Union Comm Shares TELCA Report at APEC Seminar in Shenzhen
Union Communications Hong Kong Limited (“Union Comm”), a leading policy advocacy organization in Hong Kong, shared the preliminary findings of the APEC Technologies Empower Low Carbon Action: Roadmaps, Accessibility and Partnership (TELCA II) Project Report at the APEC TELCA II Seminar held in Shenzhen, China, from 2-4 September 2026.
The seminar brought together over 40 policymakers, researchers, business representatives and international organisation experts from 18 APEC economies to exchange views on low-carbon technology innovation, deployment and regional cooperation.
The TELCA II project was endorsed in 2025 under the APEC Policy Partnership on Science, Technology and Innovation (PPSTI) as project PPSTI_107_2025A. The seminar was jointly organised by the Shenzhen Longhua International Cooperation Center and the Beijing International Exchange Association, with support from the Department of International Cooperation of China’s Ministry of Science and Technology.
As one of the seminar’s key interim research outputs, the preliminary TELCA II report examines how low-carbon technologies can move from technical readiness towards deployment readiness, including wider application, scaling and cross-economy adaptation. It develops the preliminary TELCA Technology Deployment Roadmaps, empowerment strategies, cross-case findings and policy recommendations.
“Technology availability does not automatically become low-carbon action,” said Sam Han, partner at Union Comm and lead researcher of the TELCA II report. “A major challenge across the region is the gap between technology readiness and deployment readiness. TELCA II therefore looks not only at which technologies are available, but at what conditions allow them to become accessible, deployable, scalable and adaptable in different APEC contexts.”
Across 12 keynote presentations, six parallel sessions and four site visits, participants discussed issues including critical-mineral recycling, carbon pricing, climate technology innovation, industrial decarbonisation, just transition, green investment, cross-border rules, standards, social inclusion and the monitoring and evaluation of low-carbon technologies.
Regional Perspectives on Low-Carbon Technology Cooperation
Hazami Habib, Vice Chair of the APEC Policy Partnership on Science, Technology and Innovation, noted that APEC economies have different experiences and comparative strengths in low-carbon technologies. Greater exchange of practices and mutual learning can help economies identify solutions that are better suited to their own needs, while the seminar provides an opportunity to share experience and create new possibilities for future cooperation.
The importance of supply chains and resource security was highlighted by Rashmi Banga, Head of the Development Research Branch at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. In her keynote presentation, she noted that the rapid expansion of electric vehicles and energy-storage systems is driving strong growth in demand for critical minerals including lithium, cobalt and nickel. Against the backdrop of unevenly distributed primary resources, she highlighted the growing strategic importance of urban mining and material recovery, particularly for developing economies.
Chen Ying, Research Fellow at the Research Institute for Eco-civilization and Director of the Research Center for Sustainable Development Economics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, emphasised the inclusion dimension of the green transition. She noted that technological innovation should not be viewed only as a competition for greater efficiency; it should also consider whether different groups are able to participate in and benefit from the transition. Making low-carbon technologies more accessible and affordable therefore remains an important issue for regional cooperation.
From the perspective of technology diffusion, Yoshinari Oyama, Green Technology and Partnerships Officer at the World Intellectual Property Organization, highlighted the importance of effective information-sharing mechanisms. Wider access to information and stronger channels for technology exchange can help facilitate the diffusion of green technologies, including from developed to developing economies.
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