One of the key roles of the World Bank in Latin America and the Caribbean is to help cities reduce their impacts on the environment and provide healthier places to live for their residents. Healthier cities are possible through reductions in air pollution, better solid waste managementwhich also reduces flooding, improvements to slums, and better waste water management.Carbon finance is a newly emerging instrument through which cities can obtain financial assistance while improving their local environments. Programs to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions almost always result in local air pollution benefits. Managing a landfill to obtain carbon finance revenues through collection of landfill gas makes for a safer landfill that is less likely to cause local environmental damage. Cities cover just 2 percent of the world's land area but they are home to over 50 percent of the world's population and consume over 75 percent of the world's resources. Cities generate more than 70% of the world's greenhouse gases. Improving the health of cities is therefore the best way to improve the overall health of the planet. SELECTED PROJECTS AND ANALYSIS  Solid Waste Management Project (Colombia) The objective of the project is to improve the quality and coverage of integrated solid waste management services in Colombia. There are three components to the project, the first being the development of, and investments in, solid waste disposal systems. The second component, focused on institutional strengthening, will finance three key areas of technical assistance: a) strengthening sector regulatory framework and capacity building; b) strengthening of solid waste management planning systems; and c) national assessment of recycling markets and strategy framework. Finally, the third component will support project management by financing associated costs.  Integrated Water Management in Metropolitan Sao Paulo (Brazil) The project aims to protect and maintain the quality and reliability of Metropolitan Region of Sao Paulo's (MRSP’s) water resources and potable water sources by protecting and recovering natural habitats and environmentally sensitive and degraded areas in the sub-basins and provide integrated water supply and sanitation (WSS) services (improvements in the water supply system, wastewater and solid waste management). It also seeks to improve the quality of life of poor populations residing in key targeted urban river basins in MRSP through urban upgrading which includes urbanization of slums and irregular settlements; recuperation of high-risk and degraded areas; involuntary resettlement; preparation of housing plans; and environmental and urban layout standardization of settlements. Lastly, the project includes a component that will strengthen institutional capacity of key executing agencies to improve metropolitan management and coordination in MRSP in water resources management, water pollution control, land-use policy and basic service provision.  Second Nova Gerar Carbon Finance and Solid Waste Management Project (Brazil) The main objective of the project is to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and reduce environmental and social impacts of solid waste disposal through the implementation of individual sub-projects at different stages of preparation. These are the following: 1) operation of the existing landfill of Sao Goncalo (850 tons/day), a.k.a Itaoca; 2) development of an entirely privately operated landfill in Muribeca, Jaboatao dos Guarapes, and Pernambuco State; 3) opening of a new sanitary landfill in the municipality with an estimated disposal of around of 900 tons/day; 4) development of a new landfill in the southern part of the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro (Santa Rosa) with the potential to collect between 3,000 to 5,000 tons/day; and 5) construction of a composting plant in Petrolina, Bahia, which could receive waste from neighboring cities, including Juazeiro.  Carbon Finance. The World Bank’s Latin America & Caribbean Urban Group has started to work with the region’s cities to develop integrated climate change programs. Maximizing possible carbon finance, reducing pollution, identifying adaptation requirements, critical infrastructure and key policies are all best addressed in an integrated manner. Carbon finance is becoming an effective tool in the World Bank’s overall assistance program to cities, and with it, many Latin American cities will be able to provide the global leadership needed to quickly and effectively integrate these climate change programs. Learn more about Carbon Finance by reading the Carbon Copy Newsletter Volume 1 (200kb pdf) and Volume 2 (316kb pdf).    RELEVANT LINKS     |
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