Topic: india

RELEASE: Green Power Market Development Group Announced at Clean Energy Ministerial

Michael Oko — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 15:36:02 -0400

Business group will help increase the uptake of renewable energy sources in India

A group of leading businesses and organizations announced the expansion of India’s Green Power Market Development Group (GPMDG) at the Clean Energy Ministerial in New Delhi. The objective of the GPMDG is to transform energy markets and enable corporate buyers to access reliable and clean energy, diversify their energy portfolios with green power, and reduce their impact on climate change.

According to the latest reports, clean energy investment dipped in 2012, but it still was nearly $270 billion, which is a five-fold increase over the past decade.

Jamshyd Godrej, Chairman of CII - Godrej GBC said, “Moving to clean energy makes good business sense—and it can be done economically so that it benefits businesses and consumers alike. This innovative partnership brings together leaders in business and the non-profit arenas so we can mobilize action while understanding the underlying financial, regulatory and environmental considerations. If done right, the partnership can really help to spur the deployment of renewable energy in India.”

The GPMDG in India already has seven businesses on board with combined market value of more than $450 billion. It is being organized by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and the World Resources Institute (WRI), with the support of Shakti Foundation, Caterpillar Foundation, and US Department of Energy.

The GPMDG, which was recently launched in Bangalore, brings together renewable energy buyers, sellers and regulators together on a common platform. Its aim is to help close the supply-demand gap with renewable energy sources. GPMDG intends to integrate both utility scale and decentralized renewable energy options into industrial parks and housing developments in Bangalore.

“We need to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy in order to increase access to reliable and clean energy,” said Manish Bapna, Managing Director, World Resources Institute. “Companies can help generate this growth by procuring clean energy that is less expensive than diesel-based alternatives and will soon be cheaper than grid-based alternatives. The Green Power Market Development Group can be a powerful catalyst toward reaching these goals.”

By aggregating demand through a critical mass of participants, the GPMDG helps corporate renewable energy procurement achieve greater scale. It will help companies collaborate to buy renewable energy efficiently, and not in a fragmented way. GPMDG companies can be leveraged to build demand for renewable energy procurement, support new renewable energy projects, raise awareness and influence policy. Interactions between the private sector and policymakers will explore policy solutions and identify modifications in regulatory measures which can facilitate and encourage renewable energy purchase agreements.

ADVISORY: CONNECTKaro sustainable transport and urbanization event set to kick-off in Mumbai

Lauren Zelin — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 14:27:27 -0400

On April 15-16, Indian and international experts will discuss the current scenario of sustainable transport and urban planning in India, and the opportunities for the future of sustainable cities

EMBARQ India, the World Resources Institute’s centre for sustainable transport and urban planning in India, will be hosting CONNECTKaro, a conference that brings together international leaders in sustainable transport and urban development April 15-16 in Mumbai. This is the inaugural meeting of CONNECTKaro, the regional event part of a global series of events focused on sustainable transport that the EMBARQ network organizes. Over 150 experts including government officials, policy makers, and practitioners in the field of urban transport and urban planning will convene in Mumbai, India, to participate in this global gathering.

The theme for the conference is “Karo” – to make it happen – to translate ideas into action. Scaling sustainable transport and ensuring it is integrated with land development is key for Indian cities as they grow in population, economically and spatially, over the next decade. The ideas of sustainable transport and integrated land development have been demonstrated in a few cities around the world. CONNECTKaro sessions will focus how these can be adapted and replicated in India.

EMBARQ India’s bi-annual Bus Karo Plus “Talking Transit” workshop series will be part of the conference, held in partnership with the Brihanmumbai Electrical Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST).

The opening plenary session, on April 15, will set the vision for the conference and will include remarks from Dr. Sudhir Krishna, Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development; Mr. UPS Madan, Commissioner, MMRDA; Mr. OP Gupta, General Manager, BEST Undertaking; Mr. Jamshyd Godrej, Chairman and MD, Godrej and Boyce Ltd; Ms. Henriette Vamberg, Director, Cities, Gehl Architects, and Mr. Madhav Pai, Director, EMBARQ India.

On April 16, the closing plenary will focus on “Market Opportunities for Sustainable Transport” and will include: Mr. Manish Bapna, Executive VP and Managing Director, WRI; and Mr. Madhav Pai, Director, EMBARQ India; along with Mr. Anil Baijal, Non Executive Chairman, IDFC Foundation / Former Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India; Mr. Jamshyd Godrej, Chairman WRI India; and Dr. Armin Bruck, CEO Siemens India.

Other sessions of the conference include road safety in Indian cities, enhancing safe access to transit nodes, transit-oriented development, master planning, the role of auto-rickshaws in sustainable transport, and others, bringing together industry experts to discuss the current scenario and the way forward in effecting positive interventions in sustainable transport and urban planning.

You can find a detailed programme of events here.

