Overview

The international community of practice for sustainable urban development, Connective Cities in the MENA region, organized a virtual projects workshop under the topic “Municipal Energy Efficiency Projects in the MENA Region" on the 14 and 15 September 2021. The workshop was preceded by a day on financial advisory services for municipal energy efficiency projects in the MENA region.

The workshop has been a follow-up to the dialogue event held virtually in May 2021. This project workshop aimed at facilitating exchange of know-how and experience through peer learning among urban practitioners in MENA and Germany, supporting the project owners to define a roadmap and appropriate measures to progress with the development of the project ideas into bankable project proposals (technical advisory), as well as supporting consensus building among different stakeholders engaged in the planning and implementation of the project ideas, and determining future support needed to implement project ideas, which includes support from the Connective Cities network and German municipalities.

Nine Municipalities from Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Tunisia presented their project ideas and had a chance to further develop them in the fields of: improving energy efficiency in municipal buildings, energy efficiency via reduction of fuel consumption in waste management and energy efficient street lighting.

Keynotes

The keynote speech was delivered by Dr. Ahmed Badr- Director of the Project Facilitation & Support  division at the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and was followed by an interactive session with the participants in which Dr. Badr provided advisory and insights particularly concerning the Climate Investment Platform at IRENA. This was followed by an interactive session in which the municipal representatives presented their projects, while highlighting key technical and financial indicators (e.g. reduction in GHG emissions and cost savings savings).

Moreover, a presentation of the good practice on “Solar Energy project via Public Private Partnership in Karak municipality- Jordan” was showcased by Rami Suhemat, the head of the electrical engineering department at the municipality.  Finally, Dr. Ramzi Hage (capacity development expert and proposal writing specialist) delivered a presentation about “What Donors Want: effective project design”, highlighting the importance of creativity and tailoring in the local context, the importance of details and activities, along with sustainability approaches and arranging partnerships for the project.

At the end, a technical advisory session between the representative of Nabeul municipality and Dr. Simon Jenniches (Krefeld municipality) was conducted.
presentation and recording

Results

There will be a follow-up with the 3 financing institutions (CVDB, GCF-PPF and CIP by IRENA), in addition to the private sector companies including AMPERECO and Kawar Energy in Jordan that expressed interest in supporting the projects of Jerash and Madaba municipalities. In addition, all participating municipalities have expressed interest in an expert mission that will be orgainised by Connective Cities to concretise their proposed projects.