The Global Environment Facility (GEF), the main public environment fund dedicated to developing countries, on Tuesday unveiled a cutting-edge project from the planned city of Boughzoul, Algeria, that will be built with an innovative clean energy approach designed to integrate climate change responses into urban development plans.
Under its new funding cycle, the GEF will be working with Algeria and other countries to create "low-carbon cities". Among these examples, the city of Boughzoul in Algeria is a benchmark model of what is needed now in developing countries to meet the challenge of meeting growing energy needs without increasing harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
"Urbanization is a fact of life and it happens today in developing countries: now almost half of the world's population lives in cities – and is expected to reach 60% by 2030," said Monique Barbut, executive officer and chair of the GEF. With this new migration comes new environmental challenges and the GEF stands ready to help. As for the overall environmental benefits of this project, a cumulative net greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by 3.4 million tons when the construction of Boughzoul is complete. There are also social and economic benefits that we hope will foster smart growth practices elsewhere. "
GEF already has a strong portfolio in cities, especially in sustainable urban transport, with 75 cities worldwide as part of its portfolio. Boughzoul is a new city that developed about 200 kilometers south of Algiers, which when completed in 2025 will be an administrative and business center with a population of more than 400,000 and its own airport.
"The design and development of the new city of Boughzoul is an opportunity to introduce best practices in architecture, construction of urban and construction planning, as well as to promote research and development and business opportunities in response to climate change through the creation of favorable conditions for the transfer of clean technologies that will benefit Algeria, "quoted as well as for the transfer of clean technologies, "which will benefit Algeria, "- said Bernard Jamet, Chief of the Technology Transfer Unit of the Energy Branch, Division of Technology, Industry and Economics, United Nations Environment Division.
For this specific GEF project, $8.2 million has been committed, with another $22 million added from other sources to help introduce best practices in renewable energy, clean transportation and energy efficiency into the design and construction of the new city of Boughzoul. This will include the construction of zero-carbon buildings, street lighting with LED and photovoltaic systems, solar water heating systems, and a Center of Excellence for Technology Transfer.
"Boughzoul is the first of what we hope will be a new project for the cities of the future in Algeria and the world," said Mr. Cherif Rahmani, Algerian Minister of Spatial Planning and Environment. "This ambitious development project is part of a comprehensive plan to develop new green cities across the country and to improve population balance centers and economic development. With this low-carbon city, we will bring sustainable development to the Los Altos region and beyond. "
Efforts like these in Algeria are part of a trend among municipal and local authorities to address climate change by monitoring, reporting and verifying emission reductions. If current trends continue, the growth of cities, urban transport and construction sectors is expected to generate even more carbon dioxide emissions so the need for cities to lower their carbon emissions to help reverse this trend is acute. Like cities, more and more people are looking to make action plans to help adapt to the impacts of climate change that are magnified by their density and exposure. Most mega-cities are located in coastal areas — further exposing the poorest and most vulnerable to floods and other natural disasters such as hurricanes.
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Authors: Val
