Side event of the High-Level Political Forum 2023: Developing innovative capabilities for sustainable development

This side-event co-organized by UNCTAD and UNEP and co-sponsored by Portugal will present good practices that support the use, adoption and adaptation of green technologies, as well as innovative approaches that integrate sustainability into infrastructure policymaking at the systems-level, with reference to UNCTAD's Technology and Innovation Report 2023, UNEP’s International Good Practice Principles for Sustainable Infrastructure and the case of Portugal in view of its second Voluntary National Review. The event will serve as a platform for peer learning and awareness raising of policy options to develop innovative capabilities for sustainable development.

Programme

Moderator: Ms. Ana Cristina F. Amoroso das Neves, Chair of the 27th Commission on Science and Technology for Development

Opening remarks

• Ms. Shamika N. Sirimanne, Director of the Division on Technology and Logistics, UNCTAD
• Ms. Ligia Noronha, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Head of UNEP’s New York Office
• Ambassador Ana Paula Zacarias, Permanent Representative of Portugal to the United Nations

Presentations

• Technology and Innovation Report 2023 – Mr. Angel Gonzalez Sanz, Head of Technology, Innovation and Knowledge Development Branch, Division on Technology and Logistics, UNCTAD
• International Good Practice Principles for Sustainable Infrastructure – Mr. Joseph Price, Sustainable Infrastructure Investment Team, UNEP

Panel discussion

Panelists:

• Mr. Nelson Lage, Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Portuguese Energy Agency, ADENE
• Mr. Shebora Kamara, Director, Planning and M&E of the Ministry of Energy, Sierra Leone
• Mr. Warren Evans, Special Senior Advisor (Climate Change), Office of the President at the Asian Development Bank

Q&A