Overview
Small island states are projected to suffer the most from the impacts of climate change, and in many cases, those impacts pose a direct existential threat. This is especially true in Cape Verde, an archipelago of 10 volcanic islands off the coast of West Africa. Here, Pegasys identified viable projects aimed at two areas:
- Mitigating the effects of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
- Adapting to use waste more effectively.
Of the four projects identified in the energy and waste spaces, two were deemed suitable for GCF funding. Pegasys developed project preparation funding (PPF) applications and scoping assessments for these projects, and helped the Government of Cape Verde to understand the options and requirements for accessing climate finance and developing climate-change investments.
The Challenges
Cape Verde is a small archipelago of 10 islands: Santo Antao, Sao Vicente, Santa Luzia, Sao Nicolau, Sal, Boa Vista, Maio, Santiago, Fogo and Brava. Together, they cover an area of 4 033km², but Santiago alone covers 991km², roughly 25% of the national territory.
This geography creates a unique set of challenges:
- Lack of alignment: As a result of the dispersed geography, there is a lack of internal alignment within the national government on key issues around climate change interventions, and the decision-making process can be very slow.
- Climate: The country has a fragile ecosystem as result of low volume of rainfall, which creates even greater urgency for climate change interventions.
- Irregular dumping: The capital city of Praia has been suffering from environmental degradation due to the irregular disposal of waste, caused primarily by inadequate waste management on construction sites.
- Adaptation vs Mitigation: The energy interventions proposed by Pegasys focused on reducing carbon emissions, which is a difficult narrative to work through with governments and organisations.
The Solution
The project, which ran from March 2019 to July 2020, worked in two sectors:
- Energy: building on an existing waste energy feasibility assessment.
- Waste: island-specific interventions; and organic waste composting across all 10 islands.
Interventions in Africa tend to be adaptation focused – principally, by adapting to the new future of climate change and variable weather. However, in the case of Cape Verde, the related interventions in energy and waste were also mitigation-focused.
The energy interventions involved engagement with schools and healthcare facilities, with education about energy security and reducing GHG emissions.
The waste projects included end-of-pipeline solutions, e.g. composting, as well as interventions at a generator level. The latter included the provision of bins for different waste streams, and education around the potential of beneficiation, job creation and climate change impacts.
With Cape Verde being a small island state, waste is a particular issue because when it is produced, it has nowhere to go.
Anne-Louis Vernes, Consultant
The Numbers
Waste is often a case of ‘NIMBY’, or ‘not in my back yard’. When something is flushed or thrown in the garbage it is forgotten, and people aren’t going to lobby hard for it either way. We pushed for interventions that happen upstream, close to the generator. In other words, interventions that affect you and me.
Laura Rizzotto, Principal
