This report comprises case studies with three companies: Royal Dutch Shell, Rio Tinto, and Pacific Gas and Electric (PGE), capturing their experiences and lessons learned preparing for and operating under policies that price carbon emissions.
... See More + These companies operate in one or several jurisdictions where emissions trading has been implemented and therefore provide useful insights for other companies facing similar circumstances. The lessons learned can also serve as a valuable resource for policy makers designing new systems to reduce emissions. These case studies illustrate the benefits of incorporating climate change policies into corporate strategies; analyzing risks and opportunities in an environment of new public policies; and engaging effectively with relevant stakeholders, including governments. These case studies also show how carbon assets are traded and what systems are being constructed to monitor, report, and verify company level GHG emissions. While these case studies are primarily meant to guide private companies facing carbon pricing regulation, they also provide lessons for policy makers.
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This paper documents a mapping exercise that outlines the key elements and design features of offset programs. It was prepared with the intent to provide an overview of the key features of selected offset programs and to draw out similarities and differences.
... See More + It discusses the essential differences and similarities between programs. It identifies the main elements and design features of 11 different offset programs and discusses how these programs address key issues including efficiency, environmental integrity, applicability, and transaction costs. It does not evaluate the implications of the different design features. The considered offset programs build on many common elements in terms of governance structure, methodologies, and processes. All offset programs aim to balance the goal of quality assurance (i.e. safeguarding environmental integrity) with the need to keep costs and risks for programs and project developers minimal and to provide clear and predictable rules and guidance. Learning from existing programs may be beneficial for emerging offset programs to avoid reinventing the wheel, as well as to ensure optimum program design and attractiveness to the market. Aiming for a certain level of consistency and comparability in the design between the different programs may also be beneficial to enable potential future linking between systems. This note may be useful for countries that are contemplating different designs of carbon offset programs and other crediting mechanisms.
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Ratings for the Santiago Composting Project for Chile were as follows: outcomes were satisfactory, risk to development outcome was not applicable, Bank performance was moderately unsatisfactory, and Borrower performance was unsatisfactory.
... See More + The objective of the project was to build and operate a composting facility to treat urban biodegradable waste and non-toxic wastewater sludge. This will be done through the operation of a composting facility in Santiago, Chile to treat urban biodegradable waste and non-toxic wastewater sludge. The operation was designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that usually occur as waste degrades in landfills through the diversion of waste to the composting facility and was also anticipated to contribute to sustainable waste management in Santiago. The reduction in greenhouse emissions would be verified and sold as Verified Emissions Reductions to the World Bank, acting as a trustee for the Spanish Carbon Fund. The private company sponsoring the compost project, Agroindustrial Pullihue Ltda., will retain the resulting revenues. The risk assessment completed during the appraisal stage identified the risks which in the end contributed to its termination. Because of the nature of the CDM mechanism and its performance-based approach, the World Bank assumes a lower burden of these risks relative to investment lending or grant financing mechanisms. This may have led to the carbon finance operation moving ahead even with multiple high risks remaining at appraisal. The risks were too high in terms of significance and number to justify the effort and transaction costs made to sign the emissions reduction purchase agreement and supervise the initial stages of implementation. The risks needed to be mitigated further at appraisal or the carbon finance operation dropped completely. It acts as a reminder that even in performance-based projects, risk assessments should be considered carefully at the stage of project appraisal.
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The outcome of the Bolivia Urban Wastewater Methane Gas Capture Project was moderately satisfactory with a moderate risk to the development outcome.
... See More + Performances by both the Bank and Borrower were satisfactory. There were three main lessons learned from this project and they are as follows: (1) Evolving Rules and Laws. At the time of project preparation, both the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) rules and country level definition of sustainable development were under development, and therefore were susceptible to changes. Keeping the likelihood for changes in procedures in mind as a risk factor was an important consideration for CDM projects at that time (2) Strong Project Entity with Proven Implementation Capacity. The implementation success of the infrastructure part of the project can be attributed to the competence and interest of the implementing entity to carry out the project. The choice of implementing agency was thus of key importance in the project design and (3) Environmental benefits of methane gas capture facilities. The fact that 3 functioning methane gas capture facilities were eventually realized highlights the value of this investment.
