bilateral projects not reported in national communications of Annex I Parties  Some multilateral projects and programmes such as non-GEF related activities of UNEP, UNDP, UNIDO, regional development banks and other multilateral implementing agencies

Iulian Florin VLADU – Adaptation, Technology and Science7 CONTENT (II) o Over 40 case studies and/or success stories on technology transfer o 850 links to relevant web sites o An inventory of methods, models and tools covering different aspects of mitigation of and adaptation to climate change o A database of organizations, technology centers and experts involved in the development and transfer of technologies o Preliminary databases of mitigation and adaptation technologies o A technology forum, including a web board, chat rooms and user feedback o Information on the political process development and transfer of technologies under the UNFCCC

Iulian Florin VLADU – Adaptation, Technology and Science8 INFORMATION SHARING o Sharing on-line information in real time between the nodes of the virtual clearing house could minimize duplications, enhance the quality of the information available to users and reduce the costs of developing and maintaining the systems participating in the clearing house. o The scope of this exchange of information can cover, inter alia, projects, technologies, experts/contacts and organizations, case studies, calendar of events, methods, models and tools, and publications.

Iulian Florin VLADU – Adaptation, Technology and Science9 IMPLEMENTATION (I) o The key element in achieving a effective information sharing and dissemination is to establish a seamless connectivity between these systems transparent to the users. At present, web services, the next generation of web-based technology for exchanging information, can make this possible. o Conceptually, web services represent a model in which discrete tasks within processes are distributed widely throughout a value net. o Web services forms the technology architecture for building new generation systems that need to alter functionality dynamically, connect different systems and form a bridge across various computing platforms, operating systems and languages.

Iulian Florin VLADU – Adaptation, Technology and Science10 IMPLEMENTATION (II) o Information agents in the basic architecture can take on one or all of the following roles: o Service requester -- requests the execution of a Web service o Service provider -- processes a Web service request o Discovery agency -- agency through which a Web service description is published and made discoverable TT:CLEAR Web service server Web service client SANet Web service client Web service server XML

Iulian Florin VLADU – Adaptation, Technology and Science11 WORK DONE | Service provider (I) o Specialized search engine  GEF  CADDET/Greentie  OECD/CAC o Information sharing using web services. Four web services are provided:  ProjectDB - searches information on technology transfer projects  DocumentDB - searches documents available on TT:CLEAR (e.g., decisions, SBSTA conclusions, reports and notes by the secretariat, EGTT documents, workshop reports and presentations, technology needs assessments reports);  ContactDB, searches relevant experts and contacts registered in TT:CLEAR database;  LinksDB, searches relevant links to Internet sources of information available in TT:CLEAR database.

Iulian Florin VLADU – Adaptation, Technology and Science12 WORK DONE | Service provider (II) o Implemented using open source software  Web server – Apache  Dynamic web pages – Tomcat, Java  Web services – SOAP o For example, ProjectDB provides five methods to allow web services consumers to search the database of projects:  getProjectByName (name) -> returns projects with name including words provided by parameter name;  getProjectsByDonor (name) -> returns projects funded by country name, 3 letters code, 2 letters code or full name of the country could be accepted.  getProjectsByHost (name) -> returns projects in the host country name, 3 letters code, 2 letters code or full name of the country could be accepted getAllProjects () -> returns all the projects in TT:CLEAR database.  getProjectsByTechType (techtype), returns projects with technology type of techtype (the codes of technology types are provided)

Iulian Florin VLADU – Adaptation, Technology and Science13 WORK DONE | Service provider (III) o Example of providing a web service to ITTC

Iulian Florin VLADU – Adaptation, Technology and Science14 WORK DONE | Service requester (I) o Example of consuming a web service provided by Clean Energy Canada

Iulian Florin VLADU – Adaptation, Technology and Science15 WORK DONE | Service requester (II) o Example of consuming a web service provided by (U.S.-CTC) Gateway!

