Development of the GEF CEO endorsement document for “Sustainable City Development in Malaysia”
Objectives
In this assignment E Co. supported the development of a request for GEF CEO Endorsement / project proposal in the climate change mitigation focal area. The proposal aimed at promoting an integrated approach to urban policy making and management guided by evidence-based, multi-dimensional, and broadly inclusive planning processes. These processes should balance economic, social and environmental resource consideration. The project also aims to build awareness, build institutional capacity, and promote investments in climate mitigation technologies through demonstration projects.
Scope
E Co. was engaged to assist in the preparatory phase to deliver the project proposal in coordination with the government counterpart – Malaysian Industry Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT) to be endorsed by the GEF.
The Project includes activities related to the development of national urban policy and city-level interventions in Malacca city. There is a particular focus on demonstrating pilot investments that are aligned with low-carbon development goals – solar PV, electric vehicles, Building Energy Management Systems, and smart meters
E Co. responsibilities were:
1) Development of the project intervention strategy addressing achievement of the following specific outputs:
- Development / improvement of national policies necessary for the development of sustainable cities
- Capacity building of the coordination partners of the Smart City Programme
- Demonstration of the technologies of an integrated smart grid, including:
- Bi-directional charging (G2V & V2G);
- Integration with BESS (Battery as Energy storage System);
- Integration with Solar PV and energy efficient/intelligent building appliances
- Develop and implement an awareness raising programme for policy-makers, industry and end-users on the benefits associated with the increased adoption of electric vehicles and energy efficiency and renewable energy measures in both commercial and government buildings.
2) Establishing indicators to be used within the logical framework for the project
3) Proposing overall implementation and institutional arrangements for the project
4) Developing a Monitoring & Evaluation plan, strategy for reporting on the project results, and plan for sharing lessons learned and best practices
5) Developing a budget
6) Preparing the Environment and Social Management Plan (ESMP)
7) Preparation of a full package of the Project Documents for submission GEF CEO’s endorsement
Approach and process
Three experts from E Co. worked on this assignment. E Co’s Agile project development approach was essential to maintain a close dialogue with the client and other external consultants. In particular, E Co. worked with its clients to ensure that the project addressed all GEF requirements, including the requirements for the Integrated Approach Pilot (IAP) of Sustainable Cities. This also required calculating GHG emissions reductions estimates for 6 different technologies.
Results
The project was technically cleared by the GCF Secretariat in the autumn of 2016 and is awaiting final endorsement by the GEF CEO.