Beijing High-Level Statement on Technology Development and Technology Transfer
for Climate Change
8 November, 2008
1.We, Ministers and Government Representatives, having met at the Beijing High-Level Conference on Climate Change: Technology Development and Technology Transfer, reaffirm our commitment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Bali Action Plan.
2.Climate Change affects every aspect of people’s lives. No country is immune from such a challenge and no country alone can fulfill the daunting task of tackling climate change. An unprecedented global cooperation is urgently needed to prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system.
3.Consistent with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, climate change measures need to be addressed within the context of sustainable development and poverty alleviation.
4.We underline the critical role of technology in combating climate change and the need to accelerate technology research, development, and deployment. We also underline the importance of technology transfer and related capacity building, especially for least developed countries.
5.We emphasize the need to overcome policy, knowledge, institutional, financial and legal barriers to, and to create incentives for, the effective transfer and diffusion of technologies for both mitigation and adaptation.
6.The scale of the challenge requires more effective use of existing mechanisms as well as potential new and innovative mechanisms of international cooperation in all stages of the development and deployment of technologies.
7.We welcome the participation of, and the contribution made, at this Conference, by civil society, NGOs, the private sector, academia, and other experts, and emphasize the importance of their continued role in promoting climate-related technology development and technology transfer.
8.We express our deep appreciation and thank the Chinese Government for its initiative and leadership in providing an opportunity to Parties to exchange views and build understanding, moving toward Poznan and Copenhagen. We are grateful to the people and the Government of the People’s Republic of China for their generosity and hospitality.
9.We also appreciate the role of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs in helping organize this Conference as well as the financial support provided by the Governments of Denmark and Italy and by the UN Foundation.
10.We welcome the offer of the Government of India to host a Conference on Technology Development and Technology Transfer prior to the 15th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC to be held in 2009.
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