This newsletter includes the following headings: India’s first dedicated freight corridor; pathways to prosperity - World Bank series; recent project approvals and signings; implementation completion report (ICR) update: Uttarakhand decentralized watershed development project, Karnataka wind power carbon finance project; new additions to the public information center; and contact information.
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The Carbon Finance-Assist (CF-Assist) Trust Fund is a multi-donor, World Bank Group (WBG)-executed trustfund that responds to the demands of client countries embarking on a low-carbon, climate transition in advancing their national sustainable developmentgoals.
... See More + It aims to strengthen the capacity of countries by providing technical assistance, customized knowledge and capacity-building solutions through the WBG’s new and emerging operations and in coordination with development partners. This CF-Assist has delivered capacity building programs through technical assistance and project support for implementing NDCs, low-carbon development and climate finance options in developing countries.The CF-Assist Trust Fund is focused on providingcomplementary capacity-building services that address the evolving climate change action agenda. One of the CF-Assist Trust Fund’s key efforts is translating knowledge into learning. This year the CF-Assist Trust Fund launched e-learning courses on Measuring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) and Results-Based Climate Finance (RBCF) that help guide clients on how to design and implement greenhouse gas reporting programs and understand RBCF approaches to mobilize climate finance. Broadening its Innovative Knowledge Solutions program, the CF-Assist Trust Fund also piloted Bite-Sized Learning programs.
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The development objective of the Desk-top Environmental and Social Impact Assessment for an Eskom Pilot Carbon Capture Project for South Africa is to advance the work that already has been carried out in South Africa in identifying carbon capture storage sites from the current theoretical storage, including associated capacity building and regulatory requirements for the test injection.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: (1) the associated infrastructure applied for during the environmental impact assessment (EIA) included all associated infrastructure such as a water treatment works, a wastewater treatment works, access roads, railway line, water supply pipelines, a coal stockyard, an ash disposal facility, a coal and ash conveyor system, and water storage facilities; (2) independent environmental control officers (ECOs) are appointed as per the environmental assessment (EA) conditions and their key role is to ensure project compliance to authorizations through site inspections, audits, review of method statements, etc. and reporting of compliance reports to the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA); and (3) compliance to the various environmental approvals is a key to Kusile hence various methodologies to ensure compliance are implemented.
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The development objective of the Desk-top Environmental and Social Impact Assessment for an Eskom Pilot Carbon Capture Project for South Africa is to advance the work that already has been carried out in South Africa in identifying carbon capture storage sites from the current theoretical storage, including associated capacity building and regulatory requirements for the test injection.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts include: (i) potential damage to surfaced roads or civil infrastructure along road corridors; (ii) well drilling will penetrate near surface aquifer and regional unconformity surface that comprises a regional aquiclude separating fresh and saline groundwater zones; (iii) seismic survey lines intersect seasonal interdune depression (swale) wetlands locally; (iii) damage to soils on the routes of the vibroseis survey transects or on the well drilling sites; (iv) project activities could have a negative impact on longterm landuse options on community land or in conservation areas; (v) vibroseis survey and drilling could impact fauna in the grasslands, woodlands or wetlands; (vi) activity of heavy machinery and other vehicles could lead to wetland degradation or disturb surface water flow paths in an area with extensive wetlands; (vii) noise and vibration generated by vibroseis trucks and drill rigs could impact community members or infrasturcture; (viii) disturbance of unmarked archaeological sites, cultural heritage sites or graves; and (ix) generation of waste materials that could cause local environmental damage. Some of the mitigation measures include: (i) inform provincial, municipal and community structures about schedules for vibroseis in any area in advance during ongoing stakeholder construction; (ii) drilling must not interfere with shallow groundwater resource used by surrounding community; (iii) routes follow remnant cutlines, vehicle tracks, public roads or the road shoulder or reserve zone where vegetation has already been cleared and the topsoil is disturbed; (iv) rehabilitation of the project infrastructure site will ensure that vegetation and soil disturbance does not result in long-term erosion by wind or water; (v) the vibroseis operation is non-invasive and its progression along routes will ensure that the impact is short-lived and restricted to one pass; (vi) vibroseis activities will be limited to disturbed road corridors where wetlands are crossed; (vii) vibroseis operations on public roads must be pre-authorised by the provincial Dept Transport to ensure that no damage occurs on gravelled or tar surfaced roads; (viii) community heritage sites have been identified in the uMkhanyakude DM environmental management framework; and (ix) drilling water and fluid management and recycling on the drilling site will reduce the potential for contamination of surface water.
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Several Partnership for Market Readiness (PMR) countries are developing crediting mechanisms for domestic markets. Some countries are developing crediting mechanisms with a view to exploring options for trading with other countries in the future.
... See More + The concept of additionality has long been considered important in the context of these crediting mechanisms as it ensures that the emission reduction or removal that is credited would not have otherwise occurred.
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Working Paper (Numbered Series) 105804 MAY 19, 2016
This paper considers the regulatory frameworkthat is required to be put in place in order to support theestablishment of carbon market linkages, in particular,in light of the bottom-up approach contemplated by theParis Agreement.
