WASHINGTON, Nov. 4, 2015 - The Momentum for Change Lighthouse Activity Award, spearheaded by the UN Climate Change secretariat, spotlights 16 innovative, scalable and replicable examples of what people are doing to address climate change and wider economic, social and environmental challenges. Winning initiatives from around the world were announced last week. The award’s areas of focus include Urban Poor, Women for Results, Financing for Climate Friendly Investment and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solutions.
Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), says that showcasing these solutions strengthens efforts to accelerate the global transition to a low-carbon, highly resilient development path and mark a turning point in the sustainable management of planet Earth.
Momentum for Change is implemented with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The Rockefeller Foundation, and operates in partnership with the World Economic Forum and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative.
Winners
Pay-as-you-go
energy systems for rural homes
Azuri PayGo Energy combined solar
and mobile phone technology to bring clean energy to people living in Sub‐Saharan Africa. The
pay‐as‐you‐go solar home system
provides eight hours of emission‐free lighting each day and enough power to
charge mobile phones.
A
network of electric vehicle express charging stations
ChargePoint’s
Electric Vehicle Charging Corridors, the world’s largest
EV charging network, provides the charging stations, mobile app and the network
that allows people to charge their cars wherever they go.
A
carbon-asset-backed loan to protect forests and produce cocoa
The Deforestation-free
Cocoa project follows a ‘payment for performance’ model:
farmers receive financing on the condition that they won’t deforest further,
will restore 4,000 hectares of degraded land in the buffer zone with cocoa‐based agroforestry
systems, and that a share of revenues from cocoa sales will go to
investors.
Sustainable
growth support in emerging cities
The Emerging and
Sustainable Cities Initiative creates planning
tools and action plans to put Latin American cities on a low-carbon, highly
resilient pathway.
ICT
solutions to build resilience
The Enabling Farmers to Adapt to
Climate Change project uses a set of ICT tools to
collect, analyze and send out agricultural advisories, crop and livestock
market information and weather data to Ugandan farmers, who are among the most
affected by the impacts of climate change.
New jobs
that keep e-waste out of landfills
The E‐waste: From Toxic to Green initiative
trains waste pickers in India to collect electronic waste, such as computers
and mobile phones, for safe disposal and recycling.
A phone
that improves lives and the environment
Fairphone is a Dutch social enterprise that builds
sustainable and conflict‐free
smartphones.
Emissions
reduction in manufacturing
Fostering Cleaner
Production, an all‐women
leadership alliance, helps to transform Colombia’s highly polluting
construction industry into a cleaner, greener business.
Generate
income using geothermal waste-heat
Women from rural communities in El Salvador increase their
incomes and tackle climate change through a unique project called Harvesting
Geothermal Energy that uses waste heat and steam
condensates from nearby geothermal plants.
An
online water management platform
Grundfos Lifelink
Water Solutions provides access to safe, sustainable and
affordable water to people in developing countries.
Prepare for
risk using online spatial tools
Mapping Exposure to
Sea Level Rise is an ICT solution that helps Pacific
Island countries prepare for and adapt to sea level rise brought about by
climate change.
Transform
corporate culture by putting a price on carbon
Microsoft’s internal
carbon fee holds its business units financially accountable for
their carbon emissions. It’s a financial model that puts an incremental fee on
carbon emissions associated with the company's global operations for data
centers, offices, labs, manufacturing, and business air travel.
Power
homes with solar energy
Mobisol Smart Solar
Homes is a rent-to-own service that lowers the barrier to
buying solar home systems upfront by allowing customers to pay the system off
in 36 monthly installments.
Establish
women-led groups that protect forests and generate income
The Planting Trees
to Save the Mangrove initiative is run by women-led
cooperatives in Guinea, who reduce the deforestation of mangrove wood and cut
emissions by introducing solar driers to dry and smoke fish.
Use the
sun to empower women farmers
SELF’s Solar Market
Garden project combines solar-powered pumps with drip
irrigation systems to provide for the reliable, year-round, production of
high-value, nutritious produce. This allows girls and women to reallocate their
time to educational and economic pursuits, rather than having to haul water
long distances.
Reduce emissions
while securing access to safe drinking water
Solvatten Solar Safe
Water Heater is a dual water treatment and solar
water heating system that is tackling climate change and improving lives in
Kenya’s urban slums.
#30
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