Cleaner Production Centres as a Model for Climate Innovation Centres under the New Climate Technology Mechanism: the UNIDO-UNEP Programme on Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECP)
Panel discussion:
“Greensolutions@COP” hosted by the Government of Switzerland and organized in collaboration with United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Where: Cancun, Mexico, 8 December 2010
Background
Access to technology has been one of the key areas of negotiation in recent years under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Climate technology mechanisms were agreed upon at the 16th Session of the Conference of Parties under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC). It is foreseen that this will involve a global technology agency, which collaborates with networks of technology innovation and diffusion centres globally.
A side event was held on December 8 in Cancun, Mexico, as part of Cop16, to discuss results and experiences of NCPCs with regards to climate relevant technologies. The side event was structured as a technical panel, taking place under the Greensolutions@COP16 initiative, which was aimed at showcasing best practice examples of climate technologies and practices.
The technical panel was inaugurated by Stefan Denzler, Project Manager, State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, Government of Switzerland, Mara Murillo, Deputy Director, Regional Office for Latin America and Caribbean, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and René Van Berkel, Chief, Cleaner and Sustainable Production Unit, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, UNIDO.
Presentations
René Van Berkel, Chief, Cleaner and Sustainable Production Unit, UNIDO, provided an introductory presentation.
Van Berkel expanded on the multiple contributions of industry to climate change, through energy use, non-energy Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and by creating demand for transportation (freight) and waste generation, which each in turn generate GHG emissions.
He argued that integrated climate actions addressing both emission mitigation and adaptation to impacts of climate change are most promising, and offer potential for win-win solutions, including through productivity and quality benefits.
Van Berkel explained Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECP) and provided industry success stories of application of RECP for climate innovation through reducing materials intensity of products, improving process efficiencies; minimizing process emissions, substituting with low carbon inputs and closing carbon loops. He also explained the genesis and current status of the global RECP Network comprising of National Cleaner Production Centres (NCPCs) and other alike technology and innovation centres.
René Van Berkel presentation: Key to low carbon industry
Jorge Perez (Director, National Cleaner Production Centre of Mexico) presented results and experiences from the NCPC in Mexico.
Perez explained how the NCPC is set up within the leading technical institute of the country (Instituto Politecnico Nacional) and the services it provides. He then provided examples of centre activities and achievements related to climate change, including through cleaner production assessments in for example the financial sector (energy savings and mitigation of emissions from banking centres), applied research and development (for example process development for the minerals sector) and support for clean development mechanism (including for example development of new methodologies for the off shore oil and gas exploration and drilling sector).
Jorge Perez presentation
Francisco Ramirez (Chief Energy Consultant, National Cleaner Production Centre of Colombia) expanded upon some of the successes achieved in Colombia.
The NCPC in Colombia is set up as an association of institutions, including the business sector, local and national government and academia. Its activities include a diverse portfolio of climate related services, including plant level assessments, assessment of GHG benefits and additionality, registering of Certified Emission Reductions and access to finance through the green credit line.
Ramirez provided a range of examples of successful business initiatives with greenhouse and other productivity benefits, including metal products sector (change from wet chemical to dry mechanical pre-treatment), bricks industry (introduction of energy efficient tunnel kilns), industrial gases (recovery of CO2 from fermentation processes as alternative input for industrial gas production) and public transport (cable-car system in Medellin).
Francisco Ramirez presentation
Mayan Aguire (Deputy Director, Corporate Finance, Banco Nacional de Commercio Exterior (BANCOMEXT), Mexico) provided a case study of the bank’s initiative in regard to fostering climate related investments.
Aguire explained some of the financial instruments made available through preferential loans from various development banks, including EIB and KfW.
The Mexican Carbon Fund (FOMECAR), in collaboration with the Mexican Cleaner Production Centre, offers technical and financial support in the development of projects aiming at reducing GHG emissions and in their validation and registration as Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects.
BANCOMEXT is funding national and international sustainable projects on a competitive basis and in similar conditions to the ones existing in other countries for long-term loans, national and foreign currency transactions, fiduciary services, financial restructurings and capital investment services.
Aguire further expanded on the role of NCPCs as technical service provider to advice financial institutions on the appropriateness of technologies proposed by clients in their investment projects.
Mayan Aguire presentation (Spanish)
René Van Berkel (Chief, Cleaner and Sustainable Production Unit, UNIDO) continued with some remarks on the need for scaling-up and mainstreaming RECP in order to contribute significantly to mitigation of GHG emissions and adaptation to climate change.
Van Berkel argued that sufficient evidence of climate, environment and other benefits exists, to warrant a focus on doing resource efficiency at a much larger and substantive scale. The idea would be to achieve a situation that not just a few industry leaders take action but the majority of industries would do it.
He further argued that this would require a coordinated approach including capacity building, assessment of technology needs and opportunities, adaptation and deployment of technologies, creating policy initiatives and making finances available.
René Van Berkel presentation: Scaling-Up: technology, policy and finance for climate innovation
Panel discussion
The panelists responded to queries in regard to process for selection of host countries for NCPCs and need for knowledge management and experience sharing at global and regional scales to ensure best technologies are disseminated and deployed. Moreover barriers impeding the widespread replication of „win-win“ climate solutions were briefly discussed, including: lack of information, technology and finance in manners appropriate to the needs of SMEs and the limited professional and institutional capacities to apply these; weak incentives, including as a result of the low and/or subsidized prices for energy, water and other resources, and weak implementation and enforcement of industrial and environmental policies and regulations.
Summary
The moderator, Stefan Denzler (State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, Government of Switzerland) concluded that RECP provided a practical way for achieving mitigation and adaptation to climate change in a coordinated manner, and that such deserved consideration in the current negotiations on climate related technology transfer.