... See More + Section two describes the key purpose ofthe paper and details the assumptions and other factorsthat are made in this paper concerning ‘networking’—aform of linking contemplated by the World Bank Group’s Networked Carbon Markets (NCM) initiative. The key assumption in the paper is that the parties seeking to link two or more carbon markets will, before considering theregulatory elements required for linking, have concluded that there must be political, administrative and/oreconomic rationale for linking. Section three considers the impact of the Paris Agreement, in particular Article 6, on carbon market linkage.Section four introduces the concepts of governance, legal and regulatory frameworks and seeks to draw a distinction between these three concepts, whilst recognising there is a degree of overlap.In section five discuss the regulatory framework that we consider to be necessary for carbon market linking when considered in the context of traditional linkage models (i.e., those that require greater homogeneity in order to establish linkages).In section six analyses a number of existing trading arrangements to assess whether they offer a suitable foundation for future linked carbon markets. This would potentially enable existing regulatory frameworks to be used as a means of jump-starting the linkage process.Section seven includes a more detailed discussion of the World Bank Group’s proposal for networking and the concept of mitigation value (MV) which is a fundamental element of networking. We consider the variety of modalities for linking, including the networking modeland the NCM transaction scenarios discussed in the NCM Concept Paper. This relates to the acceptance by one country of its MV assessment by a third party assessor. Although we highlight some of the new challenges this will throw up, we conclude that further development about how MV could be operationalised will be required before guidance on the regulatory frameworkfor networking can be further advanced.
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This paper discusses the scope for market mechanisms, already established for greenhouse gas mitigation in Annex 1 countries that ratified the Kyoto Protocol, for implementing "net mitigation," defined here as mitigation beyond Annex 1 countries' formal mitigation requirements under the Kyoto Protocol.
... See More + Such market mechanisms could be useful for establishing and extending greenhouse gas mitigation targets also under the Paris Agreement from December 2015. Net mitigation is considered in two possible forms: as a "net atmospheric benefit," or as an “own contribution” by offset host countries. A main conclusion is that a “net atmospheric benefit” is possible at least in the short run, best implemented via stricter baselines against which offsets are credited; but it can also take the form of offset discounting whereby offset buyers are credited fewer credits. The latter, although generally inefficient, can be a second-best response to certain imperfections in the offset market, which are discussed in the paper. There is less merit for claiming that "own contributions" can lead to additional mitigation under existing mechanisms.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS7594 MAR 10, 2016
For more than five years the authors have explored and evaluated the development of small scale, modular gas to liquids (GTL) technologies for the extinction and monetization of gas flares around the world.
... See More + The findings were summarized in three reports, which were published in February 2012, January 2014 and July 2015. These reports, all available on the GGFR website, www.worldbank.org/ggfr, were the First global assessment of this rapidly emerging business which offers great promise to help in curtailing gas flaring. Because of the rapid advances in the field, the authors will now provide brief, but more timely updates through a Mini-GTL Technology Bulletin. The authors envision two to four issues per year.
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The objective of the Shanxi Coal Bed Methane Development and Utilization Project for China is to assist Shanxi Province in increasing the production and utilization of CBM/CMM to replace coal as a fuel for thermal use and to reduce GHGs and local air pollutants associated with coal combustion.
... See More + The restructuring includes the following changes: (a) revision of the PDO to align it to the project activities, (b) removal of the provincial level TA activities from the project, (c) modification of the results framework to align it with the changes to the PDO and project activities, (d) reallocation of loan between disbursement categories to make efficient use of the Bank loan, and (e) extension of the project closing date from June 30, 2016 to June 30, 2017. A request for above changes was received from the Ministry of Finance on December 31, 2015.
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The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) is a global partnership of governments, businesses, civil society, and Indigenous Peoples (IP), focused on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, forest carbon stock conservation, the sustainable management of forests, and the enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries (activities commonly referred to as REDD+).The 2015 Fiscal Year (FY15) report follows the structure of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) Program Level Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Framework, adopted by the Participants Committee (PC) at its fourteenth meeting in March 2013.
... See More + The M&E Framework is designed to keep track of the Facility’s performance in a way that helps ensure lessons can be learned and adaptive management is possible at the Facility level. In line with the M&E Framework’s Performance Measurement Framework (PMF), this year’s annual report provides information on the main achievements related to the intermediate impacts, outcomes (aligned with the four FCPF objectives), and outputs (short-term results), which together provide a strategic overview of the FCPF . Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound (SMART) indicators have been developed at the level of impact, outcome, and output to track the progress of the FCPF. The targets for each indicator have been designed in a way that ensures results can be achieved within the life span of the Facility. This report also builds on the reporting structure at the country level, which began last year, moving away from reporting on activities only and allowing for systematic, country-specific assessment of readiness progress. As the FCPF’s main focus has been on readiness and on laying the ground for future REDD+ activities and piloting performance-based payment systems, it is somewhat limited in its ability to report on longer-term and impactlevel indicators at this stage.
