climate

New study on development co-benefits of climate action in Mexico

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Feb 062020

We are very excited to announce that our report “Crunching Numbers: Quantifying the sustainable development co-benefits of Mexico’s climate commitments“ has been published. This study quantifies – and offers concrete evidence of – the co-benefits that can be obtained by implementing the climate agenda in coordination with the sustainable development agenda in Mexico. It measures six priority co-benefits resulting from the implementation of three current and two potential Mexican NDC commitments.

The selected climate commitments include targets for renewables, EVs, industrial efficiency, wastewater, and forests. The selected development benefits are: Livelihoods and community resilience; public health; food security; water resources quality; employment; and energy security.

Raising climate ambition through long-term energy sector plans and sound participatory processes

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Dec 032018

Concept idea by SD Strategies (Alexander Ochs, Ieva Indriunaite) and the Ministry of Energy (Fiona Bello Smith), Chile, for the NDC Support Cluster of the German Ministry of the Environment

Introduction: The approach proposes that long-term climate-compatible sectoral strategies and action plans should be designed and implemented to achieve mitigation and adaptation goals in line with both the objectives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement as well as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Agenda 2030. Beyond their immediate impact in the short- and mid-term, these climate-compatible sectoral policy instruments can serve as a vehicle for increasing climate ambition over time. While the NDC provides a broader goal and sectoral or economy wide activities, the design of specific policies and measures, including programmes and individual projects, is required to put the high-level commitments into practice. (…)

Conclusion/next steps: The development of a long-term climate-compatible energy sector plan can deliver wide-ranging benefits to support NDC implementation. It can mobilise the broader society behind climate action, providing a strong mandate for the government to maintain a coherent climate-compatible approach in its short-term policy planning and laying the ground work for increased climate ambition over time. To close the ambition raising policy formulation cycle, the key next step is to move beyond the field of energy. Other sectors should take over the baton, building on the momentum created to develop their own long-term NDC-compatible strategies through participatory policy making. The forthcoming NDC review process can act as a new window of opportunity in taking the approach to other sectors. The goal is to support the emergence of new “champion” sectors – next to or even in parallel to the early pioneers. With a bar set high, where several sectors compete, the planet wins.

Please find the full paper here: [NDC Cluster]

Local Ownership and Engagement for NDC Implementation

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Dec 032018

Concept idea by SD Strategies (Alexander Ochs, Ieva Indriunaite) and the Ministry of Energy (Esther Wangombe), Kenya, for the NDC Support Cluster of the German Ministry of the Environment

Introduction: The approach proposes a holistic multi-level process for the development of an NDC action plan, which strengthens local-level engagement to connect high-level policy commitments and concrete project implementation. The underlying aim of the local ownership and engagement approach is to provide a way for incorporating community concerns, knowledge, expertise and capacity into the national climate policy formulation and implementation processes (…)

Conclusion/next steps: There is a growing recognition that locally-driven participatory approaches can strengthen the design of climate policy and measures as well as their implementation. A policy, action plan or a project that is designed through the collaboration at all levels of government and that takes the perspectives, knowledge and capacities from local communities into consideration during the formulation stage is more likely to succeed and have a higher impact than traditional approaches that know only one way: top-down. The local ownership and engagement approach outlined in this concept paper offers a promising way towards achieving this goal. Its application in a particular country needs to be well thought through and adjusted to the local circumstances and capacities. It is important to ensure that lessons from pioneer countries such as Kenya are captured and fed back into the global pool of knowledge.

Please find the full paper here: [NDC Cluster]

Webinar: Gender Mainstreaming in the Energy Sector: Framework and Applications

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Jun 022016

ppt here: EWG-ALP 2016 Webinar Series Session 3 Master

recording to follow soon.

Innovative Tools for Advancing Low-Emission and Climate-Resilient Energy Planning in Asia

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Apr 182016

*Join us for our Second Webinar in our Webinar Series*

Hosted by the Asia LEDS Partnership and Energy Working Group of the LEDS Global Partnership

Session 2: Assessing Renewable Energy Potential Using the Geospatial Toolkit (GsT): Applications in Vietnam’s Thanh Hoa Province

Date: April 21, 2016
Time: 10:00 AM Indochina Time (ICT)

Speakers
Jon Duckworth, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Donna Heimiller, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Khanh Nguyen, USAID Low Emission Asian Development (LEAD) Program Country Coordinator

Moderators
Sandra Khananusit, Asia LEDS Partnership Secretariat
Alexander Ochs, LEDS GP Energy Working Group

Register here.

