Mexico City/Nairobi,
5 October 2010 - From creating mass markets
for solar water heaters to planting trees
and protecting forests, the United Nations
Environment Programme will be releasing
30 case studies in the run up to the UN
climate convention in Mexico to prove that
solutions to combat Climate Change are available,
accessible and replicable.
"Across the globe,
community-based programmes and entrepreneurial
endeavor are challenging the status-quo
through innovation and creativity. Importantly,
they are delivering multiple benefits from
access to energy, public health improvements
and reduced environmental impacts to driving
a transition to low carbon, greener growth.
The challenge now is to accelerate and scale-up
these world-wide transitions," said
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General
and UNEP Executive Director.
Current commitments
and pledges under the Copenhagen Accord
covering emissions up to 2020 provide a
good platform for global action, but the
level of current ambition is widely viewed
as insufficient to meet the 2 degree warming
limit.
The UNEP "30 Ways
in 30 Days" initiative will be announced
at a special Climate Neutral Network (CN
Net) breakfast at the Business for the Environment
Summit (B4E) in Mexico City, from 4-5 October.
The B4E Summit - which is co-hosted by the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP),
The Global Compact, WWF, and Global Initiatives
- is the world's premier international conference
for dialogue and business-driven action
for the environment.
Latest members of CN
Net include Saitama Prefecture in Japan,
which is part of the Greater Tokyo Area
hosting a population of more than 7 million,
and Corporation Solar Alliance in Ukraine,
which is developing next-generation technologies
for energy conservation and the saving of
resources.
The first case study
from the "30 Ways in 30 Days"
initiative is "Solar Loans for Solar
Homes." More than 60 per cent of Indian
households have no access to reliable electricity
supplies and depend on kerosene for light
and on burning dung and wood for heat.
In an example of small-scale
enterprise and entrepreneurship that expanded
rapidly, UNEP's Indian Solar Loan Programme
worked with two of India's largest banking
groups in 2003 to provide low-interest loans
for household photovoltaic systems. Photovoltaics
are a method of generating electrical power
by converting solar radiation into direct
current electricity using semiconductors.
The programme provided
technical support and training, as well
as an interest rate buy-down that reimbursed
banks for the difference between their normal
lending rates and the reduced rate that
borrowers paid.
While banks did not
profit directly from these subsidies, they
were keen to develop a new market for rural
financing. Almost 20,000 solar home systems
were financed between 2003 and 2007. Towards
the end of the project, subsidies were gradually
reduced to a free market rate, by which
time other banks had begun lending on commercial
terms.
The Solar Loan Programme
accelerated market penetration of solar
lights in the Indian countryside and inspired
several similar initiatives in India and
elsewhere. In 2008, the programme won the
Globe Energy Award for sustainability and
in 2009 it was one of only two field projects
within the UN system to receive the Secretary
General's UN21 Award awarded for innovation.
The Indian Solar Loan
scheme has influenced national policy, with
the Government of India sidelining its capital
subsidy approach to supporting solar power
in favour of interest subsidies. Costs of
US$1.5 million in programme support and
US$6.1 million in loans from the banking
partners have been more than offset by household
savings on kerosene and other traditional
energy sources.
"Solar lights are
a long cherished dream of rural folk who
often have no power, or power supplies that
are at best irregular. They are one product
that can meet aspirations of people living
below the poverty line. It is a good business
opportunity for the Bank," said Mr.
P G Ramesh, Chairman, Pragathi Grameen Bank,
Bellary, Karnataka, India.
Many of the best opportunities
for climate mitigation are household-scale
technologies such as solar, biogas and high
efficiency appliances. Consumer and micro-lending
approaches can be replicated elsewhere and
their scale adjusted according to need.
Daily climate case studies
will be released online at www.unep.org/unite/30ways
from 1 November to 8 December. Examples
span a wide range of solutions across the
globe from "green" tea to energy
entrepreneurs, transport solutions, carbon
finance innovation, eco-living and adaption
strategies.
View a video of the
Indian Solar Loan Programme here: http://
www.unep.org/newscentre/videos/shortfilms/2008-09-15_TaleOfTwoLights.flv
Notes to Editors
The UN climate convention
is COP16/CMP6 in Cancun, Mexico, and will
be held from 29 November to 10 December.
Latest participants
of UNEP's Climate Neutral Network - September
2010
Climate Action (company),
UK
Climate Action is a
multimedia platform consisting of a website,
newsletter and annual publication, produced
in partnership with UNEP. The platform aims
to encourage businesses and large organizations
to reduce their carbon footprint. Climate
Action has joined the Climate Neutral Network,
after four years of collaboration with UNEP.
Climate Action and UNEP will launch the
fourth Climate Action publication in Cancun
on 3 December.
Saitama Prefecture (region),
Japan
Saitama Prefecture is part of the Greater
Tokyo Area, and most of Saitama's cities
can be described as suburbs of Tokyo. Saitama
has a population of over 7 million. In February
2009, Saitama established the 'Stop Global
Warming: Saitama Navigation 2050' plan,
which establishes policies and objectives
to meet specific emissions reduction goals.
The prefecture is also actively promoting
the widespread use of renewable energy.
Corporation Solar Alliance
(company), Ukraine
Corporation Solar Alliance
is a business organization and a scientific
enterprise, which is developing next generation
technologies for energy conservation and
saving of resources, while respecting the
basic principles for the protection of the
environment and ecology. The company's activities
include converting organic and inorganic
waste into alternative energy sources.
Coffea Circulor (company),
Norway
Coffea Circulor imports
high quality coffee to Scandinavia. Situated
in Arendal, Norway, Coffea Circulor's mission
is to carry out coffee trading on the principle
of the triple bottom line - people, planet
and profit. The company works directly with
farmers in Kenya and Uganda to ensure sustainability,
transparency, and the empowerment of local
farmers and the community. The company seeks
clients and partners who share the company's
philosophy of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Procea (company), Italy
Procea supplies consultancy
services to organizations and privately
held companies. The company has established
the private initiative 'KlimaNet', which
is designed to assist enterprises to implement
and document environmental efforts. KlimaNet
is a pragmatic yet ambitious environmental
management system, which provides a unique
opportunity for organizations and companies
to implement environmentally sustainable
practices in their cooperation with suppliers.
Please see the Climate Neutral Network homepage:
www.unep.org/climateneutral
