The COP29 side event, “Partnerships to Strengthen Climate Resilience in Least Developed Countries,” brings together key stakeholders to address the urgent climate challenges facing LDCs, who are disproportionately impacted by climate change. Despite minimal contributions to global emissions, LDCs face significant vulnerability due to limited adaptive capacity. Supported by UNIDO, GEF, Climate Analytics, and IIED, this event underscores a commitment to bolstering LDC resilience through coordinated action, resource access, and partnership building. A joint statement will be announced, reaffirming strengthened partnerships to support adaptation, resilience, and access to climate finance, and fostering collaboration for long-term climate action.

Most of the population lacking access to clean cooking are poor and unable to transition to imported fuels even when they are heavily subsidized. Furthermore, countries with high access deficit are also facing debt distress, inflation, currency devaluation and other macro-economic challenges. Renewable-based clean cooking solutions (RBCS), when linked to local value chains, not only offers a realistic pathway for all to transition; but also yields climate change-related benefits, fuel saving opportunities and co-benefits arising from supply chains across other sectors such as agriculture.  The session will explore the collective role of renewables in the clean cooking transition and achieving net zero emissions from cooking by 2050.

Under the auspices of UNIDO and the REEEI initiative, we invite you to a dialogue focusing on a just transition to electric cooking in Least Developed Countries (LDCs). This discussion will shed light on the pressing health, environmental, and social challenges posed by traditional biomass cooking methods and the significant benefits of adopting electric cooking solutions. We will highlight successful case studies, address barriers to adoption, and showcase innovative strategies that ensure gender equity and empower women. Stakeholders from various sectors will share insights and collaborate on policies and partnerships to promote sustainable and inclusive cooking technologies.

The event, led by UNIDO’s Global Cleantech Innovation Programme (GCIP), will highlight the importance of qualitative aspects in building cleantech innovation ecosystems. It will promote ecosystem-building strategies that rely on a systemic understanding of success factors extending beyond traditional quantitative indicators and feature the launch of the 2024 Global Cleantech Innovation Index of GCIP, offering insights into the interconnections of different ecosystem-building parts. Additionally, the event will address the issue of insufficient scope of investments into cleantech startups and MSMEs, emphasizing the role of both physical infrastructure and actor interconnections in unlocking successful outcomes. 

WIPO, together with the Climate Technology Center & Network (CTCN) and Academy of Scientific Research & Technology of Egypt (ASRT), will launch the 3rd edition of the Green Technology Book (GTB) and discuss its findings in relation to energy innovations for climate change. The GTB energy edition focuses on 1) rural 2) urban and 3) essential services (such as hospitals, datacenters, and supermarkets). It covers both mitigation and adaptation solutions. Representatives from selected technology companies mentioned in the GTB will also present their solutions. Several UN organization are involved in innovation and technology for climate change and the event will provide insight into these activities and lessons learned in accelerating implementation of solutions. UNIDO will share insights from global cleantech innovation ecosystems, focusing on support mechanisms for the development and growth of energy transition-focused technology innovations, South-South and Triangular collaboration, and global and national trends, as outlined in the newly published Global Cleantech Innovation Index of the UNIDO's Global Cleantech Innovation Programme (GCIP).