Tag: saneamiento

Due to the global challenges posed by climate change, most water and wastewater utilities have confirmed that planning is key to preparing for the future. Therefore, climate risk plans represent a fundamental tool for supporting utilities in preparing for the risks to which their infrastructure is exposed, to reducing their vulnerability and to contributing to the economic, social and environmental sustainability of water supply and wastewater services.

For this reason, the “Support Guide for the Development of Climate Risk Management Plans for Water and Wastewater Operating Organisations (O.O.) in Mexico” is designed to provide O.O.’s with the necessary information to start the process of developing a Climate Change Management Plan.

The Public Infrastructure Engineering Infrastructure Vulnerability Committee Protocol (PIEVC), a useful tool for assessing infrastructure vulnerability and adaptation to a changing climate, was used in the development of this guide. The PIEVC Protocol is internationally recognised as a practical and reliable approach for assessing the vulnerability of infrastructure to the potential impacts of climate change. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, in partnership with the Climate Risk Institute (CRI), leads the international component of the PIEVC Programme (see PIEVC International).

Due to the increasing effects of climate change, the development of a Climate Risk Management Plan is essential for the sustainable operations of O.O.s. This guide provides the procedural knowledge necessary for O.Os to assess their circumstances, seek assistance and plan through the development of a Climate Change Risk Management Plan.

This publication was prepared within the framework of the technical cooperation between Mexico and Germany. With the National Water Commission (CONAGUA) as a counterpart, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH implements the programme “Water and Wastewater Companies for Climate Mitigation” (WaCCliM) commissioned by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) through the International Climate Initiative (IKI).

In this journal, climate financing options are identified at municipal, state, national and international levels, as well as existing opportunities for water and sanitation operators in Mexico to access these sources of financing. These opportunities work with the assumption that operating agencies will identify potential climate change mitigation and adaptation measures within their operations, implementing them and planning to monitor and improve them over time.

Credits: Bianca Corona

Last July 19th, version 3.0 of the Energy Performance and Carbon Emissions Assessment and Monitoring Tool (ECAM) was launched.

ECAM 3.0, like its previous versions, is a free, open-source tool available on the WaCCliM website. Businesses providing water and treatment services around the world can use ECAM 3.0 to benchmark their energy use and greenhouse gas emissions system wide. The tool identifies opportunities to reduce emissions and costs and allows utilities to monitor and report on their results.

By identifying areas where greenhouse gas emissions can be cut, increasing energy savings, and improving general efficiency, ECAM offers a holistic approach so that urban water utilities shift to climate-smart water management. It also prepares water and treatment businesses for future climate-mitigation reporting needs.

It is not necessary for water and treatment companies to collect special data, nor do they have to create an account to use ECAM. The tool functions with the operational data that administrators and operators use every day. If some data is unavailable, ECAM provides complementary assumptions based on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) models.

It is important for water and treatment companies to take measures to mitigate their emissions since it is estimated that the water sector contributes around 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

ECAM will serve as an analytical tool tackling this challenge. It will make it possible to evaluate energy performance and carbon emissions throughout the urban water cycle, from extraction and distribution to wastewater treatment and sludge management, adapting to each company’s analysis capabilities.

The ECAM tool update represents another step towards a smart and sustainable urban water system with lower emissions and reduced vulnerability to local climate change impacts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More information:

The Water and Sanitation Companies program for Water and Wastewater Companies for Climate Mitigation (WaCCliM) is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in Mexico, in direct coordination with the National Water Commission (CONAGUA). The program’s main aim is to support water and sanitation operating agencies (OOs) in reducing their carbon footprint and increasing their climate resilience.

Increasing the frequency of handwashing is one of the main activities promoted by the Mexican Government to reduce the spreading of the COVID-19 virus. This daily activity leads us to pay much more attention to the “behind the scenes” of the water and sanitation sector, as well as the importance that it function, so that people in any part of the country can have access to enough water – in quality and quantity – to carry out this preventive measure.

The activities of the WaCCliM program have a direct and organic relationship with the sustainable recovery (green recovery) that is expected during the following months or years. They include: strengthening the capacities of the operational personnel currently working in OOs; improving public health services by promoting access to drinking water and sanitation services throughout the country; promoting and replicating the use of technologies that minimize the carbon footprint of OOs and which, in turn, require the professionalization of the sector, in order to provide technical consulting services and the implementation of environmentally friendly technologies.