A World Bank Action Plan to Combat Climate Change

The World Bank has been an advocate of environmental action for many years now. Recently the Bank's president Jim Yong Kim called for a plan to address climate change. Rachel Kyte, vice-president for sustainable development, explained that fighting climate change has become a guiding principle for the bank.

The World Bank has introduced a wide array of projects to mitigate and adapt to climate change: from promoting partnerships for climate action in urban areas across the globe to funding clean technology in developing countries.

With historic commitments of more than $12 billion, India has been the main beneficiary of World Bank funding for climate-related projects. The vast majority of projects are directed at renewable energy, while a much smaller number concern forestry, water, sanitation and flood protection.

Underscoring the Bank's efforts to assist developing countries, Ms Kyte said that “climate change is absolutely central to our understanding of how we can help...countries grow and prosper.”

© 2013, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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The World Bank: Declining Climate Change Funding

The World Bank is a strong supporter of efforts to counter climate change. However, funding for climate-related projects has been declining sharply since peaking in 2010. The World Bank acknowledges that climate change represents a fundamental threat to economic development and the fight against poverty. The Turn Down the Heat reports explained the consequences of 4°C warming by 2100. The costs of a 4°C temperature increase will have adverse global impacts including reduced crop yields and flooding.

In its latest research the World Bank cites the example of Thailand, where flooding in 2011 resulted in losses of $45 billion or about 13 percent of GDP. Previous studies have estimated the cost of a 2°C warming in the region of 1-3 percent of global GDP.

The bank’s climate funding almost doubled between 2009 and 2010, but commitments for 2013 are likely to be the lowest since 2007. At the Copenhagen summit donor countries pledged fast-start finance of $30 billion between 2010 and 2012. This may explain a sudden decline in commitments from $5 billion in 2012 to $1.6 billion in 2013.

© 2013, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Wind LATAM- Brazil (Event)

Windpower Monthly is pleased to announce the launch of Wind LATAM- Brazil, to be held on 26 -27– 28 November 2012 in São Paulo, Brazil. The programme for the event has been researched with over 40 wind energy experts to ensure we tackle the biggest challenges and will provide insights into hot-button issues that the wind energy industry faces in Brazil and other hot markets in the region.

This event will provide an excellent platform to enhance your business opportunities, where you can meet with Government representatives, local and international developers, leading manufacturers, funding institutions, independent service providers, associations, and other key players in the wind industry.

Industry leaders and top experts will provide valuable information and insights on the following topics:

• Current policies on the renewable energy market in Brazil and other hot markets in the region 
• Regulated and free wind energy market in Brazil 
• How to get approval for your wind energy projects in Brazil 
• How to successfully secure funding 
• Technological improvements implemented into the grid infrastructure systems to ensure successful operations 
• Technology snapshot in Europe and how the Latin American market can learn from it 
• Real life case studies of successful operations in Central America and Brazil 
• Latest technological advancements designed for the region’s climate conditions 
• How to overcome environmental, construction and design challenges 
• How to implement and improve your O&M strategy 
• How to chose the right post-warranty contract to meet your needs 

Who should attend?

• CEOs/Directors 
• Wind Energy Managers 
• Managers/Directors 
• Asset Managers 
• Lead Engineers 
• Technical Directors 
• Monitoring and Diagnostics Specialists 
• Service Managers 
• Project Managers 
• Analysts Business 
• Development/Commercial Directors

Wind Resource Assessment Focus Day, which will help you to:

• Identify the best locations for your wind development farm 
• Benefit from the lessons learned about wind measurement campaign 
• Overcome the lack of reference data 
• Chose the most suitable remote sensing technology for your project 
• Analyse operational power curves

Who should attend the Wind Resource Assessment Focus Day?

• Wind Resource Managers Engineers of Wind & 
• Site R&D 
• Engineers Global 
• Wind Resource Managers 
• Wind Analysts Energy Analysts 
• Heads of Wind & 
• Site Wind Resource Assessment Engineers 
• Site Assessment Engineers 
• Micrositing Specialists 
• Metereologists

To register click here.

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Wind Farm Construction & Operations Procurement Seminar (Event)

The Wind Farm Construction and Operations Procurement Seminar will take place on November 29, 2012, at Wolverton House, in London, UK. Attendees will gain an in-depth understanding of the procurement and contracting process for wind farm projects.

Getting the procurement and contracting process right first time is all important; making a mistake can be very costly in terms of time and money. This seminar is designed to develop your knowledge of construction procurement and operational procurement and the day is split into focusing on these two distinct areas.

In the first section you will gain the knowledge required to support the construction procurement process, including the advantages and disadvantages of the different structures and forms of construction contract, the purpose of common contractual clauses and typical associated benchmarks, and the importance of developing a comprehensive and appropriate Employer’s Requirements.

The second section, in the afternoon, focuses on the intricacies of the operational procurement process, including the advantages and disadvantages of the different structures and forms of operations contract and current contracting trends, the typical scopes of service works and acceptable exclusions and the purpose of common contractual clauses and typical associated benchmarks.

All attendees will receive notes, and each section is integrated with interactive group discussion and series of case studies to illustrate the value of getting the contracting process right for the construction and operational phases.

Who should attend:

From Developers/Owners/Operators/Utilities/ISP

• Project Manager/Coordinator 
• Project Developer 
• Project Executive Development Manager/Coordinator 
• Development Executive 
• Investment Manager 
• Finance Manager 
• Senior/Principal Engineer 
• Buyer Sales/Business 
• Development Manager

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