WHAT:
CONNECTKaro, a sustainable transport and urban development conference

WHEN:
April 15 – 16, 2013

WHERE:
Trident Hotel
Nairman Point
Mumbai, India

To watch the sessions in a live webcast, register here

For more information or to set up media interviews, please contact dkottadiel@embarqindia.org

Mobilizing Climate Investment: The Role of International Climate Finance in Creating Readiness for Scaled-Up, Low-Carbon Energy

Sarah Parsons — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 15:20:51 -0500

Executive Summary

Between now and 2050, developing countries need an estimated $531 billion per year of additional investment in energy supply and demand technologies in order to limit global temperature rise to 2° C above pre-industrial levels. To achieve this scale of investment, developing country governments and custodians of international public finance will need to deploy limited public finance in ways that leverage an unprecedented volume of private sector investment. Despite growing global investment in low-carbon energy and falling costs, it will be difficult to achieve the scale and urgency of investments needed without the appropriate policy, institutional, industry, and financial conditions. Governments and their international partners need to undertake “readiness” activities designed to put in place the conditions that attract scaled-up investment and enable a transformation toward low-carbon energy development pathways.

Drawing on six developing country case studies, this report identifies a set of key lessons and insights for readiness. The report develops a framework to identify and prioritize readiness activities that will require public financial support to create the conditions necessary to scale up investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency (collectively referred to as low-carbon energy). The report discusses the implications of the findings for international climate finance and draws a number of recommendations for the Green Climate Fund (GCF). It targets international public funds and institutions looking to accelerate investment in low-carbon energy, as well as developing country governments looking to identify and prioritize activities for funding.

Enabling conditions for scaling up investment

We identify a number of policy and institutional, industry, and financial sector conditions that can attract scaled-up public and private investment in low-carbon energy. Policy and institutional conditions include plans and targets for low-carbon energy, institutional capacity to effectively implement climate change and energy policies, laws supporting investment in low-carbon energy, and regulatory and fiscal instruments to implement laws. Industry conditions include the capacity of developers to prepare bankable projects, information on renewable resource availability or options to conserve energy, engineering capacity, and the presence of a support industry and enabling infrastructure. Financial conditions include a stable financial sector with the capacity and range of financial products needed to support low-carbon energy.

In six case studies, we analyze the role that enabling activities have played in promoting scaled up investment in low-carbon energy, and the role that international public finance has played in supporting such activities. These case studies examine energy efficiency in Thailand, wind power in South Africa, solar water heaters in Tunisia, geothermal power in Indonesia, wind power in Mexico, and energy efficiency in India. Taken together, the case studies suggest two overarching determinants of success in scaling up investment: government leadership and effective responses to pricing distortions. When government leadership is strong, a commitment to policy and institutional reform and implementation of stated goals usually follows. This in turn strengthens the investment climate and increases investor confidence. In cases where market failures severely distort the market in favor of carbon-intensive energy sources, it has been more difficult to create the conditions that attract investment in low-carbon energy.

Lessons learned for the design of readiness activities

The case studies also reveal a number of lessons about the design of readiness activities and the role of international partners in supporting them.

Small amounts of long-term funding for enabling activities can help scale up investment

In each case study, small investments in enabling activities—from several hundred thousand dollars to several million dollars—helped pave the way for scaled up private and public investments by supporting the creation of conducive policies and market conditions. International support has been most effective when sustained over five or more years. Technical support can also be more effective if international advisors are integrated into national institutions and report to national, rather than international, authorities.

International support is likely to be more effective if it identifies and targets a few critical barriers to investment. In countries with comparatively few enabling conditions for investment, attempts to simultaneously surmount all investment barriers may result in resources being spread too thin to achieve a significant impact. Chapter 4 presents a framework that can aid governments and their international partners in identifying activities to support.

Strengthening the enabling environment should not end when investment begins. In each case study, readiness activities and larger investment took place simultaneously. Even in cases where the investment climate was already strong, there was still scope for additional enabling activities to address specific gaps.

Integrated, inclusive planning processes and policy and institutional reform are key to attracting investment

The integration of low-carbon energy into a broader development agenda can enhance coordination and alignment between different sectors of the economy. Civil society and private sector actors can bring valuable expertise and experience to the planning process, and play important roles in ensuring that low-carbon energy policies and plans are realistic, robust, and tailored to the needs of the country. International support should be aligned with national plans and priorities for effective and sustained outcomes, and should be flexible enough to respond in a timely manner to evolving priorities.

Changes to the policy and regulatory environment proved crucial to attracting investment on a significant scale in the case studies. International support for the design of policies is likely to be effective only if it is demand-driven and not seen as infringing on national sovereignty. Countries that have set up their own financial mechanism to support low-carbon energy projects are well positioned to implement their objectives effectively and independently, thereby reducing their reliance on international partners to finance their low-carbon energy needs.

Having the appropriate institutions in place to develop, implement, and regulate policy reforms—and empowering them with the mandate and resources to carry out their functions effectively—helped ensure that policies were coherent and consistent, which increased investor confidence.

In key institutions, strengthening the capacity of staff and management to carry out their functions is an important readiness activity that often requires international funding support. The case studies suggest that capacity-building support is most effective when carefully targeted to address particular skills gaps.

Tackling information barriers and strengthening industry and financial sector capacity can unlock investment

Public support for broad-scale renewable resource assessments or exploration can provide information on resource availability that is key to attracting investor interest. Similarly, measures to familiarize industry and other actors with low-carbon energy options—such as training centers, awareness campaigns, and seminars and workshops that bring together stakeholders—can strengthen industry knowledge of and capacity to implement renewable energy projects, and raise awareness of the potential cost savings from energy efficiency.

