Financing the management of short-lived climate pollutants

Principal Investigator

• Harald Heubaum (SOAS - University of London)

Co-investigators

• Felicia Jackson (SOAS University of London)
• Irene Papst (Heat GmbH)
• Manuel Prieto Garcia (Heat GmbH)

Partners

• Heat GmbH, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
• German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK)

Funders

• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

Duration

• 2022–2023

Across much of the Global South, outdated or end-of-life (EOL) refrigerants, including foams, are not currently being managed in an environmentally sound manner, leading to the accumulation of so-called banks of ozone depleting substances (ODS) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFC). These banks emit substances that harm and deplete the ozone layer and contribute to anthropogenic climate change. Each year, approximately 1.5 GtCO2eq are released from improperly managed or disposed refrigerants. This corresponds to the annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 441 coal-fired power plants.

This project conducted with Heat GmbH on behalf of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) is a contribution to the development of a financing mechanism (FM) for the sustainable refrigerant management of ODS/HFC banks in current and future partner countries of the Climate and Ozone Protection Alliance (COPA).

The project reviews existing financing approaches in the sustainable cooling and climate finance spaces, revealing there to be no one-size-fits-all solution for advancing sustainable ODS/HFC bank management. Rather, a selection of focused financing elements is required. It proposes three core elements to form part of a potential FM: a preparatory and readiness fund (PRF) to provide support to countries and industry and facilitate the market analysis required to underpin any financial intervention; a destruction fund (DF) focused on filling the funding gap for EOL management of ODS/HFC banks left by the MLF; and a matchmaking facility or capital stack approach matching the needs of COPA members with appropriate financial interventions.

Heubaum, H., Jackson, F., Papst, I. and M. Pietro Garcia (2023). COPA Financing and Fundraising Mechanism: A Review and Concept. Eschborn, Germany: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.