Page 10 - CIWA Climate Resilience & Mitigation Assessment

CIWA Climate Resilience & mitigation Assessment

CIWA Climate Resilience methane. The amount of GHGs emitted varies and is
influenced by factors such as dam location, climate, and type
and Mitigation Assessment of vegetation. For an accurate calculation of reservoir
emissions, the GHG Reservoir (G-RES) tool could be used,
This cumulative stocktaking assessment of CIWA although this is data-intensive with several data points
operations, their influence, and comparative advantage required for each dam system. G-res global estimates from
on climate mitigation and resilience outcomes aims to the literature²¹ for reservoir per-area greenhouse gas fluxes
highlight CIWA’s cross-cutting pathways to impact¹⁸ in range from 115 to 145,472 g CO₂ eq./m²/yr. The highest value of
the three Is and determine if there are missed 145,472 g CO₂ eq./m²/yr was used since this corresponds to
opportunities for future consideration. reservoirs situated toward the Equator, which can be
approximated to being the case of the dam systems
For this analysis, both types of CIWA operations – Bank- influenced by CIWA. This allows for a first estimate as shown
executed Trust Funds (BETFs) and Recipient-executed in Table 1. For the case of run-of-river hydropower plants, we
Trust Funds (RETFs) – from 2011 to date were classified consider there to be no reservoir and therefore zero
according to climate change resilience or mitigation
measures. The classification was done using component emissions, as is the case for the existing Rusumo Falls plant
descriptions in project papers and documentation of any and the planned Nsongezi and Luapula hydropower plants.
investments deemed to have been influenced by a CIWA
operation (the same investments tracked in CIWA’s FY23 The following assumptions were made when calculating
Annual Report). Six of 47 operations were excluded from this GHG mitigation from the hydropower projects influenced
analysis because they produced a single knowledge product by CIWA:
or were part of programmatic strategic studies that are not
directly tied to development activities, and therefore did not
count toward contributing to resilience or mitigation in this
methodology. Annex 1 lists all operations deemed to include
climate change measures. Investments were verified by key 1. A conservative estimate of reservoir GHG
informant interviews to verify the role of the CIWA operation. emissions based on global per-area
greenhouse gas flux estimates from G-res
Climate Mitigation Assessment Methodology tool was used²² rather than a zero-emission
approach, particularly given that one of the
A baseline approach was adopted to evaluate the amount projects of the analysis involves one of the
of GHG emissions mitigated through CIWA-influenced world’s largest artificial lakes (Lake Kariba;
investments. Accordingly, the volume of GHG emissions
mitigated (for existing hydropower plants) and expected to area of 5,500km²). Four of the hydropower
be mitigated (for potential hydropower plants), expressed in plants influenced by CIWA, including on Lake
tons of CO₂ equivalent (tCO₂eq/year), corresponds to the Kariba, have associated reservoirs, while the
amount of GHGs that would have been emitted annually if the remaining two (Rusumo Falls and Nsongezi)
electricity generated by the hydropower plant would have are run-of-river and therefore do not involve
been instead produced by other electricity providers on the the creation of an upstream reservoir. For
grid (coal-burning plants). Emissions mitigation figures were future analysis, a more precise calculation of
obtained by multiplying the amount of electricity generated reservoir GHG emissions for each CIWA-
by the hydropower project with the grid emissions factor, influenced project could be undertaken.
which corresponds to the amount of CO₂ emissions
associated with each unit of electricity provided by the 2. Project emissions are considered zero (e.g.,
electricity system (sourced from the Institute for Global emissions during preparation, construction,
Environmental Strategies).¹⁹ This method is in line with the and operation have not been included).
International Financial Institution Approach to GHG
Accounting for Energy Efficiency Projects of the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 3. Leakage emissions are considered negligible.²³
(UNFCCC).²⁰ While this holds for planned projects (greenfield),
in the case of existing plants undergoing rehabilitation 4. In countries with regionally interconnected
(brownfield) through a CIWA-influenced project, the grids, the emissions factor of the regional grid
additional electricity generated after rehabilitation was used is used. This provides a standardized baseline
to determine the additional GHG emissions reduced. Most of for values of the CO₂ emissions factors for
the power plants in the CIWA-influenced projects are related the interconnected electricity system. In the
to a dam and/or multi-purpose reservoir as part of an case of Zambia, for example, the Southern
integrated activity. African Power Pool Grid emissions factor is
used. For projects in countries that are not
Although hydropower plants contribute to mitigating interconnected, the grid emissions factor of
GHG emissions, when a reservoir is created upstream of the country is applied.
a dam, organic matter contained in the flooded soil
decomposes and emits GHGs, mainly carbon dioxide and

¹⁸ The four pathways are through actions in gender equality and social inclusion, climate resilience, biodiversity and conservation, and support to FCV-affected situations.
¹⁹ Institute for Global Environmental Strategies. 2024. List of Grid Emission Factors, version 11.4. Available at: https://pub.iges.or.jp/pub/iges-list-grid-emission-factors.
Note that the grid emission factors data provided in this source are extracted from the UNFCCC website.
²⁰ UNFCCC. 2023. IFI Approach to GHG Accounting for Energy Efficiency Projects Version 3.0
https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/Energy%20Efficiency_GHG%20accounting%20approach.pdf
²¹ Harrison, J. A., Prairie, Y. T., Mercier-Blais, S., & Soued, C. (2021). Year 2020 global distribution and pathways of reservoir methane and carbon dioxide emissions
according to the greenhouse gas from reservoirs (G-res) model. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 35(6). e2020GB006888. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020gb006888
²² G-res estimates of reservoir per area greenhouse gas fluxes ranging from 115 to 145.472 g CO₂ eq. m−2 y−1). Given that the higher values were observed for reservoirs with
geographic locations around the equator, the upper value of the range (145.452 gCO₂eq/m2) was used, since the location of the reservoirs in our study are located closer
rather than further to the Equator.
08 ²³ Projected GHG emissions from construction, other upstream and downstream activities, leakage, and the rebound effect can be excluded as per the International
Financial Institution Framework for a Harmonized Approach to Greenhouse Gas Accounting, unless these are deemed as significant and assessed in the project appraisal.