Iulian Florin VLADU – Adaptation, Technology and Science16 MATCHMAKING (I) o Projects – Projects developers  SANet, by using expert referral, will bring project proposals/concepts from TT:CLEAR to experts/project developers with relevant experience on similar sustainable development projects in that particular region of the world.  The project developer will provide support in developing the project to a concrete project proposal ready to be absorbed by financing sources.  During the project development phases the project developer will be able to utilise a number of available project development services and tools offered by TT:CLEAR and SANet (TTN).  Suppliers of funds/finance will be able to identify project concepts and proposals developed through the information and services provided by TT:CLEAR and SANet. o Know-how and capacity building (e.g, engineering, financial, legal)

Iulian Florin VLADU – Adaptation, Technology and Science17 MATCHMAKING (II) SANet Expert Advice Local Desks Expert Advice Local Desks Information on Project Developers/Experts, Financing sources, successful stories Information on Project Developers/Experts, Financing sources, successful stories Investment support TT:CLEAR Project Proposals Technology Needs Assessment Technology Needs Assessment Initial National Communications Initial National Communications Other National Reports Other National Reports Contacts/Experts Organization Contacts/Experts Organization Links Documents Case Studies Tools Technologies Interface (web services) Interface (web services) Project proposals Expert advice Parties Investment support

Iulian Florin VLADU – Adaptation, Technology and Science18 SHOWCASING US-CTC Gateway Expert Centers Programs Case Studies Tools Links Publications TT:CLEAR Project Proposals Technology Needs Assessment Technology Needs Assessment Initial National Communications Initial National Communications Other National Reports Other National Reports Contacts/Experts Organization Contacts/Experts Organization Links Documents Case Studies Tools Technologies Interface (web services) Interface (web services) Project proposals Expert centers Donors Financial Institutions Financial Institutions Businesses Tools Documents CTI Calendar of Events Methodologies & Case Studies Workshops

Iulian Florin VLADU – Adaptation, Technology and Science19 POSSIBLE TEMPLATE DERIVED FROM INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT MARKUP LANGUAGE Enhanced by climate change specific information (e.g., GHG emissions), financing options (e.g., government involvement, co-financing), the status of the project (e.g., concept, feasibility study)

Iulian Florin VLADU – Adaptation, Technology and Science20 TECHNOLOGY CLASSIFICATION  A complete set of criteria can be created to allow an efficient searching and reporting :  Mitigation/Adaptation/Combined  Mitigation technologies  Energy generation and supply  Renewable  Fossil fuels  Nuclear  Energy transmission and distribution  Engines and transmissions  Energy distribution  Energy end-use  Transportation sector  Industrial technologies  Energy management  Building technologies  Manufacturing technologies  Transport  Forestry  Agriculture  Waste management  Industry  Adaptation Technologies  Capacity building  Coastal zone management  Agriculture  Human health  Forestry  Natural resources management  River base management  Other vulnerability assessments  Combined  Hard/Soft  Publicly owned/Privately owned All the technologies and their levels are available on web site

Iulian Florin VLADU – Adaptation, Technology and Science21 Experiences and lessons learned o Networking may contribute to:  Harmonize the templates used for projects and expert databases  Appropriate information quality control system.  Further define and harmonize the terminology used (e.g., case study versus success story) o Networking requires additional resources to develop clients for services provided by each node, integration of these clients in TT:CLEAR’s web pages and for developing procedures for using this information, as appropriate o While networking will provide better opportunities and value added results will depend of the capabilities of each node to provide high-quality information in a reliable manner

Iulian Florin VLADU – Adaptation, Technology and Science22 Experiences and lessons learned o Possible benefits of a full functional network may include:  An increase of financial flows to developing countries for technology transfer projects.  A higher utilization of the local project developers and local experts.  Better tracking of the successful projects and their contribution to mitigation of and adapting to climate change. o Networking could benefit from access to human expertise. In this regards, an integrated approach thak links this exercise to other activities such as innovative financing and PFAN will increase significantly the value added

Iulian Florin VLADU – Adaptation, Technology and Science23 THANK YOU