Since its inception in 2011, the Low Emission Development Strategies Global Partnership (LEDS GP) has worked in partnership with governments around the world – responding to their demands for technical advice and for knowledge resources.

Here we describe how the LEDS GP has offered successful REAL ‘Remote Expert Assistance on LEDS’ and how you could benefit, if you are a developing country government:

Achieving solar power potential in Chile – July 2017

For the Chilean Economic Development Agency (CORFO)’s solar industry committee, concentrated solar power presents a safe and high quality electricity supply opportunity for residential and industrial sectors in Chile, home to the Atacama desert, which has the highest solar potential in the world.

To achieve this potential, CORFO requested REAL assistance to build capacity on modeling, designing, and implementing concentrated solar power systems. REAL experts delivered a training workshop to practitioners from key Chilean energy agencies, who learned about the barriers and opportunities of designing solar systems, models for capacity expansion, and methods for promoting investment to catalyze solar programs in Chile.

With the skills and knowledge gained in the workshop, CORFO has improved its own concentrated solar power models, and went on to present its results at the SolarPACES conference in Santiago in September 2017. The outcomes of the modeling efforts have helped to advance the Chilean resilient low emission development goals identified in its Nationally Determined Contribution, which pledges to cut national greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2030.

Developing a renewable metering policy in Bangladesh – July 2017

The Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA) of Bangladesh submitted a Remote Expert Assistance on LEDS (REAL) request to develop a net metering policy in Bangladesh. Net metering allows customers to generate their own electricity and use the electricity produced to offset the amount of energy they draw from the utility grid. It is a foundational policy mechanism for driving the expansion of distributed solar photovoltaic markets.

REAL experts teamed up with the Clean Energy Solutions Center’s Ask an Expert service to provide case studies and resources outlining implementation challenges and solutions related to designing net metering policies and tariffs. As a result, SREDA is now in the final stages of preparing a draft policy, which will help promote rooftop solar energy, assist Bangladesh in meeting its goals for installed renewable energy, and improve overall electricity access in the country.

Informing South Sudan’s transport policy – July 2017

The Ministry of Transport, South Sudan, requested REAL support to inform its government of how other countries are aligning national transport policies with commitments made under the Sustainable Development Goals and Paris Agreement. South Sudan’s updated National Transport Policy is a central pillar for its economic development, regional cooperation, international trade, employment, attracting investment, and economic stability.

Experts on behalf of the LEDS GP Transport Working Group wrote up case studies on how neighbouring countries such as Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Uganda are doing exactly this. The case studies focused on key policy drivers, strategies and measures that could be incorporated into policy planning and design at the national level. These case studies lead to a revision of South Sudan’s transport policy.

Enhancing climate action in Brazil – July 2017

As part of our REAL assistance to the City Hall of Curitiba, Brazil, LEDS GP supported the City Hall in strengthening their climate action strategy in the Curitiba Municipal Climate Change Plan for Resilience, Mitigation and Adaptation. Following REAL support, in 2018 the City Hall intends to create a formal climate bill that will be adopted by the Municipality of Curitiba.

Strengthening Ecuador’s climate adaptation monitoring, reporting and verification – June 2017

The Consortium of Autonomous Provincial Governments of Ecuador (CONGOPE by its Spanish acronym) designed a three-year program to design and implement local public policies for climate change adaptation and mitigation. The LEDS GP REAL service provided technical analysis, lessons learned from neighboring countries, and facilitated feedback to strengthen the approach, methodology, and monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) of the program. Mr Wilson Lechón from CONGOPE remarked:

“Assistance from the LEDS GP has helped us to include key multi-level governance considerations into our approach, to better horizontally and vertically integrate local public policies for climate action. This permits CONGOPE to better undertake the challenge of realizing climate action at the provincial level, utilizing our members as “integrators” in the framework of intermediate governments.”

Capacity building in Colombia – June 2017

We provided virtual training to municipal government staff in Colombia around sustainable urbanization and low emission development. As part of the REAL program, the Subnational Integration Working Group supported Fundación Universitaria del Area Andina in advising the Municipal Government of Valledupar, Colombia, on building a strategy for their 2020 Municipal Development Plan. Prior to this, the municipality had been unclear on potential next steps for sustainable urbanisation and monitoring, reporting and verification frameworks. Following REAL assistance, the municipality committed to developing an energy/greenhouse gas inventory and an interdepartmental committee on the subject.

