Supported NAMA for sustainable housing in Mexico

Focus area: Mitigation
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Location: Mexico City, Mexico
Established: December 2011The Mexican government has implemented the world first Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action(NAMA) in the housing sector. The NAMA addresses mitigation by promoting the use of energy efficient appliances and building design.

The two principle objectives of the activity are: (1) to extend the penetration of basic efficiency standards to the entire new housing market in Mexico; (2) upgrade the efficiency standards to more ambitious levels. The NAMA intends to transform the housing sector into a low-carbon competitive market.

Some of the innovative elements of this activity include:
By implementing this NAMA in the housing sector, Mexico will contribute to defining an international framework for NAMAs, which is currently not in place.
A whole house building approach, where efficiency benchmarks are set for total primary energy demand, for each building type and take into account climactic variables, while enabling stakeholders to find cost-efficient solutions and having a simple monitoring, reporting and verification system.
Funds will be available to create the necessary incentives for developers and homeowners to cover the additional upfront costs involved. Donors can contribute with either soft loans or grants to a NAMA Fund, and different types of financing packages for these donors have been designed.
This new system is already being used for new housing projects in six Mexican cities with implementation lasting through 2020. CONAVI is already in talks to obtain funding support to finance the build of 35,708 houses, with a mitigation potential of 1,627 megatonnes during a 40-year lifespan.

Mitigation / Adaptation

The preparation of new housing projects in six Mexican cities (starting in Aguascalientes City) with the financing from Sociedad Hiptecaria Federal, began in 2012. CONAVI is already in the preparation stage with international carbon financing institutions to fund the building of 35,708 houses, which would be expected to mitigate 1,627 megatonnes of CO@2 in a 40 year life span.

Benefits

In shanty towns undergoing urbanization, water heating (where existent) is produced by means of electric heaters, which are precariously connected and in many cases entail high risk. The installation of solar collectors in these sorts of neighbourhoods allows for users to have hot water all year long, while at the same time, reducing electrification risks and future energy costs.

Stakeholders and local governments have worked for several years to humanize these shanty urban spaces. One of the big stumbling blocks has been access to electricity. Thus developing a policy and the technological skills and awareness of clean, renewal energy sources is a critical need to complement development plans and strategies for these areas.

For this activity, the direct beneficiaries include 3,860 people in the Los Piletones neighbourhood, who use the sports centre, as well as the five families who received the water heaters. Community consultation was key, with residents selecting which homes to receive the water heaters. A second stage in the activity will include training for local residents on the installation of the water heaters, which will include learning how to construct the devices from available local materials.

Potential for scaling-up and replication

Between 2012 and 2020, more than 7 million new housing units are being constructed. Assuming 100 per cent penetration of the NAMA scenario, the activity could achieve emission reductions ranging from 84 megatonnes of carbon dioxide to 140 megatonnes of CO2 by 2020.

The government is also in the process of developing an existing housing NAMA, looking at an existing stock of 28 million homes as of 2010.

For potential donors and investors, the NAMA Fund will accept soft loans and grants. The funding will address both the supply and demand side, for example providing bridging loans for housing developers and support for home buyers.