Providing access to energy efficiency in the Andean zone
07 January 2014
The Rexel Foundation has signed a partnership with Microsol to undertake a feasibility study on energy-efficiency programs in the Andean region (Colombia, Ecuador, Chili, Peru and Bolivia).
Microsol is a French organization, with a presence in Latin America, which relies on the voluntary carbon credit market to finance socio-economic projects that are of benefit to the local population.
The mechanism is ingenious as everyone benefits from it: by installing energy-efficiency solutions (renewable energy, eco-efficient equipment, etc.), we respond to a community’s elemental requirement and support the local economy but we also avoid a certain quantity of greenhouse gas emissions. The “carbon credits” generated in this way can then be sold to businesses that wish to offset their own emissions, which constitutes a source offinancing to perpetuate and develop projects.
The goal of the study is two-fold. On the one hand, it aims to assess the suitability of this mechanism for financing projects over the long term. On the other hand, the research and interviews undertaken in situ will enable the identification of potential local partners (NGOs, governments, local businesses, etc.) for the development of these projects.
