WIREDGOV

Germany and the UK announce new ambitious NAMA Facility climate change mitigation projects in Burkina Faso, Peru, Thailand and Tajikistan and welcome the EU Commission and Denmark as additional donors to announce a third call for projects in the run-up to COP 21 in Paris.

During the climate change talks in Lima, German Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks and UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Davey announced the four countries that were pre-approved to receive support from the NAMA Facility’s second call for the implementation of ambitious and transformative climate change mitigation projects.

The winning bids come from Burkina Faso, Peru, Tajikistan and Thailand. In Burkina Faso, the NAMA Facility will support the efficient and sustainable provision and use of biomass for energy supply. By simultaneously addressing one of the main drivers of deforestation and by making the use of sustainable biomass economically viable, the project has the potential to achieve around 40 percent of the national emission reduction target.

The Peruvian project will help bring the country’s transport sector onto a low-carbon trajectory by providing high quality public transport and infrastructure in several municipalities including Lima, and by optimizing the vehicle fleet through the introduction of a fuel economy standard.

In Thailand, the NAMA Facility will be supporting the production and use of highly efficient, state of the art refrigeration and air conditioning technologies for both private households and industry, for domestic use and for exports. This will reduce Thailand’s greenhouse gas emissions by 0.6 per cent per year thus contributing significantly to reaching the country’s annual mitigation targets.

The project in Tajikistan will support the rehabilitation, conservation and sustainable management of forests in the country and will contribute to climate change mitigation, the preservation of biodiversity, and improving the livelihoods of local people, including through the creation of jobs.

UK Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said:

“Every country needs to act to prevent catastrophic climate change. The UK is playing a leading role and working with the international community to ensure climate finance is best leveraged to reduce emissions and help the most vulnerable who will be hit first and hardest by climate change.

“I´m very pleased this initiative with Germany has been such a success and the EU Commission and Denmark are now coming on board. From tackling air quality in Lima to providing sustainable affordable energy in Burkino Faso, these projects will make a substantial and long-lasting impact for people and the planet.”

Due to that success of the NAMA Facility, Denmark and the European Commission are joining the German-UK initiative in opening a third round to bring forward more new and ambitious projects that will have a large impact to cut a country’s carbon emissions.

German Deputy Environment Minister Jochen Flasbarth said the third call also marks the beginning of the NAMA Facility 2.0:

“We are glad to see that the positive experience so far has not only inspired Germany and the UK to open a new round of the NAMA Facility; it has also attracted other donors: Denmark and the European Commission, whom we warmly welcome.”

Between April and July 2014, governments and delivery organisations were invited to submit their project proposals to the Facility. In total, it received a large number of project proposals from a wide range of countries and covering a wide variety of sectors including agriculture, energy efficiency, forestry, renewable energy and transport thus demonstrating the momentum for climate action around the world. All projects were evaluated against rigorous selection criteria to ensure that most ambitious and promising NAMAs would be selected for funding. In the context of international climate change negotiations, NAMAs (Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions) are considered to be voluntary climate protection measures taken by developing countries, which are embedded within their plans for national development. The NAMA Facility was first established in 2012 by Germany and the UK to support developing countries implement ambitious climate protection measures and to help close the global emissions gap.

For more information: www.nama-facility.org