Climate Finance Accelerator Peru: First Cohort of projects announced

The Climate Finance Accelerator (CFA) Peru has announced six innovative low-carbon projects that will support access to finance from investors following a call for proposals that attracted 40 applications. The CFA is part of the UK Government’s efforts to support Peru tackle climate change through the UK International Climate Finance.

Projects come from the energy, forest, ecotourism, and waste management sectors and include activities to increase reforested areas in Peru, develop innovative ecotourism experiences and improve production systems using solar energy.

To ensure the selected projects are in the best position to attract investment from Peruvian and international financiers, the projects will receive capacity building support in areas such as blending finance from public and private sources, developing financial models and preparing pitch material, as well as advice on enhancing gender, equality and social inclusion. If they secure funding in the future, in addition to their climate change mitigation outcomes, the projects will benefit communities across Peru through pollution abatement, employment opportunities, increased energy efficiency, improved public transportation, and by supporting gender equality and social inclusion.

By bringing together stakeholders who can develop and finance climate projects at scale, the CFA will support Peru’s efforts to meet its commitment under the Glasgow Pact, agreed at COP26 in November 2021, to help keep global warming to within 1.5°C.

The British Chargé d’affaires to Peru, Peter Clements said:

“The UK is proud to support Peru’s efforts to address climate change and the Climate Finance Accelerator is a great opportunity to do so. At COP26, we could see Peru’s appetite for tackling climate change through increased NDC targets and by joining alliances to protect forests. This cohort of projects will drive innovation in key sectors such as energy, ecotourism and waste management. We cannot wait to see the outcomes.”

Libelula CFA Project Lead Peru, Katherine Bocanegra, said:

“We are excited to be working alongside these six projects to strengthen their capacity and help increase their chances of finding investment. CFA support will bring projects and financiers together, generating benefits not only for the individual projects, but in the longer term also for Peru’s economy as it builds a climate compatible future.”

Technical Director CFA Programme Peru, Florian Eickhold of SouthSouthNorth said:

“Time matters! The CFA programme aims to accelerate the final phase of financial closure for already advanced low-carbon projects from a wide range of sectors. This “last mile facilitation” speeds up the implementation of NDCs and helps build the ground for more ambition. I hope financial institutions and project developers are inspired by the CFA process to replicate viable solutions at scale. Every effort is needed to rapidly close the emission gap towards the global goal of 1.5 degrees.”

The projects have started receiving tailored support ahead of a multi-day event that will be held in May 2022. Support that the projects have received so far has included individual needs assessment discussions as well as financial and technical analysis. The event will allow project proponents to further refine their financial structuring through discussions with interested financial institutions. The event will also provide an opportunity for all participants to network and for policymakers and other initiatives in the climate finance space to learn from the landscape mapping findings and recommendations. The CFA projects include:

Carbon Turnaround: An innovative project for the treatment of organic waste using the Black Soldier Fly technology. Organic waste will be recovered and transformed into insect protein and an organic fertilizer with high nutritional value. Based in Lima, it is managed in partnership with Christof Industries and Grupo GEA.
Grupo Alimenta: Lifesoil™ is our regenerative fertilizer, developed to nourish the soil and crops in a balanced way. Replacing mineral fertilizers with Lifesoil™ does not require additional costs and allows the soil to capture 30 tons of CO2/Ha. We aim to build a network of plants and capture three million tons of CO2.
Marinasol: Installation of floating solar panels within the sedimentation ponds of a shrimp farm, generating renewable energy and contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gases.
Novum Solar: The project aims to develop, build and operate several hybrid energy generation systems (solar, battery and backup diesel) to supply electricity for isolated communities in the Peruvian Amazon. Currently powered by diesel, the communities will have a reliable supply of energy 24/7 and there will be a reduction of 530,000 tons of CO2.
Rainforest Expeditions and ACCA: This ecotourism project will protect primary forest and reduce CO2 emissions. It will raise awareness among the local population and 35,000-40,000 visitors a year of the need for conservation and the realities of climate change by providing employment and education.
Viridis Terra Perú SA: This project will create a demonstration and training centre where up to 1,300 people a year will be taught how to restore degraded land, a biotechnology laboratory with the capacity to produce 1.5 million seedlings a year, a solid forest plantation of 1500 hectares, and a natural conservation area of approximately 300 hectares.

For media enquiries, please contact:

Carmen Noriega Head of Communications at the British Embassy in Lima Carmen.noriega@fcdo.gov.uk

Notes to editors:

UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS): The CFA is funded by International Climate Finance in BEIS. BEIS is the UK government department responsible for business, industrial strategy, science, research and innovation, energy, clean growth and climate change.
UK International Climate Finance is the UK government’s commitment to support developing countries to respond to climate change. The UK has committed to spend at least £11.6 billion of International Climate Finance between 2021 and 2025. This is the UK’s contribution to the developed country goal of mobilising $100 billion per year in climate finance by 2020, which underpins the Paris Agreement.
The local delivery partners for CFA Peru are Libélula and SouthSouthNorth.
Libélula is a consulting firm founded in 2007 in Peru that specializes in climate change management and communication. Libélula works closely with a wide range of public and private actors at local, regional and international level to identify risks and opportunities in the face of climate change in order to inspire and deliver solutions at all levels towards a low-carbon, resource-efficient and climate resilient future.
SouthSouthNorth supports national and regional responses to climate change through policy and knowledge interventions, partnerships and deep collaboration, connecting people and information, enhancing capacity and mobilizing resources to respond in innovative ways to the challenges and opportunities that climate change presents.
The global CFA programme is delivered by PwC UK, in collaboration with Ricardo Energy & Environment.