Over 100 participants from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), academic and private sector, gathered in Paris at a side event within the framework of the Green Growth and Sustainable Development Forum on 15 December 2015.

The side event “Technology Innovation for a Green Economy in Developing Countries” was organized jointly by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Centre for International Environmental Studies (CIES) of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland.

This side-event presented innovation policy for a green economy in several developing countries. In particular, it provided country case studies to examine the issue of accessing clean energy technology and how to contribute to the evolution of eco-innovation for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries. The research investigates the barriers to the diffusion of clean technologies, the governance mechanisms that can help to unlock diffusion and improve clean energy access in developing countries and required policy environment which enables eco-innovation process of SMEs through green technology.

The event built on the results of a joint research project between CIES and UNEP funded by the Swiss Network of International Studies (SNIS). The event was opened by Joy Kim, Senior Economic Affairs Officer at UNEP's Economics and Trade Branch (ETB) and Liliana Andonova, Professor and Co-Director of the CIES,who emphasized that exploring these barriers is important in light of the advancement of consensus on the need for clean technologies following the COP21 and the Sustainable Development Goals.

More information on the event: http://www.unep.org/greeneconomy/News/TechnologyInnovationforaGreenEcon…