Check the time of the webinar according to your location here. Continue reading »

‘Yes we can’ switch to 100 percent renewable energy

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Mar 042016

European Union environment ministers are discussing implementation of the Paris Agreement on Friday (04.03.) A timely transition out of fossil fuels is doable, says Alexander Ochs from Worldwatch. That is, if we act now.

Protest at Eiffel Tower at COP21 in Paris (Photo: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier)

Can we switch from fossil fuels to renewables in time to keep temperature rise to 2, ideally 1.5 degrees Celsius?

Not only can we do a transition to truly sustainable systems – financially, economically, socially and environmentally sustainable – we are in the midst of it. There is no one global trend in that direction, but there are many places, municipalities, provinces, whole countries, regions that are transitioning away from fossil fuels toward renewable ways of producing energy, and smarter ways of consuming energy. So it is absolutely doable.

Can you name some examples?

Ochs says renewables are fast outpacing fossil fuels

Germany has managed over the last two decades to transition away from fossil fuels. We have seen enormous growth rates of renewable electricity production. Or take Denmark, which has always been seen as a renewable energy champion. But it’s not a trend restricted any more to developed countries.

Look at Costa Rica, look at many places on all continents – you find very dramatic examples, transitions away from fossil fuel energy toward sustainable energy sources – not always at the level of nations, but often sub-federal levels like communities or provinces. We have a lot of really great examples now, best practice examples. We really have to learn from experience and share that experience internationally.

Presentation next week: Energizing successful economies: How renewables are outperforming fossil fuels

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Feb 122016

Feb 16: Join @OchsNews in Bonn, Germany for a @Germanwatch event #FastForward16 https://t.co/nO6MM2Y9Yf pic.twitter.com/kutUnqonte

— Re|Volt (@WorldwatchEn) February 10, 2016

COP21, INDCs and Future Implementation Tools

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Feb 052016

Presentation at GECCO-IUCN-USAID webinar on Gender equality & mitigation: COP21 implications for implementing mitigation activities, 5 Feb 2015

Recording of the Webinar is available [here].

COP21, INDCs and Future Implementation Tools from Worldwatch Institute

Presenting on “After Paris: the climate’s changing, can the world?” at Rachel Carson Center Today

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Jan 262016

Join us for @CarsonCenter discussion with @OchsNews in #Munich today! https://t.co/6VPJCbjTR1 #climatechange pic.twitter.com/TTguDQ03FY

— Re|Volt (@WorldwatchEn) January 26, 2016

Interview: Alexander Ochs Discusses the Transition to a Clean Global Economy

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Jan 142016

By Ethan Goffman, http://earthtalk.org/interview-alexander-ochs/

For the past 15 years, Alexander Ochs has been an important figure in international efforts to fight climate change and develop green energy, working with United Nations and other international agencies. Among many endeavors, he is President of theForum for Atlantic Climate and Energy Talks, is Founding Chair of the LEDS-GP Energy Working Group, and is an adviser to the German Government’s International Climate Initiative. Ochs’ academic career is also distinguished; he teaches at Johns Hopkins University and has co-edited three books and published dozens of research articles. As Senior Director of Climate and Energy at the Worldwatch Institute, Ochs has developed a series of sustainable energy roadmaps and implementation plans that are helping bring clean energy to Central America and the Caribbean, with plans to expand to new regions. Ochs also participated in the Paris climate summit. EarthTalk’s Ethan Goffman interviewed him via Skype in his Berlin, Germany office…

Or read the full transcript below…

EarthTalk: You’ve worked at the Worldwatch Institute on a series of sustainable energy roadmaps to help countries transition to a clean economy. Why are such roadmaps necessary?

Tips for living green in 2016

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Jan 112016

By Charles Mandel in News, Energy | January 10th 2016

In December global leaders met in Paris to hammer out an agreement to try and hold global warming to a 1.5 Celsius degree rise in temperature. But while we hold our elected officials responsible for greenhouse gas emission reductions, what can we and what do we do ourselves to contribute to that goal? National Observer asked a number of experts for tips on how you can reduce your personal carbon footprint. (…)

Alexander Ochs, senior director of climate and energy for Worldwatch Institute, questions the ideal of the typical North American, two-garage home with a large lawn. “Is it really worth the two hours commute you do every day to get to your workplace?” he rhetorically asks. Continue reading »

AN AMERICAN IN PARIS: THE UNITED STATES FINALLY SHOWS LEADERSHIP IN THE CLIMATE NEGOTIATIONS

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Dec 052015

Alexander Ochs, published as Worldwatch Institute blog

Many of us still remember the images from the Copenhagen climate summit in 2009, which was launched as “Hopenhagen” with great expectations and concluded in the “Flopenhagen” fiasco: the disappointment of freezing environmentalists lining up in front of the Bella Convention Center; the desperate faces of exhausted negotiators; the Danish sherpas trying to argue small successes in the summit’s failure.

