In November 2023, the GW Engineering Environmental and Energy Management Institute (EEMI) was awarded a grant, in partnership with the Korean National Institute of Green Technology (NIGT), to undertake a project involving the development of a national digitalization readiness index (NDRI) to strengthen the capacities of developing countries to address technological challenges and opportunities for climate change adaptation and mitigation.
The $225,000 grant was awarded by the United Nations Climate Technology Center Network (CTCN), which is the implementation arm of the technology mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). With the mandate to respond to country-driven requests to strengthen developing countries’ climate technology capacity, CTCN promotes the accelerated transfer of environmentally sound technologies for low-carbon and climate-resilient development at the request of developing countries by harnessing the expertise of a global network of technology companies and institutions.
EEMI and the Korean NIGT will support CTCN in developing an NDRI for the energy sector to support developing countries in promoting system transformation using digitalization as an enabler. The NDRI will further be used to evaluate the potential of selected developing countries in transforming their energy system by applying digital tools. Ultimately, the index will help CTCN promote access to digital public goods, such as freely available and open-source software, data, and standards, that will enable the design of policies that support climate risk assessments, planning for adaptation and resilience at the country level, promotion of low emission pathways, and inform climate investment decisions.
The GW team will be led by the Principal Investigator (PI) Dr. Mukes Kapilashrami, EEMI Director of Programs and Operations, with the support from co-PIs Dr. Edward Saltzberg, EEMI Director of Professional Education, and Dr. Jonathan Deason, EEMI Executive Director and Professor in the Department of Engineering Management & Systems Engineering.