International support plays an important role in facilitating learning and demonstrating new financing models for renewable energy, as well as strengthening industry’s capacity to develop and implement low-carbon energy projects. In some cases, international support to strengthen the capacity of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and improve their access to financing for low-carbon energy projects has helped unlock investment by this sector of the market.

Financial institutions can play a key role in opening the market for low-carbon energy technologies. However, some financial institutions lack knowledge of and experience with these technologies. Strengthening the capacity of financial institutions to support renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, including through pilot financing programs, has been important in scaling up domestic sources of finance for low-carbon energy in several cases. In some cases, the high risk—real or perceived—of investing in low-carbon technologies without a proven track record in the country has deterred domestic financial institutions. Mechanisms that carefully allocate risks to those best placed to manage them can help attract financing from domestic banks and other financial institutions.

A framework for guiding readiness support for low-carbon energy investments

Building on the experiences of the six case studies, we propose a framework to guide governments and their international partners in determining how best to provide readiness support to countries with low-carbon energy sectors in different stages of development. The framework describes some of the activities required to strengthen the enabling policy and institutional environment for investment. In the early stages of development, these include support for assessing energy options, engaging stakeholders in the energy planning process, capacity building for government agencies and civil society, technical support for developing plans and strategies, and outreach activities. In later stages, activities include support for designing and implementing regulations and fiscal instruments, and targeted capacity building for government agencies, including local governments.

The proposed framework also describes some of the activities needed to strengthen the enabling industry and financial conditions for investment. In early stages of development, these include renewable resource assessments and energy conservation awareness campaigns, capacity building for project developers and financial institutions, support for technology transfer and localization, feasibility studies and environmental and social impact assessments, and support for financial sector reform. At later stages, activities include strengthening engineering capacity for low-carbon energy projects, supporting ancillary industries (such as upgrading grid infrastructure), and supporting financial institutions to assess and finance low-carbon energy projects.

Recommendations for the Green Climate Fund

The six case studies illustrate different approaches that various international partners have used to support readiness activities. The lessons learned are intended to inform the recently established GCF as it attempts to identify how best to support a paradigm shift toward low-emission and climate-resilient development pathways. Although the GFC’s detailed operational modalities are not yet defined, it could take a number of approaches to support readiness. These include supporting readiness directly or partnering with existing institutions; establishing distinct channels and allocations for readiness or integrating enabling activities into existing channels and allocations; and supporting readiness through the private sector facility.

RELEASE: C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and World Resources Institute Partner to Promote City Transit Solutions

James Anderson — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 22:44:03 -0500

The World Resources Institute, led by its sustainable transport center, EMBARQ, and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) established a partnership today that will further their mutual goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from urban transportation. The partnership focuses on scaling up solutions and enhancing C40 cities transport efforts related to sustainable urban planning, bus rapid transit systems, and non-motorized transit initiatives.

Together, these organizations will tackle a transport sector that accounts for roughly 13 percent of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.

“This new partnership with EMBARQ and its global network of transportation expertise will accelerate the work cities are doing to implement more efficient and effective transit systems,” said C40 Chair and New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. “By combining the forces of two organizations that know how to get things done we will help provide greater transit options that will help us build a more sustainable planet.”

For over ten years, EMBARQ has catalyzed and implemented sustainable transport solutions to improve the quality of life in cities in terms of pollution, public health, and safety. Similarly, C40 works to implement innovative, replicable transit solutions that reduce GHG emissions at the city level.

“Mayor Bloomberg and the leaders of other C40 cities are committed to shifting to a low-carbon future – and this partnership will help them to get there,” said Andrew Steer, President, World Resources Institute. “The world’s middle class is booming and people are more mobile than ever before. We need smart, people-focused transportation solutions that will help create better cities and a more sustainable world.”

C40 and the World Resources Institute cemented a long-standing relationship through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding that will encourage the two entities to collaborate on the following:

Supporting climate mitigation and adaptation measures through sustainable and equitable transportation policies in C40 cities;
Leveraging C40 networks, or working groups of peer C40 cities (e.g. Sustainable Urban Development Network and Bus Rapid Transit Network), to develop and share integrated transit and urban development planning in and among C40 cities; and
Collaborating to support and promote low-carbon urban development in C40 cities, with particular attention paid to bus rapid transit and non-motorized transport.

EMBARQ is already actively working in the following C40 Cities: Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo (Brazil); Mexico City (Mexico); Lima (Peru); Istanbul (Turkey); Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore (India).

“By combining our vast networks and deep technical capacity, C40 and EMBARQ are positioned to make a significant contribution to reducing city-level emissions and creating better transport systems,” said Holger Dalkmann, director, EMBARQ. “Mayor Bloomberg is a proven leader by transforming New York City and raising the ambition of mayors around the world. Now, we need to more cities to follow C40’s lead by scaling up transportation and low-carbon solutions that create a healthier and safer world.”

The two organizations have collaborated in the past. C40 is currently working with EMBARQ’s parent organization, WRI, to establish a single standard for measuring city emissions – the Global Protocol for Community-scale Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Additionally, Mayor Bloomberg’s philanthropic foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, also collaborates with and provides support for EMBARQ’s international activities to improve road safety.

