Embedding technology at the grassroots: Strategies for localising technology transfer under the UNFCCC technology mechanism

Abstract

Technology transfer to the Global South involves not only technical solutions, but also ‘localising’ or adapting those solutions to place through multiparty learning and problem solving. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Technology Mechanism have largely overlooked the importance of localisation and have created a governance environment that neither reflects the ‘messiness’ of this process, nor the need for flexibility and long‐term collaboration for effective search and discovery, implementation and knowledge creation. This article focuses on the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), the Technology Mechanism's implementation arm, and the challenges it faces in orchestrating the transfer of technology to the Global South. Drawing on recent empirical research and theories of innovation and experimentalism, the article examines how the CTCN and its associated institutions could be governed in ways that better enable localisation. It argues that successful transfer is more likely to be facilitated through systemic linkages between the CTCN and associated technology processes such as Technology Needs Assessments, and by creating more active processes of technological search, learning, peer review and knowledge exchange.