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This report is about Romania's committment to the development of a low carbon and green growth path, making green growth and action on climate change a national priority.
... See More + The Government of Romania is undoubtedly committed to fulfilling the requirements of the UN and EU for combating climate change. However, a serious impediment to effective Climate Change (CC )action is the fact that CC is a cross-sectoral policy implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forests (MEWF) but MEWF only has authority over a fraction of the relevant issues. It is encouraging that the Government of Romania both acknowledges the need for improving the cross-sectoral integration of CC policies and actions, and views this as part of its overall effort to address its dysfunctional horizontal policy-making processes and improve its public administration management. Co-ordination and synergy with all existing national efforts to improve administrative capacity will be essential for efficient implementation of the Low Carbon Green Growth Program (LCGGP) in Romania. However, CC expertise still remains extremely limited at the operational level and this impacts all aspects and levels of CC policymaking and the capacity for future planning. The followinga are the recommendations made; (i) the current situation and areas for improvement in the capacity of implementing National Climate Change Strategy have been analysed and have led to a number of clear recommendations for institutional capacity building; (ii) in order for CC policy to be effective in Romania it must be treated as both a national priority and a cross-sectorial responsibility. National authorities must claim ownership of the CC issue; and (iii) a more inclusive and informed policy-making process is needed, and this can only occur when more of the stakeholders are involved and made aware of the extensive CC implications for their individual sectors; (iv) A key recommendation is therefore the creation of a Climate Partners Network (CPN) constructed on the basis of a public-private partnership; (v) Entrenched practices and attitudes need to be changed. CC must have higher visibility and remain consistently on the public agenda, instead of emerging only briefly after a disaster, and it is recommended that the nexus of the coordination and implementation of CC policy should be a reformed National Commission for Climate Change (NCCC); (vi) all recommended actions will rely on increasing the public’s level of awareness, engagement, and participation; (vii) In the medium-long term, strategy implementation will need to be accompanied by changes to the educational system; and (vii) monitoring and evaluation processes will need to provide the fodder for policy adjustments based on scientific research, national priorities and market needs. Finally, in order to create effective capacity building measures, CC will need to be treated as national priority, comprehensively integrated into all levels of policymaking and budgets planning.
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Ratings for the Small Scale Livestock Waste Management Program Project for Thailand were as follows: outcomes were moderately satisfactory, the risk to development outcome was low or negligible, the Bank performance was satisfactory, and the project entity performance was also satisfactory.
... See More + Some lessons learned included: among many factors which impacted the project’s implementation, the main lesson of this project is related to the worthiness of implementation of a small scale Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Program of Activities (POA) project. During project implementation, the project encountered enormous challenges that were out of the control of the Bank and ERDI. Such challenges include (a) change of the applicable UNFCCC methodology for ER calculation; (b) time needed to complete complicated CDM processes; (c) additional investment required by the CDM methodology for installation of a second biogas flow meter; and (d) significant validation costs incurred during implementation. These challenges delayed the registration of this program and consequently prevented the project from delivering any CERs under the CFE contract. The failure of obtaining any CER revenues under the CFE contract, extremely low CER prices in the current CDM market, and high verification costs then in turn discouraged a majority of identified farms from participating in this project and benefit from expected CER revenues.
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Implementation Completion and Results Report 101665 DEC 23, 2015
This note sets out a common approach of accounting for net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of energy efficiency (EE) projects in accordance with the International Financial Institution (IFI) framework for a harmonized approach to GHG accounting.
... See More + This document provides guidance for net (against a baseline) emissions accounting for EE projects and or EE project components, including as defined in the joint Multilateral Development Banks - International Development Finance Club (MDB-IDFC) principles document under the categories low carbon and energy efficient generation and EE projects respectively. The approach is primarily focused on accounting for the reduction of energy intensity induced by investments in the rehabilitation, retrofitting, and or replacement with more efficient technologies at the recipient facility. Where the project design and operation considers efficiency gains from demand-side measures, including process and behavior change, these impacts can also be taken into account in the calculations. The presented approach is also applicable to the rehabilitation or retrofitting of renewable energy plants.
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A proposal was submitted to extend the term of the carbon fund of the forest carbon partnership facility (FCPF) from December 31, 2020 to December 31, 2025, in order to enable the carbon fund to meet one of its main objectives of piloting performance-based payments for emission reductions from reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD ) activities.
... See More + The Executive Directors approved the establishment of the facility on September 25, 2007 as recorded in the minutes of meeting of the Executive Directors of the Bank and International Development Association (IDA). The facility consists of two funds, the readiness fund and the carbon fund. The carbon fund participants unanimously agreed to an extension of the term of the carbon fund to December 31, 2025 by resolution CFM/12/2015/1 dated April 30, 2015, subject to approval by the Board of Executive Directors. The carbon fund builds on the technical assistance provided under the readiness fund and is designed to pilot performance-based payments for emissions reductions from REDD . The carbon fund became fully operational in May 2011. In order to effectively pilot performance-based payments the current intention is that the emission reductions payment agreement (ERPAs) will be for at least five year terms, with an additional year for final verification and payment.
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