In July, SDC held the last steering committee of the first phase of Calac+ with authorities from Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Peru. For 3 years and 5 months the programme has worked hand in hand with government agencies to adopt measures to reduce emissions in both urban buses and construction machinery operating in cities, fostering discussions and capacity-building to identify strategies for reducing pollution and at the same time contributing to the fulfilment of the Paris agreements.
Participants presented the Steering Committee with the main results for each of the programme’s expected outcomes. On the issue of soot-free and low-carbon buses, they have worked on a broad agenda to introduce Euro VI technology to reduce emissions in the urban bus fleet, mainly in Peru and Mexico, drawing on the experience of Chile and Colombia, and have conducted an evaluation in Santiago of the efficiency of electric buses in circulation and their life cycle. They have also contributed to the introduction of new technologies for the revision and inspection of diesel vehicles in the four countries and to a strategy for promoting vehicle renewal, such as environmental labelling in Colombia. To evaluate the measures, SDC has developed a tool for cost-benefit analysis to support the adoption of policies and standards.
For the Policy Incubator for Non-Road Mobile Machinery (NRMM) component, the programme has brought to the fore the importance of addressing these sources’ emissions, and has created capacities and mechanisms for accessing reliable and comparable information on machinery, technical assistance for emissions control, and support for updating and/or drawing up inventories. In the bus component, the programme has designed a set of tools for cost-benefit analysis and for emissions projections.
In the Knowledge Management component, the programme has supported consultations and discussions between public officials in the four countries regarding the complete cycle of public policy formulation to improve air quality. It has held various events to disseminate and scale up the experiences developed in the countries in coordination with organisations and associations that promote the decontamination of the transport sector, and positioning the issue of NRMM to be addressed in environmental strategies.
Finally, the Committee presented the second phase of the Programme, which began in August 2021. The second phase seeks to continue the pace achieved and consolidate urban transport measures, such as the introduction of clean urban buses (electric, natural gas or diesel buses with Euro VI technology) and of a regulatory framework that introduces the use of NRMM with cleaner technology that reduces emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHG), which the four countries aim to achieve.
In the second phase, SDC will continue supporting each partner for improving air quality. In the words of a representative of the Bogotá District Environment Secretariat, «It has been important to innovate, to work and regulate on particle numbers and control of mobile sources… that enables us to face new challenges and take decisions. The extension of the second phase is exciting because there are many things to strengthen… and we will continue to support the project to the benefit of the city of Bogotá».
The second phase will continue to work for these actions to reduce emissions of air pollutants and GHGs by using cleaner technology, improving the quality of life of the beneficiary population.
For further information:
FS CALAC+ 2. Climate and Clean Air in Latin American Cities Programme PLUS 2
Web Climate and Clean Air in Latin American Cities Programme PLUS 2
