Washington -- March 12, 2007 -- A Sustainable
Energy and Climate Change Initiative approved by the Board of Directors
of the Inter-American Development Bank will help the countries of Latin
America and the Caribbean to expand the use of renewable energy and
energy efficiency technologies, increase their access to international
carbon finance, and support efforts to adapt to climate change.
The initiative calls for action in four key areas:
In the first, the IDB will help countries to assess
their potential for renewable energy and energy efficiency to meet
their energy needs. It will also work to minimize regulatory,
institutional, and financial barriers to making investments in these
areas while increasing incentives. In addition, the IDB will finance
renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.
The initiative also calls for the IDB to help
countries assess their potential as producers of biofuels, promote
policies that support biofuel development, and finance biofuel projects
and the adaptation of new biofuel technologies.
In the area of greenhouse gas reduction, the Bank
will develop so-called Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects in
which entities in industrialized countries receive credit in exchange
for financing projects in developing countries that reduce greenhouse
gas emissions. The IDB will work to lower transaction costs and risks
for such operations as well as strengthen the capacity of the region’s
countries to participate in the international carbon market.
Finally, the IDB will consider the risk of climate
change in operations in its borrowing countries, particularly to reduce
the vulnerability of urban and regional infrastructure and rural
communities.
In the past year the IDB approved financing for a
number of projects to promote sustainable energy and climate change
mitigation. The included the following:
- Support for creating business models for energy efficiency services
- An analysis of the role and potential for biofuels in Central America.
- An assessment of the potential for biofuel production from
sugar cane in Guyana, Jamaica and Barbados and the possibilities for
these countries to obtain carbon credits through the CDM specialized
market.
- An assessment study of biofuels for transport in Mexico.
- An operation to improve energy efficiency in water pumping systems in El Salvador.
- A study of opportunities to increase efficiency in residential, service and commercial sectors in Central America.
- The development of a renewable energy tool kit tailored for Latin America.
- Assistance to countries in preparing CDM documentation.
In June of this year the IDB will present an action
plan that establishes targets, milestones, timeframes, responsibilities
for priority actions and a budget for activities included in the
initiative. The plan will also include activities for raising awareness
and providing technical support to IDB staff and the Bank’s clients. In
addition, the Bank will meet with donor agencies to establish financial
contributions for the initiative.
The new initiative and action plan follow a series
of studies and events that the Bank has undertaken to identify
opportunities and needs for renewable energy, energy efficiency and
climate change mitigation and adaptation. Last November the IDB held a
regional conference, “Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Investment
in Latin American and the Caribbean” in which decision-makers from the
public and private sectors discussed how to increase investments in
sustainable energy in the priority areas of energy production, housing,
transportation and industry, as well as opportunities for climate
change mitigation and adaptation.
Source; iadb.org
