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Environment and Energy
UNDP’s Environment and Energy strategy in Europe and CIS has four pillars: (i) mainstreaming environment and energy into national and local development policies and plans; (ii) mobilizing environmental finance – assisting countries with assessing their environmental financing needs, accessing, sequencing and combining different sources of environmental funds to support market development for climate and environmentally friendly technologies; (iii) promoting adaptation to climate change - mainstreaming climate change risk management into national development strategies; and (iv) expanding access to environment and energy services for the poor - empowerment and strengthened capacity for local action. UNDP’s capacity in the region to promote these issues is demonstrated through our portfolio of 128 projects in 28 countries under implementation with a total budget value of approximately US$ 660 million (with an turnover of about $US 55 million), of which more than US$ 240 million is from the Global Environmental Facility (GEF). This portfolio is supported by the expertise, knowledge and experience of more than 450 environmental practitioners in 28 country offices, the Bratislava Regional Centre and UNDP environmental projects staff, as well as a network of more than 60 recommended external experts. This network of professionals is also supported by interactive online workspaces and knowledge base. The specific capacity areas cover: (i) climate change; (ii) ecosystems and natural resources; and chemicals. Climate Change: the practice is working towards making low carbon and climate resilient development possible in Europe and CIS. UNDP’s objective is to develop the capacity of national and sub-national governments to formulate, finance and implement low carbon and climate resilient (LC&CR) strategies. 1. In Climate Change Mitigation, UNDP’s practitioners promote market transformation towards low-carbon economies in Europe and CIS. This includes: (i) policy framework development and capacity building for investment in low-carbon technologies and practices in energy efficiency, sustainable transport, renewable energies – work supported mainly by the GEF and the Regional Programme on Capacity Development for Kyoto Protocol implementation; and (ii) Catalyzing Carbon Finance - working with public and private sector companies to identify, implement and capitalize on greenhouse gas emission reduction projects and help jump-start a dynamic carbon market in the region. For this purpose, UNDP has established the MDG Carbon Facility to broaden access to carbon markets for under-represented countries in the region and to ensure that carbon projects result in sustainable development benefits. The portfolio of projects under climate change mitigation amounts to more than US$ 120 million. The impacts of the portfolio under implementation include: cumulative emission reductions of 723,235 tons of CO2 in 11 countries and the establishment of a legal and regulatory framework for the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol in five countries. 2. In climate change adaptation: the practice is: (i) supporting the design of integrated climate change policies, strategies and quantified action plans: the new territorial approach to climate change has been already initiated in Albania and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia for the development of carbon-neutral and climate-change resilient territories. The first attempt to quantify the impacts of climate change on human systems and national development priorities was made by supporting the Human Development Report in Croatia dedicated to climate change; (ii) promoting early adaptation actions and long-term adaptive capacity of developing countries with a particular focus on Central Asia; and (iii) integrating climate change into UN and UNDP development assistance at the global, regional and national levels - UNDP will scale up to the other countries in the region the climate proofing of the UNDP programme piloted in Armenia in 2008. The regional portfolio managed by the adaptation team is more thanUS$ 11 million and has already contributed to the implementation of on-the-ground adaptation measures on 666,500 hectares in 3 countries. Ecosystems and natural resources: the practice works towards maintaining and enhancing the beneficial services provided by “natural” systems/processes in order to secure livelihoods, water and health, reduce vulnerability and disaster risk, storing carbon and avoiding emissions from land use change and forestry. 3. In Water Governance the practice promotes Integrated Water Resource Management, transboundary dialogue and integration of water considerations in national development planning. UNDP has partnered with the European Commission in Central Asia to support planning and sustainable management of renewable water resources at the national and local level, activities ranging from policy reform to concrete interventions. The practice also launched the pan-regional ‘Human Rights-based Approach to Water Supply & Sanitation’ in collaboration with the Democratic Governance practice. The portfolio of projects amounts to US$ 82 million. Under the GEF International Water programme, UNDP is supporting transboundary dialogue on water management in key water basins in the region (Caspian Sea, Tisza, Kura-Aras and Dnipro rivers, Lake Baikal and Dinaric karst aquifer). 4. In Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Management, UNDP’s practitioners help developing countries manage biodiversity and land so as to sustain the delivery of ecosystem goods (such as food and fuel) and services (such as clean air and water purification). All this benefits human development. The practice’s work in this focus area is grouped in: (i) unleashing the economic potential of protected areas so that they are better able to fulfil their management functions, are sustainably financed and contribute to sustainable development; and (ii) mainstreaming biodiversity and land management activities into production sectors activities, so that production practices maintain essential ecosystem functions that sustain human welfare. The portfolio of projects managed by the team covers 20 countries in the region and amounts to more than US$ 300 million, of which US$ 120 million is from the Global Environment Facility. The portfolio contributed to an improved management effectiveness of 82 protected areas covering 16.8 million hectares, and mainstreaming biodiversity and land management into 54 million hectares in agriculture, fishery, tourism and forestry sectors. 5. In the Chemicals focus area, UNDP supports a portfolio of more than US$ 21 million aimed at: (i) phasing-out production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances (MLFS and GEF funded); (ii) reduction and elimination of production, use and releases of the persistent organic pollutants (GEF funded); and (iii) mainstreaming sound chemicals management into the national development plans (SAICM Quick Trust/bilateral funded). These interventions have resulted in 4,000 metric tons of persistent organic pollutants targeted for removal from use and approximately 200 metric tons of ozone-depleting substances targeted for phase-out. In collaboration with the UNDP poverty practice, and UNEP, the Environment and Energy practice has launched the Poverty and Environment Initiative (www.unpei.org) in the region, aiming at mainstreaming environmental sustainability into national and local development policies and plans and sector strategies. Overall, this approach contributes to poverty reduction and economic development. The EE Practice is a key player in the Environment and Security initiative (www.envsec.org), which is a joint partnership between UNDP, UNEP, REC, OSCE, NATO and UNECE aimed at reducing environment and security risks and strengthened cooperation between and within countries. In addition to its own capacities, the regional practice can link to global UNDP experience and expertise present in 147 countries with an annual turnover of $460 million.
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The goal of the Environment and Energy Practice is to strengthen national capacities to manage the environment in a sustainable manner while ensuring adequate protection for the poor.