But America’s political superstars would not succeed if they didn’t manage to emerge as winners, even in moments of defeat. U.S. president Barack Obama somehow thwarted the image of Europeans marked by the poor results of months of negotiations. Obama flew in to Copenhagen by helicopter, cut through the icy Scandinavian winds toward the conference venue, and assembled those around him whom he decided were the chosen few.

It is this other image that we conjure up when remembering Copenhagen: the U.S. president, with his sleeves rolled up, surrounded by the representatives of Brazil, China, India, and South Africa. The message: “We saved what could be saved.” But to anyone familiar enough with the negotiations to look behind the façade, this image actually showed those who had sabotaged the ambitious plans of Europeans and their coalition of “more willing but less mighty.” The picture was deceptive: What was rescued was not the climate, the environment, or sustainable development, but a minimal consensus to continue talking. After that, the world became relatively silent on climate diplomacy. But the talking did continue, and it led to much more progress than could have been expected shortly after Copenhagen.

FOLLOW WORLDWATCH AT UN CLIMATE CHANGE NEGOTIATIONS

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Nov 302015

Worldwatch will contribute to the 21st Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) starting in Paris, France today by advising governmental delegations, participating in high-level consultations, and speaking at conferences for the general public. We invite you to follow these events as they unfold, either with us in Paris or through our blog and Twitter account.

“The Paris climate summit has all the ingredients to make history: an almost universal understanding of the urgency to act, an agreement on the final document within reach, and governments worldwide determined to act,” says Alexander Ochs, Director of Climate and Energy and Worldwatch’s head of delegation.

“A quarter century after the world embarked on protecting the atmosphere, we are closer than ever to making real change happen. Paris can alter the way we generate and consume energy; manufacture goods; produce our food and treat our forests and peatlands; run our transport systems; respond to the ecosystem changes already underway; and, maybe most importantly, work together across borders when confronted with problems of global scale,” says Ochs. “Let’s seize this opportunity!”

Worldwatch will be among the international civil society organizations at the COP21 that will lead in debates and discussions about solutions to climate change. Check out our event lineup below and keep an eye on this critical moment.

What to expect after the Paris climate talks: A quick survey

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Nov 272015

Claudia Delpero
Road To Paris – Science for Smart Policy

From 30 November to 11 December, representatives of over 190 countries gather in Paris to reach a global agreement on how to deal with climate change after the expiry of Kyoto Protocol. The talks take place in a city that has been shaken by the Nov 13 terrorist attacks, under a state of emergency, and high security detail for a COP. (…)

We asked experts from a variety of sectors what they expected to see after COP21. We’ll continue to update this from the conference in the next two weeks. (…)

Alexander Ochs, Director Climate and Energy Program, Worldwatch Institute. Washington – Berlin:

“We will continue helping individual countries and municipalities transform their energy systems, including in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Why the focus on developing countries? Because this is where the development needs are the strongest and the pressure not to embark on a development path dependent on fossil fuels is the greatest. In Haiti, for example, 10% of Gross Domestic Product is squandered on fossil fuels while two thirds of the populations still do not have reliable energy access. In at least four out of five countries worldwide there is now a clear economic argument to move from conventional fuels to renewables and to boost efficiency. There are challenges also in North America and Europe, but the most suffering from today’s unjust, unaffordable, and unsustainable energy system is in the regions less developed.”

Full text [here]

Against the Odds, Caribbean Doubles Down for 1.5 Degree Deal in Paris

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Nov 242015

By Zadie Neufville

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Nov 23 2015 (IPS) – Negotiators from the 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM) are intent on striking a deal to keep the global temperature rise at 1.5 degrees of pre-industrial levels, but many fear that a 10-year-old agreement to buy cheap petroleum from Venezuela puts their discussions in jeopardy. (…)

While agreeing that PetroCaribe could be a disincentive for investments in domestic renewable energy, Alexander Ochs, Director of Climate and Energy at WorldWatch Institute noted, “Caribbean governments are increasingly aware of the enormous financial, environmental and social costs associated with continued dependence on fossil fuels.” (…)

