Energy Efficiency Boost for Cities THE World Bank has announced a $9 million initiative to help cities in developing countries improve energy efficiency for the benefit of the individual nation’s and the environment. The City Energy Efficiency Transformation Initiative (CEETI) aims to get city decision makers to integrate energy efficiency into their strategic planning and operations; improving public services, lessening the pressure on municipal budgets, and reducing pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. CEETI will work with city governments to facilitate promising energy efficiency investments, match cities with sources of financing, and build the capacity of officials to get projects off the ground. The initial three-year phase of the initiative, led by the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), will work with up to 50 cities to achieve substantial cost and energy savings through efficiency projects. “Energy efficiency will be critical to the competitiveness of cities as well as to their economic profile,” said Rachel Kyte, Vice President of the World Bank’s Sustainable Development Network. “Finding ways to achieve efficiency in transport, energy and real estate will make cities cleaner and more livable and will help attract jobs and investment.” In its first year, CEETI will offer hands-on training for city officials on how to identify opportunities, create energy efficiency plans, and finance and implement programs. The latter part of the initiative will focus on helping cities develop investment plans, and match them with sources of financing. These activities will be paired with knowledge sharing between cities that have successfully implemented energy efficiency programs, and cities that are just getting started. The new initiative builds on three years of World Bank engagement with cities on energy efficiency, using the Tool for Rapid Assessment of City Energy, or TRACE. Working together, these World Bank programs offer a full range of solutions for clients. For example, in Rio de Janeiro, TRACE was used to identify two potential energy efficiency investments: efficient street lighting using LEDs and energy efficiency retrofits to municipal buildings, such as schools and hospitals. Going forward, CEETI will provide technical assistance for the implementation of the energy efficiency portfolio under Rio’s Low-Carbon City Development Program. ensolusa
Posted on: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 22:53:47 +0000
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