Library

This technical document analyzes existing renewable energy schemes supporting concentrated solar power (CSP) and proposes measures to scale up CSP promotion. It highlights the potential of CSP technologies to scale up renewable energy at the utility level, diversifying the generation portfolio mix, powering development, and mitigating climate change. It portrays recent experiences in Spain and the US showing that CST could become a key renewable energy technology that is able to provide an alternative to conventional thermal power generation based on the central utility model. It also evaluates the effectiveness of existing schemes in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, India and South Africa.

This technical document reviews the current knowledge on the impacts of meteorological, climatological, hydrological, geophysical and anthropogenic disturbances on forests. It also states that forest conditions can influence the impact of disturbances as well, as when degradation of mangroves increases the damage caused by storm surges or tsunamis. The document recommends the use of adaptive forest management to protect forest resources against increasing abiotic disturbances, and calls for the use of strategies such as species diversification, windbreaks and mixed cropping patterns to enhance ecosystem resilience, as well as selective planting.

This document covers issues related to energy efficiency in the electricity sector in ESCWA member countries. It outlines the current situation in ESCWA Member countries, explains how to improve the efficiency of electricity production, and illustrates how to benefit economically by reducing technical losses.

This flyer discusses the importance of biodiversity. It also presents its major threats and the Convention on Biological Diversity, an international legally-binding treaty which aims to conserve biodiversity and promote its sustainable use and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. It also introduces other initiatives that support biodiversity conservation and highlights the need to promote biodiversity-inclusive impact assessment tools.

This analytical report addresses the issue of transport for sustainable development in the Arab region. It includes the results of a questionnaire developed by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) on sustainable transport in 10 Arab countries. The report provides an overview of the status of the transport sector in the region, with a particular focus on greenhouse gas emissions, and reviews the measures, means and options for achieving its sustainability. It also presents the achievements observed and the challenges arising during the move towards promoting a sustainable transport sector in the respective countries. It finally identifies a set of priority areas for future action.

This technical document examines the opportunities and constraints associated with the development of second-generation biofuels in the ESCWA region, based on a review of existing environmentally sound technologies that can be accessed by small and medium-sized enterprises. The study presents country case studies based on financial and environmental assessments and analyses agricultural waste generated by three sectors important to the region, namely the olive oil, sugar (from sugar cane and sugar beet) and dairy industries. It also offers a series of recommendations aimed at assisting decision makers and entrepreneurs in pursuing the development of second-generation biofuels using environmentally sound technologies.

Produced in response to the recommendations made in the fifth session of the Committee on Energy, this analytical report also fulfils the mandates of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development. It assesses energy efficiency and energy conservation opportunities in the field of oil and natural gas production, including current trends, technologies from exploration to transport and specific case studies from selected countries in the region. Given their impact on climate change, measures to reduce the adverse effects of greenhouse gas emissions in selected member countries are also analysed.

This analytical report is the second volume of a two-part study on the use energy efficiency and cleaner fossil fuels in the ESCWA region. This study focuses on current specifications, with comparisons to international norms, of gasoline, diesel and fuel oil; on measures adopted for improving the quality of such fuels and for reducing emissions, particularly the elimination of lead from gasoline, and the reduction of sulphur in gasoline and diesel; on expected economic and environmental benefits of using cleaner fossil fuels; and on barriers facing the production and use of cleaner fuels. It advises that there is a strong need to revise and modify the fuel specifications in the region to match international norms.

This analytical report is the first volume of a two-part study assessing the role of the industrial sector in the national economies of the ESCWA region; current energy consumption trends in selected energy-intensive industries; and economically feasible options for improving energy efficiency in these industries. The study assesses energy consumption in several sectors, including the cement industry, steel industry, fertilizer manufacturing and glass manufacturing. It highlights that in order to improve energy efficiency, the industrial sector in the region can benefit from a number of international donor agencies related to upgrading production technologies.