Media Contacts:

World Resources Institute: Michael Oko, moko@wri.org; (202) 246-9269
C40: Mike Marinello, mmarinello@c40.com

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About C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40)
The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) is a network of large and engaged cities from around the world committed to implementing meaningful and sustainable climate related actions locally that will help address climate change globally. C40 was established in 2005 and expanded via a partnership in 2006 with President William J. Clinton’s Climate Initiative (CCI). The current chair of the C40 is New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. To learn more about the work of C40 and our Cities, please visit www.c40.org, follow us on Twitter @c40cities and like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/C40Cities.

About EMBARQ—WRI’s Center for Sustainable Transport (EMBARQ)
EMBARQ, the World Resources Institute’s center for sustainable transport, catalyzes and helps implement sustainable transport solutions to improve quality of life in cities. Since 2002, the EMBARQ network has expanded to Mexico, Brazil, China, India, Turkey and the Andean Region, collaborating with local and national authorities, business and civil society to reduce pollution, improve public health, and create safe, accessible and attractive urban public spaces. http://www.embarq.org

Delivering on the Clean Energy Economy: The Role of Policy in Developing Successful Domestic Solar and Wind Industries

Sarah Parsons — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 14:57:39 -0500

Executive Summary

Data Explorer Tool

The release of this paper is accompanied by the launch of an interactive Data Explorer Tool, which enables users to view, chart, and compare underlying data from our research.

Users can explore data for a specific country–or see how that country stacks up against others–in terms of correlating select “benefits” (manufacturing, domestic installations, and jobs) with changes in key national policies. In addition to pulling out raw data, the tool allows users to uncover the stories inside the numbers: For example, how does the growth in wind manufacturing capacity in China compare to the U.S. over the past 10 years? And what key policies were introduced in both countries over that period?

The renewable energy industry is expanding to meet the needs of a large and growing global market for clean and secure energy. This growth is likely to continue, with electricity production from non-hydro renewable energy sources expected to grow more than eight-fold from 2009 to 2035, if countries implement their existing commitments, and draw nearly US$3 trillion in investment. In this globalized industry, no single country has a monopoly on the supply chain or the opportunities to benefit from this expansion.

Competition is fierce and the industry is changing rapidly. Energy—and electricity in particular—is a highly policy dependent market, strongly shaped by regulation, incentives, and public goals. There are a number of different factors that drive policymakers to consider the development of domestic renewable energy industries including energy security, environmental considerations, providing more universal access to energy, and as an economic development opportunity. Now, many policymakers are weighing how to take advantage of improvements in the renewable energy global supply chains that include lower costs, higher quality equipment, and improved performance to deliver domestic energy more cheaply, while still nurturing and protecting domestic industries that create highly visible “green jobs.”

These two goals—creating robust and growing domestic industries and delivering affordable domestic energy—are both central to business-as-usual economic development. Doing both in the context of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other environmental impacts delivers on the promise of green growth in the energy sector. In nearly every country, it is politically very difficult to pursue one of these goals to the exclusion of the other. There is little political patience with using public resources to support a highly import-dependent clean energy deployment strategy, while raising energy costs, including to support domestic manufacturing or subsidize technologies, is equally politically challenging.

The renewable energy industry seems to offer opportunities to meet energy and economic development goals, but is there evidence that this promise has come to fruition? If there is, how did policymakers help deliver those results for their countries? This paper focuses on solar PV and wind industries in China, Germany, India, Japan, and the United States and provides a historical cross-country analysis, drawing from individual country cases, which aims to:

Determine which policies have been introduced to support the broader value chain—research and development(R&D), manufacturing, installation, and power generation—of the solar PV and wind industries in each country;
Track the trends in industry development in terms of size, installed capacity, jobs created (where available), and equipment prices (where available); and
Analyze how countries are finding success in both creating a healthy domestic industry and delivering low-cost, domestic clean energy.

This working paper emerges from a collaboration of five leading research institutions: World Resources Institute(WRI), Institute for Global Environmental Strategies(IGES), Öko Institut, Renmin University of China, and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), based in the target countries. Researchers at each institution reviewed and gathered information from domestic and international data sources to create a richly nuanced but still comparable review of the development of these industries.

The assessment attempts to uncover in particular how policymakers have cultivated successes. Countries have pursued a range of policies to accomplish these goals and there is now sufficient history in the solar PV and wind industries to begin to draw conclusions about whether countries have met their goals and what policy steps have been effective along the way.

EMBARQ India Named Joint Winner of the 2012 Volvo Sustainable Mobility Award

Michael Oko — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 13:29:22 -0400

Volvo Bus Corporation awards innovation in sustainable transport at event in Bangalore

The Volvo Bus Corporation announced the winners of the 2012 Volvo Sustainable Mobility Award, naming EMBARQ India and the Indian Urban Space Foundation as joint recipients of the prize at the Sweden-India Nobel Week Seminar, at the Leela Palace in Bangalore, India, yesterday.

The award was handed out by M.K. Shankarlinge Gowda, Principal Secretary (Transport), Government of Karnataka. The award, now in its second edition, recognizes progressive and practical action to promote sustainable solutions in urban mobility. Indian Urban Space Foundation was awarded for its Tender SURE project, while EMBARQ India won for its ongoing project, in partnership with the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), which aims to improve bus services along the Hosur Road corridor. This is a pilot project for improving the efficiency and quality of public transport services along major arterial roads in Bangalore.

