Promoting Climate Resilient Urban and Transport Infrastructure

This Signature Programme, Promoting Climate Resilient Urban and Transport Infrastructure , and the efforts of the UNDP-GEF Energy, Infrastructure, Transport and Technology team is to make the use and supply of energy more environmentally sustainable, affordable and accessible; and to promote low emission and climate resilient urban and transport infrastructure.

“Green” planning, finance and regulation embedded in the largest metropolitan areas and their peri-urban zones, will support UNDP’s efforts to eradicate extreme poverty through sustainable development.

More information on relevant UNDP supported programmes can be obtained through the following links:

· Urban and Rural Infrastructure

· Energy, Infrastructure, Transport and Technology

  • Clean Energy

    Clean Energy efforts are promoting access to clean and affordable energy systems and services.

    UNDP-GEF works to address the urgent need to achieve greater access to clean energy for the poor, while at the same time enhancing the quality, security and affordability of energy services. In this highlighted initiative, UNDP-GEF aims at improving the energy access, use and supply through the promotion of distributed clean energy systems, based mainly on sustainable use of biomass and other renewable energies (like wind, solar and small hydro), delivering electricity (both on-grid/mini-grid and off-grid solutions), providing clean fuel for heating and cooking, promoting greater efficiency and the productive use of energy.

    Risk reduction is at the core of EITI's renewable energy projects. The team's approach to reducing risk involves a multi-step process to creating an enabling environment under which the national policy framework, financing channels, administrative procedures and domestic technical expertise are strengthened and aligned to support the scale-up of renewable energy deployment.

  • Urban and Rural Infrastructure

    Urban and Rural Infrastructure efforts are working to promote low emission and climate resilient urban and transport infrastructure.

    In this outcome area, UNDP-GEF aims at promoting low emission urban and transport infrastructure and systems by enhancing the quality, affordability and security of energy and optimize its use. It does this in various ways, by integrating energy efficiency in buildings; by promoting sustainable, climate resilient urban and transport system planning and design, clean energy production, waste management and synergies in select industries, in particular those using Ozone Depleting Substances.

    A major emphasis of the team's work in this programme is on promoting energy efficiency in buildings, in particular through the introduction of codes. Seeking greater coherence and substantive justification of projects the team prepared a Programmatic Framework in 2008, defining specific directions for UNDP's EE buildings portfolio. The projects fall within six targeted areas of activity:

    • Establishing requirements of policy implementation;
    • Promoting and increasing uptake of regulations;
    • Using public buildings and municipalities as promoters of energy efficiency;
    • Developing and promoting EE technologies, building materials, and construction practices for housing;
    • Providing indicators and financing for ESCos and EE buildings; and
    • Climate-proofing the built environment: boosting synergies between mitigation and adaptation activities in buildings.

    Projects

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  • Access to New Finance Mechanisms

    Through this highlighted initiative of providing Access to New Finance Mechanisms the UNDP-GEF team is also managing the MDG Carbon Programme through a dedicated Facility (the MDG Carbon Facility). The focus of this work is to develop Clean Development Mechanism (COM) projects with high development benefits in under-represented countries. The focus is shifting towards more scaled-up approaches, like Programs of Activities (PoA) and sector-wide approaches to carbon finance. The team aims to develop synergies with the GEF-funded portfolio, in particular through developing a number of NAMA (Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions) readiness projects, targeting the energy, urban and waste sectors. The current portfolio consists of 12 carbon finance projects that are under registration or implementation using a variety of clean energy technologies.