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The Olavarria Landfill Gas Recovery Project for Argentina received an unsatisfactory outcome with low risk to the development outcome. The Bank received a moderately satisfactory rating for its role while the Borrower received an unsatisfactory rating.
... See More + Despite Bank efforts to work with the municipality and the university and perceived interest on the stakeholders part, project performance did not improve over the next three years. A supervision mission in June 2010 found that conditions at the site had deteriorated significantly, the flare did not appear to be functioning, the landfill did not appear to be compacted daily, the monitoring system was not being implemented in compliance with the original documents, and the municipality had not begun the verification process in order to generate the first monitoring report. The municipality indicated the verification process was costly for such a small operation and preferred to wait until the project was expanded to the second landfill cell to undertake the verification process. However, the project was never expanded, and therefore verification never took place. Given the very poor performance of the project in terms of landfill operation, methane generation and recovery, and as a result the non-delivery of ERs to the Bank for more than three consecutive years, management suggested terminating the project.
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This paper studies the optimal transition from existing coal power plants to gas and renewable power under a carbon budget. It solves a model of polluting, exhaustible resources with capacity constraints and adjustment costs (to build coal, gas, and renewable power plants).
... See More + It finds that optimal investment in renewable energy may start before coal power has been phased out and even before investment in gas has started, because doing so allows for smoothing investment over time and reduces adjustment costs. Gas plants may be used to reduce short-term investment in renewable power and associated costs, but must eventually be phased out to allow room for carbon-free power. One risk for myopic agents comparing gas and renewable investment is thus to overestimate the lifetime of gas plants -- e.g., when computing the levelized cost of electricity -- and be biased against renewable power. These analytical results are quantified with numerical simulations of the European Commission's 2050 energy roadmap.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS6985 JUL 01, 2014
Ratings for the 29.7 MW Karnataka Wind Power Carbon Finance Project for India was as follows: outcomes were satisfactory, the Bank performance was satisfactory, and the project entity performance was also satisfactory.
... See More + Some lessons learned included: carbon finance through Certified Emission Reduction (CER) sale is not an adequate incentive for investors to undertake wind power projects in India on a commercial basis, unless global negotiations have resulted in agreements and thereby the market for CERs becomes predictable. Improving the responsiveness of the CDM process to changes in domestic and global environments is necessary. Changes in policy and global negotiations which are beyond the control of project entities and resultant delays in resolution of such matters placed an unnecessary financial burden and uncertainty on projects, especially where the CER revenues make the project viable. Specifically for the World Bank Group, it is advisable to take up carbon finance projects along with investment operations, otherwise it becomes very difficult to enforce Bank's policies, especially safeguards, even when the project entity might be diligent and has its own robust procedures. The investment helps in accounting for the expenditure likely to accrue to enforce additional measures required to comply with the Bank's policies and hence, easier to enforce the same on the ground.
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Implementation Completion and Results Report 89045 JUN 23, 2014
The development objective of the Wind Power Development Project for Egypt is to develop transmission infrastructure and business models for scaling-up wind power in Egypt.
... See More + This restructuring will bring the following changes: (i) two new sub-components under component A (transmission infrastructure) will be financed from the loan savings under sub-component A1; (ii) the project development objective (PDO) will be amended and the results framework be revised to improve measurability; and (iii) the project closing date will be extended by 24 months from December 31, 2015 to December 31, 2017 to ensure the full achievement of the revised PDO.
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The Executive Directors approved the establishment of the fund as described in the President's memorandum entitled proposal to establish a bio-carbon fund (BioCF).
