UNEP DTU Partnership (formerly UNEP Risø Centre (URC)) is a leading international research and advisory institution on energy, climate and sustainable development. As a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Collaborating Centre, UNEP DTU Partnership is an active participant in both the planning and implementation of UNEP’s Climate Change Strategy and Energy Programme.

 

Through in-depth research, policy analysis, and capacity building activities, the Partnership assists developing countries in a transition towards more low carbon development paths, and supports integration of climate-resilience in national development.

 

UNEP DTU Partnership comprises two Centres: Centre on Energy, Climate and Sustainable Development, and the Copenhagen Centre on Energy Efficiency. It is located in Denmark at the UN City in Copenhagen and boasts of a team of more than 60 scientists and economists from 20 countries. 

 

The Partnership was established in October 1990 based on a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Risø National Laboratory and UNEP, which continue to support its development. In accordance with the MoU, the Partnership retains its status as an administratively independent unit with a Management and Policy Committee (MPC), consisting of representatives of the three funding parties, which governs and oversees the Partnership activities.

 

Services

The Centre on Energy, Climate and Sustainable Development of the UNEP DTU Partnership provides the following primary services:

• Innovative research, including policy analyses and recommendations, and impact assessments
• Capacity building at the institutional level and individual level (seminar and workshops)
• Awareness raising through production and dissemination of analytical and knowledge outputs like scientific articles, reports, working papers, guidebooks and web based knowledge tools

 

This is made possible through the UNEP DTU Partnership business model which underpins five factors that determine its ability to consistently deliver high quality services and outputs to its partners and donors.

• It is an integrated part of UNEP with a core research budget
• It has multinational staff of high level economists and scientists from over 16 different countries
• It has access to a broad range of scientists and specialists at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
• It has a wide network of collaborating institutions, NGOs and partners in more than 48 developing countries
• It is a non-profit public institution with efficient administration and high legal requirements regarding procedures, transparency and accounting