Tangible climate change mitigation measures to be presented at the Global Climate Conference in Bonn

New energy financing in Viet Nam, the expansion of renewable energy in Chile, lower CO2 emissions in Mexico: The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is working in a variety of ways to mitigate climate change and promote clean energy. About a third of its projects around the world deal directly or indirectly with climate issues. GIZ supports many countries in reaching their national climate targets. The company will present its multifaceted work at the Global Climate Conference (COP 23) in Bonn from 6 to 17 November 2017.

Scaling up renewable energy sources is one focus of its climate-related projects. GIZ promotes their expansion in around 80 countries and employs around 900 employees in 160 energy projects worldwide. In these projects, GIZ advises governments, for example, on improving the general conditions for clean energy with new laws or designating more areas for solar and wind power systems. These activities are carried out primarily on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB).

Another priority area is the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions harmful to the environment. Transportation in particular has a lot of potential in this area as shown by an example in India: The Delhi metro was the first underground network in the world to partially cover its energy needs with solar power. GIZ provided advisory services for this project on behalf of BMUB.

In many places, however, the impact of climate change is already evident and changes are necessary. GIZ also supports developing countries and emerging economies in their work in this area. In a pilot project, for example, it is coordinating the relocation of an entire village in Fiji which is threatened by rising sea levels. The results of the project will potentially help more than 100 other communities.

GIZ’s climate projects helped reduce greenhouse gases in Asia between 2010 and 2015 by around 154 million tonnes. This is equivalent to the annual emissions from road traffic in Germany. In Latin America and the Caribbean, GIZ’s work protected around 163 million hectares of forest – an area 4.5 times the size of the Federal Republic of Germany.