Shaping low emission development pathways in Zimbabwe – May 2017

The Government of Zimbabwe is working to translate its national climate and renewable energy policies into implementable strategies and action plans. The plans are being developed in line with relevant national development goals as described in Zimbabwe’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) and Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) targets.

LEDS GP experts collaborated with the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Climate to develop a LEDS planning document related to eight specific work streams: energy efficiency; energy supply; industry; agriculture; waste management; forests, biodiversity, and resilience; water management; and training and research needs. The document supported efforts to build the capacity, awareness, knowledge, and involvement of necessary actors in Zimbabwe and included a detailed set of measures for government agencies to advance overall LEDS implementation. This work was an important step towards building engagement and awareness with business and government leaders, research institutions, development partners, and civil society.

Identifying LEDS opportunities in Bangladesh – April 2017

The Planning Commission of the Government of Bangladesh requested assistance to advance their in-country LEDS planning and implementation efforts. Bangladesh has undertaken important initiatives to move towards a low emission development pathway, from integrating low emission and resilient development in its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution, to mainstreaming the concept of green growth in its National Sustainable Development Plan.

LEDS GP experts met with government representatives and stakeholders to discuss the steps being taken by Bangladesh towards LEDS planning and implementation. They provided recommendations on how to close potential gaps in planning and coordination among government institutions, capacity, and financing in order to accelerate implementation of the country’s Green Growth Strategy.

Developing efficient street lighting policies in Pakistan – January 2017

The Punjab Energy Efficiency & Conservation Agency (PEECA), part of the Energy Department of Pakistan, requested REAL assistance to support energy conservation building codes and options analysis for efficient street lighting technologies. Experts from the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory carried out a literature review and produced a summary of findings on street lighting standards and the implementation of street lighting strategies in other countries. This assistance has led PEECA to review existing approaches and lessons learned that will shape energy policy design and application in Pakistan.

Developing tools for assessing biomass energy potential in Argentina – December 2016

The Energy Working Group, through the LEDS LAC Bioelectricity Community of Practice, supported the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of Argentina in developing tools for assessing biomass energy potential, costs and benefits, as well as financial modeling. This support has led Argentina’s Project for the Promotion of Energy from Biomass to propose alterations to the Distributed Generation Law currently under discussion in congress. The proposed alteration to the Distributed Generation Law will incentivize production of a portfolio of distributed bioelectricity facilities, and set concrete waste and safety requirements to attract private sector investment in biomass.

Designing a residual biomass energy NAMA in Costa Rica – December 2016

Through the LEDS LAC Bioelectricity Community of Practice, the Energy Working Group provided Costa Rican representatives with tools for designing a residual biomass energy Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA) and roadmap, detailing the energy potential and economic viability of available biomass feedstocks. This support led the Costa Rican Electricity Institute and the Costa Rican Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock to propose a Residual Biomass Energy NAMA. A Residual Biomass NAMA will set a framework for the government to support technology, financing, and capacity building for its bioelectricity sector.

Building a framework for monitoring, reporting, and verifying Chile’s Clean Production Agreement – September 2016

The LEDS GP Benefits Working Group compiled a resource guide describing a general monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) framework to the Clean Production National Council of Chile. This guide informed the country’s efforts to strengthen their MRV system, particularly in relation to its Clean Production Agreement. The Clean Production Agreement supports clean production through targets and verifiable actions in a specific time period. The Manager of the Clean Production Agreements of Chile also received training on qualitative and quantitative impact assessment of Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions at a LEDS LAC annual event. After the training he commented:

“The guide is useful for us because it gives us a general framework of the things we should be looking at when implementing Clean Production Agreements, not just for data collection, but for actions that could impact other MRV categories. It also gives us an idea of things of interest that we could calculate using the data we already have.”

You can read in more detail about many of these LEDS GP achievements in our global brochure.

Photo: LEDS GP