“We’re honored to receive this award. It is encouraging to see our work being recognized by others in the urban transport community,” said Madhav Pai, Director, EMBARQ India.

To counter the negative externalities of urban growth and improve the quality and quantity of public transport in Bangalore, EMBARQ India recommended moving BMTC’s bus services from a ‘Direct Services Model’ to a ‘Connective System Model,’ whereby bus routes would be organized in a more efficient ‘trunk-and-feeder’ system.

“The benefit of this system over the Direct Services Model is that it relies on direction-oriented, rather than destination-oriented travel, is easier to scale up as transport demand increases, allows users to select the most efficient trip patterns, and helps system planners to accurately match demand to supply,” said Ashwin Prabhu, a transport planner at EMBARQ India, who has worked on this project with BMTC.

BMTC already has an extensive bus-based public transport system with an impressive track record of growth over the past decade, currently serving nearly 5 million passengers daily. However, the pressure on Bangalore’s urban transport system is expected to grow significantly in the coming years, with the growing population and other effects of increased urbanization. In the absence of high quality, efficient, and affordable public transport, the majority of the growth in transport demand will be served by private motor vehicles, such as cars and two-wheelers.

EMBARQ India, which is a member of EMBARQ–WRI’s center for sustainable transport–hopes to use this pilot project on Hosur Road as a model for other arterials in the city, as well as other cities in the country.

“Mainstreaming the notion of the integrated systems model in public transport planning in India will be the key to achieving a future in which public transport captures the majority of travel demand in urban India, making our cities better places to live, work, and play,” said Pai.

Sustainable Cities Initiative

Christine Potochny — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 16:13:34 -0400

In October 2011, WRI launched a five-year global initiative to advance the progress of building environmentally sustainable and livable cities in China, India, and Brazil. We intend to develop low-carbon city models and pathways for environmentally sustainable urbanization, by partnering with four urban centers to increase energy efficiency, curb greenhouse gas emissions, and improve water quality, urban mobility and land use.

The Challenges of Rapid Urbanization

China, India, and Brazil are among the world’s most rapidly urbanizing nations. In China, experts predict that by 2030 more than 70 percent of its people will live in cities, and that 221 cities will have at least one million residents. In India and Brazil, urban growth is explosive, expanding existing cities and creating new ones. In all three nations, cities have the potential to lift millions of people out of poverty and become powerful engines for social progress.

Rapid urbanization, however, poses substantial challenges. Poorly-planned, sprawling cities have the potential to undermine efforts to sustain economic growth, improve energy efficiency, curb greenhouse gas emissions, and secure clean water supplies. Although China, India, and Brazil are rethinking their approach to urban growth to prevent such setbacks, the leaders of many growing cities lack the training and tools needed to translate concerns into practical, cost-effective action. As a result, these cities risk making poorly-informed development decisions that will have long-lasting consequences.

Recent developments suggest that the time is ripe for meaningful action. In China, urbanization and sustainability issues feature prominently in the national government’s new 12th Five Year Plan, and cities will be required to meet new environmental targets. In India, the world’s fourth largest economy, a growing middle class is demanding better planned, more livable cities. In Brazil, the government has launched a major initiative to fundamentally remake major cities, spurred in part by its commitment to host the 2014 World Cup soccer tournament and the 2016 Olympics.

Project Objectives

Our objective is to create “blueprints” or low carbon plans for environmentally-sustainable and livable cities that we will use, with selected partner cities in China, India, and Brazil, to catalyze and help implement high-impact demonstration projects. We will then use a targeted outreach effort to spread and scale-up lessons learned to other growing cities. Our overarching strategy for replication is to leverage WRI’s existing platforms in each country. These include pioneering work in China on greenhouse gas inventories and low carbon planning, and working through EMBARQ (WRI’s Center for Sustainable Transport) on urban transport and land use issues. National networks of cities, international associations, and major conferences will also be established to provide routes for delivering knowledge to a wide variety of stakeholders in highly communicative, interactive formats.

Project Activities

This Sustainable Cities Initiative has three main activities over the course of five years (2011-2016).

These activities are taking place simultaneously, in regards to the specific needs and conditions in each country.

Blueprints for Environmentally Smarter Growth

We’ve identified key steps toward addressing climate, water, land use and mobility challenges in ways that: a) maximize economic efficiency and social benefits;
b) minimize sprawl and environmental damage; and
c) position the city to become a national and international model for sustainability.

Demonstration Projects

Moving from blueprints to action, WRI has begun to catalyze large, high-profile and integrated projects that address more than one goal. Illustrative demonstration projects include enabling a city to meet its carbon emissions-reduction targets; integrating development, transportation and pollution-reduction; and improving water quality and quantity.

Spreading Success to other Emerging Cities

WRI and its partners will pursue aggressive and targeted communications efforts to highlight the benefits of following new, smarter paths to urban growth among decision-makers in dozens of countries.

WRI Annual Report 2011-2012

Sarah Parsons — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 14:20:00 -0400

A Seven-Country Assessment of National Capacities to Track Forest Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Removal

Sarah Parsons — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 11:16:54 -0400

Summary

Forest carbon monitoring is critical to evaluating whether policies aiming to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from forest change are achieving their goals. The objective of this brief is to highlight the technical capacity needs for implementing national systems for forest carbon monitoring. This paper assesses the technical capacity in seven countries—Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, South Africa, and Thailand—for monitoring forests, forest change, and associated carbon dioxide emissions and removals. The results can be used by national agencies and the international community, including donor agencies and non-governmental organizations, to identify priorities for capacity-building and funding.

