Improving energy efficiency (EE) is the single most important abatement opportunity reducing global warming. For the next couple of decades, energy efficiency’s contribution to energy use or emission reduction is estimated between 25-50% of the total mitigation potential depending on the model used. Most models put the associated absolute CO2 emission reduction potentials in 2030 between 4 and 8 Gt (IEA, 2011). The World Bank estimated that the GEF energy efficiency projects implemented by the World Bank, in the period of 1992-2009, have delivered nearly 100 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e) in direct emission reductions over the lifetime of the projects, and close to 300 million tCO2e in indirect emission reductions. GEF requires every climate change project to provide an estimate of the avoided or reduced amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions the project expected to deliver at the ex ante stage (pre-implementation stage). In 2008, the GEF developed an ex-ante methodology for calculating greenhouse gas emissions reductions for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. STAP assisted the GEF in updating/revising the methodology with a focus on ex-ante calculation of energy efficiency measures. The updated GEF EE Methodology is developed to assist project developers in calculating project-specific ex-ante greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to be used during project preparation before the CEO endorsement. The intent of this proposed revision is to improve the rigor and consistency of the GHG analysis, and to simplify the application of the methodology for GEF agencies, by providing a more complete, and easy-to-use spreadsheet tool that embeds more standardized guidance in the form of algorithms for component-specific calculations, conservative default factors as well as dynamic baselines. The methodology has four modules to allow for calculations of GHG emission reductions:
- Standards and Labeling,
- Building Codes,
- Demonstration and Diffusion, and
- Financial Instruments.
The Methodology includes an Excel Spreadsheet and the accompanying documentation with a step-by-step guide how to use the methodology and four examples demonstrating the use each module in the methodology.