... See More + The reasons the United States (U.S.) 200 million dollars limit was no longer relevant was due to the change of the carbon market environment and the innovative activities envisaged under tranche 3 of the BioCF, for which the World Bank is currently the only market player that possesses the capacity to pilot these. These reasons are: (a) change of carbon market environment; and (b) activities envisaged under the initiative for sustainable forest landscapes (ISFL) (tranche 3 of the BioCF). The World Bank is the only player that has the capacity to drive this innovation. In order to do this, scaling up to larger levels of fund capital is needed. The Bank will continue to lead by innovation and bridge the gap before new climate negotiations fuel renewed demand for land use credits; the latter is not expected till after 2020 when an international climate agreement may be reached. While tranches 1 and 2 of the BioCF committed U.S. 83.3 million dollars to over 20 projects, tranche 3 is expected to commit U.S. 280 million dollars to up to four programs. Tranche 3 will close by December 2030.
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Memorandum & Recommendation of the President P7766 JUN 09, 2014
This report describes efforts by the ClimateWorks Foundation and the World Bank to quantify the multiple economic, social, and environmental benefits associated with policies and projects to reduce emissions in select sectors and regions.
... See More + The report has three objectives: 1) to develop a holistic, adaptable framework to capture and measure the multiple benefits of reducing emissions of several pollutants; 2) to demonstrate how local and national policymakers, members of the international development community, and others can use this framework to design and analyze policies and projects; and 3) to contribute a compelling rationale for effectively combining climate action with sustainable development and green growth worldwide. By using a systems approach to analyze policies and projects, this work illustrates ways to capitalize on synergies between efforts to reduce emissions and spur development, minimize costs, and maximize societal benefits. This report uses several case studies to demonstrate how to apply the analytical framework. Three simulated case studies analyzed the effects of key sector policies to determine the benefits realized in the United States, China, the European Union, India, Mexico, and Brazil. The sector policies include regulations, taxes, and incentives to stimulate a shift to clean transport, improved industrial energy efficiency, and more energy efficient buildings and appliances. Also presented are results of four simulated case studies that analyzed several sub-national development projects, scaled up to the national level, to determine the additional benefits over the life of each project, generally 20 years. By applying the framework to analyze both types of interventions, this report demonstrates the efficacy of this approach for national and local policymakers, international finance organizations, and others. These case studies show that climate change mitigation and air quality protection can be integral to effective development efforts and can provide a net economic benefit. Quantifying the benefits of climate action can facilitate support from constituencies interested in public health and food and energy security; it can also advance the international discussion of effective ways to address climate change while pursuing green growth. In this report, the chapter 1 provides background information on the pollutants covered in this report and identifies opportunities to achieve both local socioeconomic and global climate objectives by reducing emissions. It also introduces new modeling tools that enable broader economic analysis of emissions-reduction programs. Chapter 2 explains how these tools can be combined to develop an effective framework to analyze policies and projects. Chapter 3 demonstrates the framework, using several policy- and project-based case studies to estimate the multiple benefits of emissions reductions from a regional or national level. Finally, Chapter 4 explores the challenges to operationalizing the framework and presents conclusions from the study.
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The kinetic energy in wind is converted into mechanical power in specialized propeller-driven turbines mounted on towers. A generator inside the turbine converts the mechanical power into electricity.
... See More + Utility-scale wind turbines range in size from 100 kilowatts to as large as several megawatts. Turbines can be built on land or offshore and are grouped into 'wind farms' that provide bulk power to the electrical grid. Smaller turbines are used for homes, telecommunications dishes, and water pumping, sometimes in connection with diesel generators, batteries, and photovoltaic systems. Such hybrid wind systems are typically used in remote, off-grid locations, where a connection to the utility grid is not available. This note focuses on onshore wind energy, which is more widely established and has lower risks than offshore wind.
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This report covers the carbon funds, facilities, and financial instruments managed by the World Bank between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013.