“Even if the problem of global warming did not exist, and the burning of fossil fuels did not result in extensive local air and water pollution, CARICOM would still have to mandate to transition away from these fuels as swiftly as possible for reasons of social opportunity, economic competitiveness and national security, ”said Ochs, one of the authors of the new Caribbean Sustainable Energy Roadmap and Strategy (C-SERMS) Baseline Report and Assessment, launched on October 28. (…)

CARICOM Celebrates Energy Week, Energy Centre Inauguration

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Nov 142015

IISD Reporting Service, 14 November

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) hosted the fifth CARICOM Energy Week (CEW) under the theme ‘EmPOWERING Our Sustainable Development.’ The annual awareness-raising event highlights the importance of energy for economic development in the region. To mark CEW, the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE) was inaugurated, and a baseline report for the Caribbean Sustainable Energy Roadmap and Strategy (C-SERMS) was released.

CEW was held 8-14 November 2015, with CARICOM member States hosting events, such as panel discussions, site visits to renewable energy projects, the Electric Mobility Show and Conference, and activities with local schools. The Week also featured contests, such as a radio pop quiz with prizes, kilo-walk, energy app competition, video competition, and photo and art competition.

In conjunction with the Centre’s inauguration, the Worldwatch Institute launched the C-SERMS Baseline Report and Assessment, which analyzes the region’s current energy policy framework, evaluates renewable energy and energy efficiency potential, and suggests regional short-, medium- and long-term targets for the energy sector. Among the recommended targets are achieving 48% of electricity generation from renewable energy by 2027 and a 33% reduction in the region’s energy intensity.

[Full article here]

WEBINAR RECORDING: Energy Low-Emissions Development Strategies: A Regional Overview of Africa and Experiences from Cape Verde and Kenya

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Jan 232015

Recording of the webinar from 22 January 2015:

 Introduction & Moderation

Alexander Ochs, Worldwatch Institute/EWG Chair

 Regional Overview: Low Emission Energy Development in Africa
John Yeboah, ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency/EWG co-Chair

 Learning from Cape Verde’s Renewable Energy Plan
Anildo Costa, Consultant to the Government of Cape Verde

 Learning from Kenya’s Renewable Energy Plan
Esther Wang’ombe, Government of Kenya

Q&A

Energy Low-Emissions Development Strategies: A Regional Overview of Africa and Experiences from Cape Verde and Kenya

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Jan 162015

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

I am excited to announce the next webinar in our series on regional leaders in climate-compatible development and their innovative energy approaches from around the world.

Please join us on January 22 at 2 PM GMTfor an online sessionon Energy Low-Emissions Development Strategies: A Regional Overview of Africa and Experiences from Cape Verde and Kenya. Please register for free at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5131648729578459906.

Our regional leaders series is part of our work within the Low Emission Development Strategies – Global Partnership (LEDS-GP), an international initiative aiming to enhance information exchange and cooperation among countries, international programs and practitioners working to advance climate-compatible growth. Worldwatch, as host of the secretariat of the LEDS Energy Working Group (EWG), facilitates these webinars in cooperation with the LEDS Regional Platforms. Recordings of our previous sessions on Latin America/Caribbean and Asia, as well as other LEDS-EWG webinars, can be found here.

[Here] you can find a flyer. Please help us spread the news about this exciting series. Thank you!

Best,

Alexander Ochs
Director, Climate and Energy Program
Worldwatch Institute

Study on the Development of the Renewable Energy Market in Latin America and the Caribbean (free report)

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Nov 222014

Project Director: Ochs, Alexander

Authors: Flavin, Christopher; Gonzalez, Milena; Majano, Ana María; Ochs, Alexander; Rocha Oliveira, Maria Gabriela da; Tagwerker, Philipp

Date: November 2014

The region of Latin America and the Caribbean is already a global low-carbon leader in terms of power generation from hydrological and biomass resources, and it recently has made great strides in developing its other renewable energy sources. Declining costs, maturing technologies, and vast untapped potentials for renewables offer an unprecedented opportunity for further development of the renewable energy market in the region. Continuing to invest in renewables will provide Latin America and the Caribbean with the opportunity to address key economic, social, and environmental challenges in the energy sector.

[Please find the study here.]

Energy Low Emission Development Strategies in Asia: A Regional Overview and Experiences from Thailand

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Oct 312014

Energy Low Emission Development Strategies in Asia: A Regional Overview and Experiences from Thailand from Worldwatch Institute

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Claudia Delpero Road To Paris – Science for Smart Policy

Claudia Delpero
Road To Paris – Science for Smart Policy