Thu, Sep 13, 2012 -
The international community should build
the fundamental infrastructure that will
help developing countries move to a low-carbon
future.
Bangkok, 13 September 2012 - Experts from
36 countries called on the international
community to build the fundamental infrastructure
that will help developing countries move
to a low-carbon future at the end of a workshop
run under the Technology Need Assessment
Project (TNA).
"People in developing
countries must be able to plan their low-carbon
and more climate-resilient futures, and
to be able to assess precisely which activities
need to be supported with finance and technology
by developed countries," said Christiana
Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
"This workshop
has gone a long way to determine precisely
what is required," she added. "Governments
now need to urgently press ahead with implementing
what they decided in Durban last year and
in Cancun in 2010, and to put the finishing
touches to the new Technology Mechanism
in Doha at the end of the year.
The three-day global
experience-sharing workshop in Bangkok was
run under the auspices of the TNA, which
is implemented by the UN Environment Programme
(UNEP) and funded by the Global Environment
Facility (GEF).
Participating countries
acknowledged the significance of the TNA
project in engaging more stakeholders in
the global response to combat climate change
and take concrete actions. However, funding
of proposed actions remains a major concern.
"The workshop has
raised a number of important points which
needs to be addressed in the way forward,"
said Mark Radka, Head of Energy Branch,
UNEP. "The request for capacity building
and access to finance being two important
points, UNEP's support does not stop with
the TNA process. If called upon, we will
work with governments and other relevant
partners to support national processes to
spearhead the transition to a green economy."
Participating countries
also called on the Technical Executive Committee
to work with them to create synergies between
international mitigation and adaptation
policy actions such as Low Emission Development
Strategies (LEDS) and nationally appropriate
mitigation actions (NAMAs) to prevent future
TNAs ending up as stand-alone initiatives.
The workshop was organized
by UNEP Risoe Centre and the UNFCCC, who
led a training session on preparing and
presenting project proposals for financing
based on the UNFCCC training manual and
guidebook and the UNEP Risoe TNA Guidebooks
on finance for adaptation and mitigations,
which was released during the workshop.
The TNA project provides
targeted technical and methodological support
to 36 countries in conducting assessments.
For more on the TNA project, go to www.tech-action.org
+ More
Coalition Targets Brick
Production to Achieve Quick Wins for Public
Health, the Climate and Development
Tue, Sep 4, 2012 - Traditional
brick production, such as this process in
Sudan, produces significant black carbon
(soot), toxics and other pollutants. Photo
credit: Oliver Chassot/UNAMID
Guanajuato, Mexico,
4 September 2012 - Modernizing brick production
in developing countries to improve public
health and dramatically reduce climate and
air pollution is the focus of an ambitious
global initiative launched today in Mexico.
Traditional brick production
has been identified by the Climate and Clean
Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate
Pollutants (CCAC) as an important area where
substantial emissions reductions can be
achieved for black carbon (soot), toxics
and other pollutants.
Recent studies show
that implementing more efficient technologies,
mainly during the firing of bricks, can
result in reductions in pollutant emissions
of 10 to 50 per cent, depending on the process,
scale and fuel used.
Backed by 27 government,
international and non-government partners,
the CCAC will build on existing knowledge
and proven technologies and policies to
accelerate reductions in the harmful climate,
air pollution, economic and social impacts
from inefficient brick-making.
Regional and global
climate benefits are expected, as well as
improved air quality in areas where brick
production takes place, leading to less
personal exposure to harmful pollutants
for producers, their families and nearby
communities.
Economic benefits for
communities, including poverty reduction,
are further potential gains in areas where
more sustainable brick production is introduced
and the quality of the bricks and overall
market conditions are improved.
The initiative is led
by Mexico's National Institute of Ecology
alongside CCAC partners the Institute of
Governance and Sustainable Development,
Climateworks Foundation, the Clean Air Task
Force and the Stockholm Environment Institute.
CCAC partner countries
Bangladesh, Colombia, Ghana and Mexico are
involved, along with other developing countries
in Africa, Asia and Latin America, with
financial support to launch the initiative
provided by the Government of Canada.
Phase One begins today
with a three-day capacity building workshop
in the City of Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico,
which will examine public policies to reduce
the environmental impacts of artisanal brick
production.
The workshop is seen
as a first step in the CCAC's effort to
put the issue of emissions of short-lived
climate pollutants (SLCPs) from inefficient
brick production squarely on national governments'
agendas to catalyze political engagement
and action.
It will cover issues
and solutions related to artisanal brick
production in Latin America, Asia and Africa,
including policies addressing the competitiveness,
modernization and inclusiveness of the brick-making
and construction sectors.
Synergies with ongoing
efforts, for example in León and
other municipalities in the State of Guanajuato,
the City of Cuzco, Nemocón, Colombia,
Bangladesh, India and others, will be sought
through discussions and the exchange of
experiences during the workshop.
For example, cleaner
brick-making alternatives exist, including
mechanized technologies, and the workshop
participants will share their knowledge
on the mitigation potential, ease of implementation,
energy efficiency and cost of different
options, and dispel some of the myths related
to brick-making technology.
Elements of the CCAC
brick production initiative include:
Brick Kilns Task Force
- a group of experts is being convened to
guide the initiative;
Awareness raising kit
- Outreach materials, including a video,
will be widely disseminated in the countries
covered by phase one as a resource for policy
makers, brick kiln owners, the construction
sector, potential donors and the media;
A report focusing on
SLCP mitigation and brick production - It
will cover all regions, but have a specific
focus on Latin America, and will also be
used to inform the CCAC's initiative for
Supporting National Action Planning;
Online clearing house
- To be accessible via the CCAC website
at www.unep.org/ccac, this resource will
offer information about available technologies
and their performance for SLCP and greenhouse
gas mitigation, as well as a database of
experts, researchers, institutions and technology
suppliers.
The types and quantities
of kilns and the fuels used vary within
regions and even within countries. For instance,
there are approximately 100,000 large operating
units in India and around 20,000 artisanal
brick kilns in Mexico, while most of the
6,000 units in Bangladesh are circa 1900s
large-scale kilns with fixed chimneys.
In the initiative's
pilot phase to be completed by the end of
2013, the characteristics of current brick
production will be determined for each region,
covering the technology, fuels, practices
and socio-economic conditions, among other
factors.
A second capacity-building
workshop will take place in another region
in early 2013. Project demonstration outlines
will also be developed for implementation
in a subsequent phase.
