PLANNING AND SCALING-UP TECHNOLOGIES

Climate technologies have significant adaptation and mitigation potential. Developing countries need access to advanced climate technologies in order to adapt to the impacts of climate change and to move onto low emission development pathways. There is a need to identify which technology can best be adapted to their local circumstances, as well as to remove barriers preventing the widespread diffusion of climate technologies in national markets. These barriers include high cost, import and export restrictions, inadequate government policies and regulations ...more

MAKING THE BUILDING SECTOR CLIMATE FRIENDLY

The building sector accounts for up to 30 per cent of global annual greenhouse gas emissions and consumes up to 40 per cent of all energy. It also provides the greatest potential for significantly cutting emissions, at low cost, in both developed and developing countries.
Collectively the building sector is responsible for about 40 per cent of global resource ...more

CLEANER CARS WITH THE GLOBAL FUEL ECONOMY INITIATIVE

The global vehicle fleet is set to grow from less than one billion to 2.5 billion or more by 2050. Ninety per cent of this growth is taking place in non-OECD countries. At the same time the average vehicle efficiency of non-OECD countries is getting worse and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per vehicle are increasing. Even though vehicles in OECD countries are, in contrast getting more efficient, CO2 emissions of the global fleet are increasing and are set to increase even more sharply in the years to come. ...more

PHASE-OUT OF OZONE-DEPLETING GAS IN DEVELOPING NATIONS

Many ozone-depleting substances (ODS) and the fluorocarbon gases used to replace them (such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are potent greenhouse gases and are between 90 to 12,200 times more powerful than C02 in causing climate change. In 2007, the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer decided to accelerate ...more

MAKING THE SWITCH TO EFFICIENT LIGHTING

Lighting from electricity accounts for nearly 20 per cent of global energy consumption and six per cent of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Unless policies are implemented immediately to address this issue, overall energy consumption for lighting will have grown by 60 per cent by 2030 with dramatic consequences for climate change. The phase-out of inefficient incandescent lamps provides one of the most cost-effective way to reduce carbon emissions ...more

GREENING THE TEA INDUSTRY IN EAST AFRICA

Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world, after water, with an estimated 18 to 20 billion cups of tea consumed every day. Tea production in the East African Region, which contributes 28 per cent of the world market supply, is carried out in highland areas characterized by high annual rainfalls and all-season river flows. Despite these favourable conditions, optimal tea production in the industry has been hampered by unreliable ...more

CLIMATE AND CLEAN AIR COALITION TO REDUCE SHORT-LIVED CLIMATE POLLUTANTS

Short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) are agents that have relatively short lifetime in the atmosphere – a few days to a few decades – and a warming influence on climate. These short-lived climate pollutants are also dangerous air pollutants, responsible for various detrimental impacts on human health, agriculture and ecosystems. ...more

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FOR ALL

Nearly one in five people around the world do not have access to modern energy services. Three billion people, mainly in poor countries, rely on traditional biomass such as wood, coal, charcoal or animal waste for cooking and heating, usually with negative impacts on human health and the natural environment. ...more

TROPICAL FOREST PROTECTION MAKES CLIMATE SENSE

Deforestation and forest degradation account for between 15 and 17 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions – making it the second biggest contributor to the build-up of greenhouse gases after the energy sector. However, reducing emissions requires large investments in conservation, sustainable management and the restoration of tropical forests. UNEP’s Green Economy Report estimates that US$40 billion dollars annually will be needed to halve ...more

HELPING COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS ADAPT TO CLIMATE CHANGE

Along with addressing the emissions gap to reduce the rate of temperature change and climate change impacts, there is also an urgent need to decrease the adaptation gap and to reduce the vulnerability of people and ecosystems to the effects of climate change.
International efforts to support adaptation have been increasing in the past years, but several challenges remain when attempting to up-scale adaptation ...more

SCALING UP CLEAN ENERGY INVESTMENT

Significant additional investment is required to support clean energy technologies in developing countries and thereby constrain climate change and provide a basis for sustainable development. If current financing levels are to be scaled-up, the private sector will have to be a key partner as it is responsible for the allocation of the majority of global financial resources. But there is currently a gap between the investment requirement and the availability of appropriate funds. Not all private sector ...more

BUILDING COUNTRY CAPACITY TO ACCESS AND MANAGE CLIMATE FUNDS

Developing countries will soon have at their disposal a significant new form of finance to help them respond to the challenges of climate change following the approval of the Governing Instrument for the Green Climate Fund (GCF) at COP17 in Durban in 2011.
The GCF’s Governing Instrument states that “The Fund will play a key role in channeling new, additional, adequate ...more

CLEAR WIN FOR CLEAN TECHNOLOGY IN THE MEDITERRANEAN

Although small scale renewable energy technologies, such as photovoltaic systems and solar water heaters (SWH), are considered reliable and competitive, they are still not fully established in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean region due to the high upfront cost for the end-users, and the lack of financing options tailored for this type of investment. ...more

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