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.’
The US and China agreed to five new action initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and air pollution, focusing on: emission reductions from heavy-duty and other vehicles; smart grids; carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS); the collection and management of GHG emissions data; and energy efficiency in buildings and industry.
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 “World EV Cities and Ecosystems” web portal provides information on electric vehicle (EV) policies and best practices from 16 cities worldwide, and aims to increase cooperation and information exchange between policy makers and practitioners.
The Organization for American States (OAS) has announced the 14 recipients from ten Central American and Caribbean countries of US$50,000 grants from the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA) to non-governmental organizations, community associations and academic institutions for community-based projects in clean energy, disaster resilience, sustainable transport and waste management.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is supporting a five-year project to replace 100,000 gasoline-burning tricycles with energy efficient electric tricycles, or E-Trikes, in Metro Manilla and urban centers in the Philippines. The E-Trike project will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 260,0000 tons annually and contribute to improved air quality. The project will also avoid US$100 million in fuel import costs, which will reduce dependency on foreign oil imports and increase driver income.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has launched the Green Meetings Calculator to help UN organizations reduce carbon emissions associated with air travel to meetings. The application identifies an optimal meeting location based on calculated carbon emissions, as well as other parameters, and identifies all possible city venues accessible by a direct or one-stop connecting flight.
The UNFCCC Secretariat has achieved its aim of full climate neutrality by the end of 2012, through emission avoidance and reduction, plus an offsetting scheme using Adaptation Fund (AF) Certified Emissions Reductions (CERs) for the remaining balance. The UNFCCC Secretariat encourages other UN agencies and intergovernmental organizations to do the same.
The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the German international cooperation agency (GIZ) are helping Costa Rica’s coffee, waste management and public transport sectors prepare Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs), with the coffee NAMA first to be completed by end of 2012 and implemented in 2013.
Switzerland and Peru are collaborating under the World Meteorological Organization’s Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) on a project to improve climate services for the Peruvian Andes. The project will also incorporate generated data into environmental decision-making in the agriculture, energy, tourism, transport, health and education sectors.