Three reports released by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) evaluate and summarize options for low carbon city planning, non-motorised transport (NMT) and infrastructure risks due to climate variability in India. The reports were published as part of the project on ‘Promoting Low Carbon Transport in India.’
UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Wu Hongbo, in an editorial in the ‘Huffington Post,’ has outlined next steps following on the outcome of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), which concluded a year earlier in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The ADB project is supporting the expansion of “green” bus services in the People’s Republic of China, an initiative that will benefit low-income commuters, improve air quality and reduce GHG emissions. The initiative is in line with the $175 billion commitment made at the June 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) by multilateral development banks to improve transport in developing countries between 2012 and 2022.
The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Implementing Agreement on Bioenergy (IEA Bioenergy) newsletter notes that while bioenergy can contribute to Austria’s renewable energy targets, new technologies for transport fuels will need to be suported, while also discussing activities at the November Executive Committee meeting and Task 40 on Sustainable International Bioenergy Trade.
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UNEP Risø Centre (URC) December’s newsletter includes stories on the Technology Needs Assessment (TNA) project and electrification in Africa, including efforts within the Sustainable Energy For All Initiative (SE4ALL). The newsletter also features several stories on the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), including capacity building projects in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) region.
The Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) of the World Bank report, which is based on analyses in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland and South Africa, finds that many of the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction measures pay themselves back, while ambitious global action to reduce technology costs, scale up private sector financing, and provide climate financing is still required.
The study covers both developed and developing countries, paying special attention to barriers to low-carbon, climate resilient (LCR) infrastructure in low-income nations due to basic banking services, lack of non-bank financial services, weak risk management capacity, and limited availability of long-term funding.
The workshop examined approaches to ensure that smallholders are not marginalized by increasing biofuel production for aviation. IFAD highlighted a $12 million initiative on research and development of alternative crops for smallholder biofuel production. They also underscored recent research grants that will help to produce biofuels sustainably.
The EC presented a legislative proposal that aims to support the efforts of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to regulate aviation emissions. The proposal suggests a one-year deferral of airline requirements to surrender emissions allowances for flights into and out of the EU. Flights operating within Europe remain covered by the regulation.
The World Bank and the World Resources Institute’s (WRI) sustainable transport center, EMBARQ, will co-host the 10th annual “Transforming Transportation” event on sustainable transport. The 2013 agenda will discuss, inter alia: capitalizing on the multilateral development banks’ $175 billion commitment for sustainable transport made during Rio+20; opportunities for sustainable transport in China, India and Latin America; integrating urban transport and development; improving transport health and safety in cities; and bringing shared bicycle solutions to scale in developing countries.