Emissions
linked with deforestation and forest degradation
may account for close to 20 per cent of
current global greenhouse gas emissions.
Against this backdrop,
UNEP is part of the international effort
to prepare developing economies for a REDD
regime. Through the UN-REDD Programme, a
partnership between UNEP, the Food and Agricultural
Organization and the United Nations Development
Programme, nine countries are being made
ready for REDD.
The Programme is supporting
those countries through appropriate methodologies,
monitoring and verification systems and
safeguards in order to ensure REDD delivers
value not only in climate and national economic
terms but in terms of livelihoods for local
communities. Methodologies, monitoring and
verification techniques are being tested
in western Kenya, China, Niger and Nigeria.
It should soon allow farmers and landowners
to benefit from carbon sequestration of
different farming and land management regimes
including agroforestry.
By some estimates a
country such as Indonesia could generate
revenues of around $1 billion a year initially
if deforestation rates are halved.
UNEP is ready to support
Member States in gearing up their economies
to incorporate REDD and REDD+ measures into
national climate, development and sectoral
strategies.
Clean Technology Readiness
Other than offering
best way to achieve immediate and sustained
reductions in greenhouse gas emissions,
investing in low-carbon energy alternatives
and reducing emissions from inefficient
energy consumption also make economic and
environmental sense.
However, although many
low-carbon technologies are already commercially
viable, transferring them to new markets
and mainstreaming their use globally remains
a challenge.
To bridge this gap,
UNEP and its collaborative partners come
in. UNEP and partners are already delivering
clean tech via smart market mechanisms.
In India, for example, UNEP in collaboration
with the United Nations Foundation, the
Shell Foundation and Indian banks have brought
down the cost of solar technology loans.
Within a matter of a few years, 100,000
people have accessed solar electricity in
rural areas and the initiative is now self-financing.
Another success story
is a pioneering project with funding from
the Global Environment Facility to deliver
more efficient geothermal exploration in
East Africa. The penetration of solar water
heater systems in North Africa has also
been pioneered by UNEP and partners with
the critical linking of loans to electricity
utility bills: the key to unlocking the
market.
Meanwhile, UNEP has
undertaken renewable energy mapping assessments,
helping 15 developing countries determine
their solar and wind potential and devise
policies to tap these clean energy sources.
The organization has launched an effort
to help more than 35 countries determine
the specific low greenhouse gas technologies
best able to meet their development needs
and prepare national plans to acquire and
use those technologies.
To complement its work
on policies, UNEP is also helping more than
25 countries identify and overcome financial
and other barriers that hinder the financing
of cleaner technologies.
In terms of catalysing
a set of global norms and standards, UNEP
is currently working in four sectors: energy
efficiency in building, vehicle fuel efficiency,
efficient lighting, and biofuels.
