On March 24th, two projects in Curitiba covered by Action Fund Brazil were launched: the social project Solar – Sustentabilidade para Todos, carried out in Comunidade 29 de Março by Ambiens Sociedade Cooperativa; and the Curitiba Climate Change Indicator Panel, from Senai/PR, presented through the Paraná State Industry Federation System Observatory. As for, ICLEI South America, were there the Executive Secretary, Rodrigo Perpétuo, the Knowledge and Youth Management Coordinator, Armelle Cibaka, and the Low Carbon and Resilience Project Advisor, Raísa de Castro.
During the morning with the presence of the Vice-Mayor of Curitiba, Eduardo Pimentel, 19 panels – 17 photovoltaic and two thermal – with capacity of 7,570 kilowatt-hours were inaugurated at the community headquarters of Comunidade 29 de Março, at Cidade Industrial.
About 220 low-income families are already benefiting from the initiative. The community shower now has hot water and the way home is brighter: 35 poles provide greater security for residents of the region during the night.
The photovoltaic plate system has the potential to avoid the emission of more than 35 tons of CO2 during the lifetime of the project. The system is also smart. The streetlights only come on when the incidence of natural light drops and are automatically turned off the next morning. In addition, anyone can follow the generation of energy and its use through a panel available on the Ambiens website.
Solar Project
To the project coordinator, the architect Adriane Ferreira, the social context is one of the main aspects of Solar. “Thinking in the context of climate justice, in which the most vulnerable are the first to be affected by environmental disasters and catastrophes, it becomes even more important that we are working in areas of social vulnerability to mitigate these impacts,” she says.
The Municipality of Curitiba, through the Secretariat of the Environment, was a partner in the project. Solar was also supported by EGNEX (technical elaboration of the solar energy project), Stach It (BI/dashboard system) and Teto (mapping and data collection).
Indicator panel
At the end of the day, in a ceremony at the Industry Campus and with the presence of the president of the Fiep System, Carlos Valter Martins Pedro, a Panel of Indicators on Climate Change in Curitiba was launched. The virtual platform allows public access to monitor indicators related to the climate emergency, with data analysis and access to local, national and international documents. The panel will be periodically updated with information that will help to assess the impact of climate change in the capital of Paraná and support the implementation of policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Senai/PR’s innovative project, presented through the Paraná State Industry Federation System Observatory, was implemented in partnership with the City Hall and built collectively by representatives of society, municipal and state public authorities, research institutes, universities , companies and the third sector.
During the launch of the Panel, the opening of two competitions aimed at education were also announced, with cash prizes offered by Senai/PR. The “Scientific Articles Contest: Challenges for Facing Climate Change in Curitiba” aims to explore the challenges related to the climate emergency in the territory. All winners will receive certificates and their work will be published on the Panel. And the “Curitiba Municipal Education Network Competition: Solutions for Climate Change” aims to propose solutions that can be applied in its units to the challenges related to the theme. Learn more about the contests by clicking here.
Learn more about the Dashboard launch here.
Click here to follow the Panel’s Launch Ceremony in full.
Learn more about action found
In May 2020, Porto Alegre and Curitiba were the two Brazilian capitals selected to join the Action Fund Brazil project, an ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability and Google.org partnership.
The initiative aims to support non-profit organizations in implementing local projects to mitigate climate change, helping decision-makers to set goals related to climate planning. The Action Fund, of approximately US$4 million, is being applied through ICLEI’s regional secretariats in Europe, Brazil and Mexico and the Caribbean.
In Brazil, two non-profit organizations were selected in each capital: Ambiens Sociedade Cooperativa and SENAI-PR, in Curitiba, and the Urban Intelligence Center (CIUPOA) and Instituto Augusto Carneiro, with the support of the Centro Brasil no Clima (CBC), in Porto Alegre. The Action Fund was created from a donation from Google.org, and the projects were selected by an ICLEI South America Selection Committee, together with municipal administrations.
Each project is receiving R$ 660,000 for its implementation using public data, such as those generated by Environmental Insights Explorer (EIE), a Google platform that gathers information on GHG emissions from buildings and transport, air quality and solar potential of roofs.