Based on findings from the assessment, the seven countries would benefit from the following:

Establishing processes to regularly and more frequently update data to enable understanding of trends in forest change.
Ensuring consistency of monitoring methods to allow comparison of data and interpretation of change over time.
Improving spatial resolution of forest monitoring where important drivers of forest change are difficult to detect with mid-resolution satellite imagery.
Establishing or updating national forest inventories regularly to enable accurate estimates of carbon dioxide emissions/removals.
Developing protocols and training programs to guide and harmonize sub-national data collection.
Strengthening data management and sharing among government agencies to enable integration of forest change information with other land use, permitting and tenure data.

Case Study: Applying Information for Adapting the Agriculture Sector in Bundelkhand, India

Sarah Parsons — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 16:25:44 -0400

This case study examines two projects implemented by Development Alternatives to highlight the multiplicity of data sources involved in adaptation decision making, provide an analysis of how information was used, and explore the challenges associated with information use for adaptation decision making in the agricultural sector.

This case study is part of a series under the World Resources Institute project, Information for Climate Adaptation in South Asia: Identifying User Needs. Each of the case studies in this set explores an aspect of information use in adaptation decision making. The goals of this series are two-fold:

Provide insights into how information (such as climate projections, stakeholder interviews, and environmental monitoring) can be used to support adaptation decisions; and
Guide investments by national governments and their development partners in information systems that can inform decision making around risks related to climate change.

This case study series was supported by the UK Department for International Development. Case study authors used the same framework of guiding questions for their research, which consisted of literature reviews and interviews.

Case Study: Communicating Modeled Information for Adaptation Decision Making

Sarah Parsons — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 15:30:27 -0400

The HighNoon project, which began in 2009, set out to assess the impact Himalayan glacier retreat and expected changes in the Indian summer monsoon on the distribution of water resources in Northern India. The project’s aim was “to recommend appropriate and efficient response strategies to enable adaptation to hydrological extreme events.” The project used information from scenarios generated by regional climate and hydrological models and integrated it with stakeholder perspectives to identify and prioritize adaptation strategies. This case study examines the HighNoon project in order to explore how adaptation-relevant information can best be packaged and disseminated to different users and audiences at the state, district, and block levels.

This case study is part of a series that fall under the World Resources Institute project, Information for Climate Adaptation in South Asia: Identifying User Needs. Each of the case studies in this set explores an aspect of information use in adaptation decision making. The goals of this series are two-fold:

Provide insights into how information (such as climate projections, stakeholder interviews, and environmental monitoring) can be used to support adaptation decisions; and
Guide investments by national governments and their development partners in information systems that can inform decision making around risks related to climate change.

RELEASE: New Traffic Safety Guidelines Can Save Lives on Bus Corridors Worldwide

Lauren Zelin — Wed, 30 May 2012 18:32:23 -0400

EMBARQ releases most comprehensive research on traffic safety to cut down on the 1.2 million global traffic deaths each year

Editor’s note: Join EMBARQ for a special webinar on June 7, 2012, 10:00 a.m. EDT: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/857078514*

Each year, 1.2 million people die in traffic crashes, according to the World Health Organization, and traffic fatalities are projected to become the fifth leading cause of premature death worldwide by 2030, ahead of HIV/AIDS, violence, tuberculosis, or any type of cancer. One way to prevent many of these deaths and injuries is to improve traffic safety, especially on major bus corridors in cities. EMBARQ, the World Resources Institute’s center for sustainable transport, today released the draft “Traffic Safety on Bus Corridors” guidelines to improve traffic safety worldwide. Based on more than two years of research, the guidelines are part of the Road Safety in 10 Countries (RS10) project, funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

“This guidebook is part of a broader effort by EMBARQ to illustrate how sustainable transport projects can greatly improve traffic safety and ultimately save lives and improve quality of life for people around the world,” said Holger Dalkmann, director of EMBARQ.

The guidelines are based on findings from a two-year research project, led by EMBARQ, which evaluated safety, operations, and accessibility on major bus corridors and bus rapid transit (BRT) systems in 18 cities around the world. Key findings show:

Pedestrians account for the majority of fatalities across all bus corridors;
Safety on BRT and bus corridors depends on the overall design of the street and not just the bus infrastructure;
Center-lane BRT corridors with closed stations are the safest design option;
Counterflow, when buses drive in the opposite direction of mixed traffic, is the most dangerous type of configuration for a bus corridor; and
The most common types of vehicle collisions in BRT systems occur when cars make illegal left turns across bus lanes and collide with oncoming buses.

“BRT and bus routes are often located on major urban roads, which have the highest concentration of traffic crashes in cities,” said Claudia Adriazola, director of EMBARQ’s Health and Road Safety program. “A new BRT system can attract a lot of pedestrians to these areas, so it is crucial to help cities understand how to maximize safety for everyone on the road.”

The purpose of the draft planning and design guidelines is to provide bus agencies, local jurisdictions, and regional and international organizations with a set of suggested design, planning, and operational criteria for bus systems, including BRT corridors. The guidelines include recommendations for street design, intersections, stations, and station access, as well as transfers and terminals.

