UNIDO's projects
Since 1998, UNIDO has actively supported the Climate Convention and Kyoto Protocol negotiation process. The work in this area aims at identifying capacity building needs in Member States and assessing climate-friendly technology. UNIDO prepares and implements projects that support the development of new and efficient technologies for the reduction of climate-damaging greenhouse gases. In addition, the Organization helps computing reductions in industrial emissions.
This work was well received by the Parties to the Climate Convention, by Member States, particularly in Africa, and by the Convention Secretariat.
UNIDO's activities were designed and carried out within the Organization's energy programmes, focusing particularly on industrial energy efficiency and renewable energy. Work in this field includes surveys, software development and analytical studies.
Kyoto Protocol and Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM)
UNIDO now focuses on the development of capacity building and technology transfer projects that relate to the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol and the Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM). The work of the Organization in this area builds on the experience of and lessons learned by the international climate community from CDM. In addition, it focuses on sectoral scopes and geographical areas that are currently under-represented in CDM.
On that account UNIDO has been systematically addressing energy efficiency in CDM in its global forum activities and has paid particular attention to the support of CDM capacity building in Africa.
Between 1998 and 2002, UNIDO undertook background study projects and preparatory assistance activities in the industry and the CDM in six African countries. (Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Zambia and Zimbabwe) Within these activities, the Organization incorporated a CDM component into the Nigerian Country Service Framework and prepared background studies in Congo (Brazaville) and the UR Tanzania.
Although results of these activities show that some CDM-relevant capacity has been built in stakeholder groups (government, NGOs, academia/research as well as for a few private sector institutions), local capacity to identify and develop CDM project opportunities is still limited in several African countries. The bulk of assistance going to the continent reaches only a few persons or institutions and merely a handful of countries have been involved in CDM project preparation to date. Consequently, the market for CDM and particularly the number of projects coming from African countries is minimal at the moment.
Therefore, UNIDO undertook the demonstration project on CDM for ten Francophone sub-Sahara African countries at the end of 2005. (See Example 2)
International Collaborations
UNIDO collaborates with many international and regional organizations, development banks and energy technology centers. As such, UNIDO organizes and participates in a wide range of international and national meetings and conferences. At these fora, the Organization presents its programmes and strengthens its international links.
In addition, and within the Global Environmental Facility Partnership (GEF), of which UNIDO is an executing agency with expanded opportunities, the Organization prepares and implements projects that are fully in line with the GEF climate change mitigation strategies.
UNIDO's approach to industrial energy efficiency is being implemented in a number of projects: within the industrial motor systems project in China, several plants have already implemented the recommendations arising from UNIDO's system assessments. The case studies emerging from UNIDO's work served to demonstrate
how efficient industrial energy systems also contribute to plant productivity and reliability. Also in China, a GEF financed project improved the energy efficiency of four energy-intensive sectors (cement, brick-making, metal casting and coking) of the Town and Village Enterprises by removing policy, technical and financial barriers.
