ISSUE 01 January 2016 |
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UNEP ON THE GROUND | |
Fossil fuel subsidies tackled | |
An event held in the margins of the Paris climate talks has explored how fiscal policies - especially fossil fuel subsidy reform - can unearth funding for green investments and shift behaviour to support climate objectives.
Reforming the subsidies – which were estimated to total USD 5.3 trillion last year – could raise government revenue worth USD 2.9 trillion, reduce CO2 emissions by more than 20 per cent and cut premature deaths due to air pollution by 55 per cent, said Ian Parry, Principal Environmental Fiscal Policy Expert in the Fiscal Affairs Department of the International Monetary Fund, at the event.
Ligia Noronha, Director of UNEP’s Division of Technology, Industry and Economics, opened by setting out how fiscal policy reforms can drive a low carbon, inclusive green economy.
Franzjosef Schafhausen, Director General of Climate Change Policy at the German Ministry of Environment’s Europe and International Affairs department meanwhile presented how his country had phased out subsidies for lignite while coping with social impacts of the reform.
A subsequent panel discussion focused on how countries could better include fiscal policies and fossil subsidy reform in the pledges submitted for climate action at the COP21 talks – which countries such as Morocco and Kenya have already done.
Panelists in the discussion included Andrea Meza, Director of Climate Change at Costa Rica’s Ministry of Environment and Energy; Paul Mbuthi, Principal Renewable Energy Officer of Kenya’s Ministry of Energy and Petroleum; and Laura Merrill, Senior Researcher with the Global Subsidies Initiative of the International Institute for Sustainable Development.
The event, titled ‘Fiscal policies for a low carbon and inclusive green economy: the role of fossil fuel subsidy reform’ was held on 4 December and was attended by around 60 international experts, government representatives and civil society. It was organised by the Green Fiscal Policy Network - a partnership between UNEP, the IMF, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety.
For further information on UNEP’s work on green fiscal policy, please click here or write an email to chiara.moroni@unep.org |
ISSUE 01 January 2016 |
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Warm solution for decades-(c)old problem | |
A new project to overhaul a district heating system in the Bosnian city of Banja Luka is expected to help reap major carbon and financial savings as well as combat air pollution.
The city’s heating network - the second-largest in Bosnia and Herzegovina - experiences significant losses during energy transport and end-use. Boilers used in the heating system currently have an average age of 35 years and lose up to 60% of generated heat, while poor insulation means that up to 40% of heat supplied is then lost in the district’s buildings.
To tackle the problem, the city requested help from the Climate Technology Centre and Network with UNEP’s support.
The heating system is now being mapped using an unmanned aerial drone equipped with a thermal camera to identify leaks.
An action plan will then be drawn up for modernising the system, to cover possible investments as well as social and regulatory improvements. Initial estimates point to potential subsequent savings of up to 20,000 tons of CO₂ each year and €4.5 million in heating costs.
Were the city to go beyond modernisation and use an entirely renewables-based system, the city could avoid emitting 80,000 tons of CO₂ and contribute to cleaning the atmosphere. Air pollution is estimated to have caused over 3500 premature deaths in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2014.
The working meeting launching the project was held on 21 January and was organised by the City of Banja Luka with the support of UNEP and under the auspices of the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Civil Engineering and Ecology of Republika Srpska.
For more details please click here or write an email to amina.omicevic@unep.org |
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