“Data has shown that after the implementation of some BRT systems, such as TransMilenio in Bogota or Macrobus in Guadalajara, crashes and fatalities on these corridors dropped by as much as 50 percent,” said Dario Hidalgo, director of EMBARQ’s Research and Practice and an author of the guidelines. “Not all bus systems have had a positive impact on safety, and in some cases, there is still considerable room for improvement, which is why EMBARQ developed these guidelines to improve traffic safety.”

The research included iconic BRT systems in places like Curitiba and Bogota, Colombia, megacities Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro, as well as examples from New Delhi and Ahmedabad, India, and Brisbane, Australia.

“Our research shows that the design of a bus corridor can have a significant influence on the frequency of crashes on the street,” said Luis Antonio Lindau, president of EMBARQ Brazil, who contributed to the research.

During the next six months, experts are invited to provide feedback on the content, methodology, feasibility, and usefulness of the safety recommendations. The feedback will be incorporated into the final version of the guidelines, to be released in 2013.

To read the full report visit: http://www.embarq.org/sites/default/files/EMB2012_Traffic_Safety_on_Bus_Corridors_Pilot_Version.pdf.

To participate in the “road test,” please contact EMBARQ Transportation Research Analyst Nicolae Duduta at nduduta@wri.org.

# # #

EMBARQ catalyzes environmentally and financially sustainable transport solutions to improve quality of life in cities. www.embarq.org

Open Climate Network Analysis

Kevin Lustig — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:16:37 -0400

Use the list to the right to explore available analysis from the Open Climate Network »

RELEASE: New Greenhouse Gas Standards Unveiled for Corporate Value Chain and Products in India

Lauren Zelin — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 00:19:03 -0400

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol launched two new standards today in New Delhi, India, to empower businesses to better measure, manage, and report their greenhouse gas emissions. Developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) and Product Life Cycle Standards enable companies to save money, reduce risks, and gain competitive advantages. The launch event was hosted by WRI, WBCSD, and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), and was followed by local training workshops on the new standards.

This is the first time WRI and WBCSD have officially released GHG Protocol standards in India, though a growing number of Indian companies are already doing corporate greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting. According to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) 2011 India Report, 57 companies submitted reports and 89% reported their GHG emissions using the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard or a protocol based on it. Given India’s significant role in the global economy, product and value chain management are becoming increasingly important, so the new standards bring multiple strategic insights and opportunities for Indian businesses.

“The new GHG Protocol standards allow Indian companies to identify and target new market opportunities for low-carbon business models and products,” said Pankaj Bhatia, Director, GHG Protocol, WRI. “Businesses will find that these standards provide state-of-art methods and tools that can be deployed not only to measure and manage GHG emissions, but also to track important co-benefits in the India context. This, in turn, can help Indian businesses reduce energy use and manage resources more effectively across the full value chain.”

Released internationally in October 2011, the Corporate Value Chain and Product Life Cycle Standards were created in response to businesses that wanted to better understand and measure their climate impacts beyond their own operations. The standards were developed with input from business leaders, NGOs, academics, and policymakers around the world. More than 2,300 participants from 55 countries contributed to the process, and 60 companies road tested the new standards. Businesses that use the GHG Protocol standards will be able to create better products and improve efficiency throughout the value chain.

“The launch of the new GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain and Product Life Cycle standards in India marks an important step in the global uptake of these important tools,” said Thierry Berthoud, Managing Director, Energy & Climate, WBCSD. “Businesses around the world increasingly understand that by measuring, reducing, and reporting on their full corporate GHG impact, they can save money, reduce risk, and drive new business opportunities.”

The Corporate Value Chain Standard reveals opportunities for companies to make more sustainable decisions about their activities and the products they produce, buy and sell. Large and small companies can look strategically at greenhouse gas emissions across their value chain, showing them where to focus limited resources to have the biggest impacts.

The Product Life Cycle Standard enables companies to measure the greenhouse gas emissions of an individual product. Covering materials, manufacturing, use and disposal, the product standard will help companies improve and design new products, and provide insights for more informed consumer choices.

“TERI has been working with the GHG Protocol since the first Corporate Standard was released in 2001, and we have worked on a pilot basis with various corporate houses to advise them about GHG emissions,” said Girish Sethi, Director-Industrial Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Technology, TERI. “These standards can help companies understand, measure, and manage their GHG emissions and work towards reducing their carbon footprints.”

Prior to the launch in India, previous events have been held in New York, London, Tokyo, Beijing, and Durban, South Africa. Recognizing the significance of the new standards for emerging markets, the GHG Protocol is planning further launches and training events, including Brazil in the summer of 2012.

More information on the GHG Protocol standards is available at: www.ghgprotocol.org.

# # #

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol
A global collaboration led by WBCSD and WRI. It provides the foundation for sustainable climate strategies and more efficient, resilient and profitable organizations. GHG Protocol standards are the most widely used accounting tools to measure, manage and report on greenhouse gas emissions. www.ghgprotocol.org

The World Resources Institute
WRI is a global environmental think tank that goes beyond research to put ideas into action. We work with governments, companies, and civil society to build practical solutions to urgent environmental challenges. WRI’s transformative ideas protect the Earth and promote development because sustainability is essential to meeting human needs and fulfilling human aspirations for the future. www.wri.org

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development
WBCSD is a CEO-led organization of forward-thinking companies that galvanizes the global business community to create a sustainable future for business, society and the environment. Together with its members, the council applies its respected thought leadership and effective advocacy to generate constructive solutions and take shared action. Leveraging its strong relationships with stakeholders as the leading advocate for business, the council helps drive debate and policy change in favor of sustainable development solutions.

