Most requests demonstrated the need for a combination of various types of assistance. Twenty-four percent of requests for technical assistance implemented in 2020 sought support for the development of sectoral roadmaps and strategies, followed by 17% for the development of decision-making tools and information provision, and 17% to conduct feasibility studies of technology options.

Requests from Africa accounted for nearly half of technical assistance demand, followed by Asia-Pacific (28%), Latin America and the Caribbean (17%), Oceania (4%) and Europe (1%). Requests from Least Developed Countries (LDCs) represent 58% of all technical assistance requests, while Small Island Developing States (SIDS) represent 26%.

The CTCN’s regional presence has facilitated the use of multi-country approaches that target projects with a clear regional dimension or bring together similar country requests in a region to enable economies of scale and consistent approaches across countries. Six (6) multi-country technical assistance interventions were implemented in 2020 (three in LAC, two in Africa, Europe and Western Asia, and one in Asia-Pacific) serving 32 countries.

Technical assistance requests continue to be more firmly anchored in countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Technology Needs Assessment (TNA) processes. The vast majority of requests are directly related to implementation of NDCs and last year, the CTCN supported nine countries to undertake their TNAs and develop Technology Action Plans (TAPs): Cameroon, Cook Islands, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iraq, Nigeria, Paraguay, and Syria.

Fifty-eight percent of mitigation requests to the CTCN are related to either energy efficiency or renewable energy, while the two largest adaptation categories are agriculture and forestry (21.4 %) and water (19.6%). Although the types of mitigation and adaptation requests remain quite similar to those received in 2019, an increasing number of requests are more holistic and programmatic in nature compared to previous years. These include mitigation requests on eMobility technologies and policies, adaptation requests on ecosystem-based adaptation and urban adaptation/resilience, and integrated mitigation and adaptation requests for development of smart-cities.

In order to support an inclusive technology approach, gender and endogenous capacities are used as technical assistance eligibility and prioritization criteria for CTCN technical assistance requests. The CTCN also continues to engage gender experts in the delivery of its technical assistance through the established procedure that no less than 1 per cent of programme and operational funds shall be designated towards gender mainstreaming actions.

CTCN technical assistance interventions helped countries to leverage 240 million USD in additional global investments, well exceeding the initial technical assistance contributions worth 873,000 USD. The mobilised funding includes debt-instruments (loans and loan guarantees) as well as the provision of technical assistance which can be blended with financial instruments and grants. Forty-five percent of NDEs surveyed in July 2020 noted that the CTCN’s technical assistance had helped leverage additional funding or investment.