This technical document identifies areas of opportunity in trade and investment for regional economies, including trade and investment in climate-smart goods and technologies (CSGTs), and offers policy actions to turn those opportunities into reality. It highlights the need for additional annual regional investments of US$600 billion up to 2050, to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and provide business opportunities to develop and export new goods and services in the areas of water, energy and resource efficiency. The report notes that China, Japan and the Republic of Korea are currently leading the development and use of CSGTs, and recommends that other countries follow by integrating with regional climate-smart value chains.

This manual aims to help public and private sector planners, developers and designers, as well as the management and operating staff, in the tourism sector to conceptualize and recommend options for energy systems, design and management, that minimize the consumption of scarce energy resources and reduce the energy system’s environmental impacts. However, the intent of this guide is not to steer the developer to a specific design or technology options, but rather to provide an understanding of the overall significance of the planning, design and management decisions.

This fact sheet presents best practices and tools for large-scale deployment of renewable Energy (RE) and Energy Efficiency (EE) techniques. After introducing the international context, it discusses wind and solar technologies and their existing large-scale applications. It provides comments on the investments and the commercial viability of renewable energy projects and presents renewable potentials in the ESCWA region. It finally addresses the issue of energy efficiency and concludes with some remarks on how to promote the deployment of large-scale RE and EE techniques.

This fact sheet covers energy and climate change issues, carbon capture and storage techniques, economics of carbon sequestration and uses for enhanced oil recovery, carbon storage and prospects for application of carbon capture technologies in the Arab countries.

This technical document tackles the importance of natural and sustainable resources, especially wind and solar energy, which can play a role in climate-change mitigation. The paper provides an overview of technologies available for large-scale application of renewable energy, the current situation in the Arab region, the challenges facing the adoption of large-scale renewable energy (RE) applications, and recommendations for promoting these applications in the Arab region.

This presentation completes Module 19 of the “Training Package on Sustainable Energy Regulation and Policymaking for Africa”. It introduces the module, its aims and the expected learning outcomes. It further presents different financing models that have been developed and tested for renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) projects and explains the risks associated with these projects. It also includes possible approaches, policies and incentives to increase involvement of banking and financing institutions and shows examples in different developing countries.

This presentation completes Module 18 of the “Training Package on Sustainable Energy Regulation and Policymaking for Africa”. It introduces the module, its aims and the expected learning outcomes. It further presents the concept and benefits of energy efficiency (EE) in buildings and gives an overview of the methodology to determine it. It also presents options for financing EE measures and summarizes legislative and policy tools successful in promoting EE in buildings. 

This presentation completes Module 17 of the “Training Package on Sustainable Energy Regulation and Policymaking for Africa”. It introduces the module, its aims and the expected learning outcomes. It further presents the concept and benefits of industrial energy efficiency and provides an overview of policy measures that promote them. It also describes how to develop a sustainable programme based on these policy measures and introduces a broader international framework for industrial energy efficiency.

This presentation completes Module 16 of the “Training Package on Sustainable Energy Regulation and Policymaking for Africa”. It introduces the module, its aims and the expected learning outcomes. It further presents the concept of regulation – or regulatory oversight – in terms of its impacts on energy efficiency and shows how regulation and policy measures can be used to encourage increased levels of energy efficiency in the energy system. It also outlines the steps in introducing a more conducive regulatory and institutional environment for energy efficiency interventions and management.

This presentation completes Module 15 of the “Training Package on Sustainable Energy Regulation and Policymaking for Africa”. It introduces the module, its aims and the expected learning outcomes. It further highlights positive and negative impacts of reform options on energy efficiency (EE) and provides examples of countries that have implemented these reform options and the results achieved.

This presentation completes Module 14 of the “Training Package on Sustainable Energy Regulation and Policymaking for Africa”. It introduces the module, its aims and the expected learning outcomes. It further presents the concept of Demand-side management (DSM) for residential, commercial and industrial energy users and gives an overview of the different types of DSM. It also describes energy auditing and routine data collection and monitoring, and indicates their benefits.