... See More + The Carbon Finance unit at the World Bank Group supports putting a price on carbon by providing assistance on and piloting innovative cost-effective climate change mitigation approaches in World Bank client countries. Such approaches include international mechanisms, emissions trading schemes, carbon taxes, and results- based finance. 2013 saw the continuation of two emerging trends in the global carbon pricing landscape: 1) with credits from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) worth no more than a few cents and the coverage of the Kyoto Protocol shrinking to 12 percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, there was an increasing number of domestic initiatives that are putting a price on carbon; and 2) the Carbon Finance unit continued to develop and deepen innovative financial instruments that support results-based mitigation. In 2013 staff worked with 90 countries, including donors and recipients, to deliver results. The Carbon Finance unit raised $643 million for next generation carbon market initiatives: the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), the Carbon Partnership Facility (CPF), the Partnership for Market Readiness (PMR), the BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes (ISFL), and the Carbon Initiative for Development (Ci-Dev). These carbon initiatives have a total fund allocation of $1.5 billion, including $0.5 billion committed for technical assistance. Carbon finance has been a valuable instrument in helping to put a price on carbon. While scaling up mitigation activities for maximum impact continues to be a challenge, carbon initiatives such as the CPF, FCPF, and the ISFL are pioneers in supporting large-scale interventions. It is also a matter of putting the right price on carbon. Carbon markets are one way of achieving this. The World Bank Group is moving towards expanding the use of results-based payments and developing the next generation of innovative financial instruments.
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Annual Report 88283 MAY 13, 2014
Hagbrink, Isabel [editor]; Ekman, Maria [editor]; Pakulski, Inge [editor]
This report follows the evolution of carbon pricing around the world. Last years report mapped the main carbon pricing initiatives. This year the report presents the status of each of these developing initiatives and explores the emerging trends of carbon pricing.
... See More + The focus is on the recent highlights from around the world and on key lessons that can be drawn from the growing experience. Despite the difficult ongoing international climate negotiations, there is an increased focus on climate change policy and several economies are planning, implementing or refining domestic mitigation actions. These activities take careful note of past experiences, mirroring successes and dealing with weaknesses. About 40 national and over 20 sub-national jurisdictions are putting a price on carbon. Together these carbon pricing instruments cover almost 6 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e), or about 12 percent of the annual global GHG emissions. Cooperation remains a key feature of success The international market has been struggling for some time. However, the current spate of domestic action has been buoyed by growing cooperation among regional, national and sub-national stakeholders. Piloting and scaling up carbon pricing on an international level and increasing climate finance through market-based mechanisms is an important first step. The next challenge will be to create a product that is greater than the sum of its parts by converting fragmented initiatives into internationally integrated carbon pricing approaches.
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As part of the World Bank Group (WBG) environment strategy, all WB investment projects must undertake greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting (carbon foot-printing) starting in FY2014.
... See More + The first sectors included in the rollout phase (FY2014) were energy, transport, and forestry. The scale of global emissions from agriculture and land-use change is increasing as a result of population growth, growing consumption of meat and dairy products, and the rising use of nitrogen fertilizers. This note provides guidance to WB staff for conducting GHG emissions assessment for investment projects in agriculture. Section one gives introduction. Section two clarifies the project types requiring GHG assessment, while section three discusses harmonization issues within the WBG. Section four provides information on resources for GHG accounting. Section five discusses the practical implementation of GHG accounting in WB projects, including the role of the GHG accounting help desk at the agriculture global practice (AGP). Section six concludes with the application of key concepts.
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Working Paper (Numbered Series) 90369 MAY 01, 2014
The objective of the Renewable Energy Integration Project for Turkey is to assist Turkey in meeting its increased power demand by strengthening the transmission system and facilitating large-scale renewable energy generation.
... See More + The project has four components. (1) Development of transmission infrastructure to facilitate faster development of Wind Power Plants (WPPs) component will develop three 380kV 500 MVA highly digitalized sub-stations with associated grid connection structures for evacuation of wind power in the areas of Can, Izmir and Vize. The proposed structures will include high voltage (HV) substations, HV grid interfacing equipment, smart-metering systems, feeders (underground cables), tele-metered dispatch systems, digital protection systems, supervisory systems, and automatic voltage control systems. (2) Smart-grid investments component will strengthen grid operation and management in face of higher wind energy generation. (3) Lapseki 2-Sutluce 2 380 kV Submarine Power Cable component will insure a better inter-connect wind energy locations with other parts of Turkey. (4) Strengthening of transmission networks component will cater the investment needs for 380kV bulk-transmission and 154 kV sub-transmission network expansions to meet rapidly increasing demand and supply.
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