Last Wednesday (11th), the two Brazilian cities selected to receive direct support from the Lab of Financially Viable Project Development – ICLEI LEDS Lab were announced. Recife and Belo Horizonte will receive technical support to develop financially viable projects that consider aspects of mitigation, adaptation, and vulnerability reduction due to the impacts of climate change, with a focus on the energy sector.

The selection was the result of a selection process that began at the Latin America and Caribbean Climate Week, held in August in Salvador, during the national workshop of the Urban-LEDS II project, when eight Brazilian cities presented their project proposals to an evaluation panel composed of representatives from ICLEI South America, UN-Habitat, IDB – Inter-American Development Bank, Houer Concessões, CAF – Development Bank of Latin America, EPE – Energy Research Company, and the Institute of Advanced Studies (IEA) at the University of São Paulo.

Based on four evaluation criteria (structuring, potential impact, implementability, and alignment with global, regional, and national sustainability goals), the Selection Committee, composed of ICLEI South America, the European Union, and UN-Habitat, elected the projects: Photovoltaic Panels on Public Buildings, from Recife, and Solar Schools, from Belo Horizonte. In addition to the elected cities, the Committee evaluated proposals from the cities of Betim (MG), Curitiba (PR), Fortaleza (CE), Rio de Janeiro (RJ), and Sorocaba (SP).

In the capital of Pernambuco, the RCEE programme aims to install solar panels on public buildings in the health, education and sports sectors, as well as on the City Hall headquarters. This is an ambitious project, with a total estimated budget of R$90 million and the significant potential to reduce the municipality’s carbon emissions by around 7,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

“Recife received the welcome news of being one of two Brazilian cities selected to participate in the ICLEI LEDS Lab, thus obtaining support to make our RCEE programme financially viable. Our municipality has a robust climate policy, built in partnership with ICLEI since 2013, and in order for it to be fully implemented, we need resources. The LEDS Lab is an excellent initiative by ICLEI as it meets the desire of municipalities to have support in seeking funding for their climate projects,” said Leta Vieira, General Manager of Urban Sustainability and Resilience at the Recife City Hall's Secretariat of Urban Planning.

For the Municipal Secretary of Environment of the Belo Horizonte City Hall, Mário de Lacerda Werneck Neto, the choice of Belo Horizonte to participate in the ICLEI LEDS Lab signifies a very important step towards accelerating climate actions in the city.

“The ICLEI initiative will enable us to enhance our skills in securing funding for the Solar Schools project, developed in partnership with the Federal University of Minas Gerais through the COMPASSO programme. By improving energy efficiency and generating solar power in local schools, our project aims to reduce energy costs in schools by up to 48%, channelling these savings back into what really matters: quality education for a greater number of children and young people,” he added.

The ICLEI LEDS Lab is scheduled to launch in Brazil in early October 2019. The initiative is part of the Urban-LEDS II project, implemented by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, in partnership with UN-Habitat and funded by the European Commission.