In view of COP 21—which is expected to become a milestone of low carbon, climate resilient development— 21 good practice examples demonstrate that low carbon, sustainable development has started, and that it is possible to combine climate and development ambitions.
While a relative small number of developed countries and China are usually the focus when it comes to energy transition, this publication covers a broader spectrum of developing countries. The examples here were chosen from submissions following a call for proposals launched in May 2015, and disseminated by the organizations and networks serving as editors of this publication.
Apart from the energy sector—which accounts for the largest portion of greenhouse gas emissions—this publication covers a range of good practice from the urban sector, including transport, industries, waste management, and urban planning.
In view of the fact that the majority of poor people still live in rural areas and that their development aspirations also deserve to be fulfilled using a low carbon approach, another section provides respective good practice examples, ranging from sustainable energy clusters for remote areas to cleaner cook stoves and more sustainable forms of land management.
The need for capacity development, knowledge and technology transfer, as well as targeted financial support programmes is also addressed by presenting good practice examples. The publication closes with two good practices in terms of national policy approaches, showing that even countries in post-conflict situations—or facing other extreme vulnerabilities—have a policy choice and can mobilize climate and development cobenefits.
Innovation and change depend on pioneering solutions (be it new technologies, economic approaches, or policies) and social change agents (be it bottom up or top down). To initiate a massive transformational process, broad support and acceptance are usually needed. To generate broad societal support, low carbon and greenhouse gas mitigation strategies must mobilize development co-benefits. This is particularly true for poor countries where poverty is the most burning issue.
The examples chosen aim to address this issue. Most of them have the potential to be expanded and replicated. Information provided on the cases is brief, but each article incudes a small toolbox that includes further links and contact details. Readers are encouraged to get in direct contact with our pioneers of change.
The publication is part of the »Exploring Low Carbon Sustainable Development Project«, initiated by an international consortium of civil society organizations and networks, composed by members as diverse as FriedrichEbert-Stiftung, Bread for the World, WWF Germany, ACT Alliance (Action by Churches Together), and Climate
Action Network International (CAN). The project formally ends in December 2015, having initiated and strengthened national platforms for low carbon, sustainable development in various pilot countries, including Peru, Kazakhstan, and Tanzania, and Vietnam, which will continue the work.