The WBCSD provides a forum for its 200 member companies - who represent all business sectors, all continents and a combined revenue of more than $7 trillion - to share best practices on sustainable development issues and to develop innovative tools that change the status quo. The Council also benefits from a network of 60 national and regional business councils and partner organizations, a majority of which are based in developing countries. www.wbcsd.org

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)
From microbiology to global climate change, from smoke-filled rural kitchens to plush corporate boardrooms, from schoolchildren to heads of state—no sphere of human endeavor is unfamiliar to TERI. Headed by world-renowned economist and Head of the Nobel Prize winning UN Climate panel, Dr. R K Pachauri, TERI is best described as an independent, not-for-profit research institute focused on energy, environment, and sustainable development and devoted to efficient and sustainable use of natural resources. www.teriin.org

TERI-BCSD
For the past several years, TERI has been addressing issues related to sustainable development with Indian industry, by setting up TERI-BCSD (Business Council for Sustainable Development). Having succeeded to garner the support of over 100 member companies recently, TERI-BCSD India has received the fillip to evolve into a unique industry body mobilising the corporate sector in implementing the principles of sustainable development. bcsd.teri.res.in

MEDIA ALERT: Launch of New Report on Auto-Rickshaws in India

Lauren Zelin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:05:08 -0500

Sustainable Urban Transport in India: Role of the Auto-Rickshaw Sector

Background

Across India, auto-rickshaws are becoming an increasingly important part of urban transport in cities. Currently, the number of auto-rickshaws in India ranges from 15,000 to 30,000 in medium-sized cities (population between 1 and 4 million) to more than 50,000 in large cities (population greater than 4 million). Now, the World Resources Institute and EMBARQ are releasing the most comprehensive report ever on auto-rickshaws.

The report, “Sustainable Urban Transport in India: Role of the Auto-rickshaw Sector,” by Akshay Mani, Madhav Pai and Rishi Aggarwal, examines the role auto-rickshaws play in promoting public transport usage and reducing private motor vehicle trips in cities. The report also provides a policy vision for the auto-rickshaw sector that improves sustainable urban transport in India.

The publication highlights the need for regulatory reforms to promote dispatch services and vehicle-related reforms to address emissions and road safety. Adopting these reforms is key to ensuring that auto-rickshaws contribute to a more efficient, clean and safe transport system.

Statement by Akshay Mani, Project Manager – Urban Transport, EMBARQ India

“Given the current urban transport trends and challenges, such as rising emissions and road fatalities, there is a critical need to promote more sustainable transport options in India. Implementing the recommended reforms – such as the promotion of fleet-based dispatch services and vehicle improvements – will be key to ensure that auto-rickshaws can serve as an effective alternative to private motor vehicles. These reforms are essential to mitigate the environmental and road safety challenges that currently exist in this sector.”

Key Facts

Market size of auto-rickshaws varies from around 15,000 to 30,000 vehicles in Tier II cities (population between 1 and 4 million) to more than 50,000 in Tier I cities (population greater than 4 million). Mumbai has the largest market with around 150,000 auto-rickshaws.
Auto-rickshaws serve between 10-20 percent of daily motorized road transport trips for people in Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune and Rajkot.
Production of auto-rickshaws in India has doubled between 2003 and 2010.
High concentration of particulate matter less than 10 microns (PM10) in Indian cities is a key public health issue. Auto-rickshaws running on two-stroke engines are a major contributor to PM10 emissions.
Contrary to popular belief, auto-rickshaws are the second safest motorized mode of travel (after buses) for pedestrians, in terms of contribution to fatalities, in both Mumbai and Bangalore.
However, safety of auto-rickshaw occupants is a key issue of concern, due to mixed-flow traffic conditions in Indian cities as well as current vehicle design aspects, which needs to be addressed urgently.
Meanwhile, the population of Indian cities will grow from an estimated 340 million in 2008 to 590 million by 2030.

Resources

The publication is available online at: http://www.embarq.org/en/sustainable-urban-transport-india-role-auto-rickshaw-sector

Read blog posts by Akshay Mani at: http://thecityfix.com/blog/author/akshay142

Watch and link to videos at: www.embarq.org/multimedia

Mumbai Rickshaws: http://www.embarq.org/en/video/cities-focus-mumbai-rickshaws
Vikram: http://www.embarq.org/en/video/snapshot-vikram
Vatsala: http://www.embarq.org/en/video/snapshot-vatsala

The report will be launched Friday, February 10, at Rickshaw Rising – An Auto-rickshaw Entrepreneurship Summit, in Mumbai, India: http://www.embarq.org/en/events/12/02/rickshaw-rising

For more information about the launch or to set up interviews, contact:
Erica Schlaikjer, EMBARQ, Media Relations Coordinator, (202) 729-7722, eschlaikjer@wri.org; or
Lauren Zelin, WRI, Senior Press Officer, (202) 729-7736; lzelin@wri.org