Peru

Peru ratified the UNFCCC in 1992 and created the National Commission on Climate Change (NCCC) in 1993. The NCCC’s primary function is to co-ordinate the implementation of the UNFCCC and the National Strategy for Climate Change. In the decade after signing the UNFCCC, the government focused on synergising sustainable development, poverty reduction and environmental management; however, no significant legislation was enacted until after Peru ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2002. That same year Congress passed legislation that obliged regional governments to formulate, co-ordinate and supervise the application of sub-national strategies related to climate change. The NCCC elaborated the National Strategy on Climate Change, which was passed by federal decree.

The National Strategy on Climate Change of 2003 (NSCC) is a detailed accounting of 11 strategic focuses that prioritise scientific research, mitigation of the disproportionate and inequitable suffering of the poor caused by climate change, and development of mitigation and adaptation policies within the framework of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Each strategic focus is broken down into strategic objectives that are further detailed by specific, realisable aims. Although the NSCC is not congressional legislation, implementation by the regional govern­ments is obligatory. Due to challenges to the implementation of the NSCC, a number of institutional changes were recommended in an updated Strategy. The Ministry of Environment published a draft of the new National Strategy for Climate Change in July 2014 and solicited feedback from civil society. At time of publication, the Ministry had incorporated feedback, internally approved the plan, and was awaiting approval by executive decree.

In 2010 the Ministry of Environment published The Plan of Action for Adaptation and Mitigation of Climate Change. The document serves both as a report of ministerial projects and programmes related to climate change as well as a plan for future action between 2011 and 2021. The Plan categorises present and future programmes into seven thematic lines of action, including reporting mechanisms on GHG emissions, mitigation, adaptation, research and development of technology of systems, financing and management, and public education.  It also includes detailed budget information and analysis indicating fiscal priorities pertaining to climate change. Of the 31 existing projects addressing climate change implemented by the Ministry of Environment, 19 are specific to adaptation and absorb 57% of total expenditure on climate change.

In 2011 a new planning project was launched, called Plan CC, in order to study and analyse future national scenarios for climate change mitigation and potential for sectoral GHG reductions. The program is co-ordinated by a federal committee comprised of the Ministries of Environment, Foreign Relations and Economy and Finance as well as the National Centre of Strategic Planning. The general objective of Plan CC is “to construct the technical and scientific foundations in addition to the capacity to explore the feasibility of ‘low carbon’ ‘clean’ development and incorporate the focus of climate change into the national development plans.” The major result of Plan CC has been the publication of a document preceding the completion of phase I of the project, Scenes of Climate Change Mitigation in Peru until 2050: building low-emissions development. This document lays out the case for following a development plan that privileges climate change mitigation. An additional technical document with analysis of the phase I study, complete with recommendations in six sectors to facilitate sustainable development was pending at time of publication.

The Third National Communication on Climate Change, which was slated for a 2014 publication, was still being prepared at time of publication. It should include analysis from Plan CC.

Sub-National activity

Peru has decentralised much of its governance structure over the past decade. National legislation therefore seeks to strike a balance between federal mandates and regionalised and localised strategies. The Organic Law of Regional Governments establishes that responsibility for managing natural resources and the natural environment resides with the regional governments and delegates’ authority to strategically plan environmental projects, implement federal legislation, enact regionally specific environmental legislation, and monitor and evaluate both regionally and nationally enacted policy from the central govern­ment to the 25 regional governments.

However, because the natural environment and the processes of climate change are not determined by political borders, legislation regarding climate change has been driven at the national level, and legal and managerial authority still largely rests with the National Commission on Climate Change housed within the Ministry of Environment. The General Law for the Environment, which acts as the foundation of environmental legislation, states that the role of the regional gov­ernments is to formulate policies and co-ordinate strategic programmes within the national framework. As such, regional governments must develop strategies for implementation of policy and project development, assisted by the National Strategic Planning Centre and additional corresponding national ministries and commissions.

Energy Supply

Peru has experienced growing demand for energy. Government reports project an average annual increase of energy consumption of 7.3% between 2008 and 2015. To diversify energy markets, shore up national production of energy, protect the natural environment and decrease use of carbon-emitting fuel types, Congress passed Law Decree 1002 Promotion for the Investment of Electricity from Renewable Energy in 2008. The law declares investment in renewable energy sources a national priority, and directed the Ministry of Mining and Energy to elaborate a plan of implementation.

In 2013, renewable sources represented 60% of electricity generated. Of that, 52% was hydroelectric, 46% was geothermal, and 2% was from non-conventional renewable sources (wind, solar, and biomass). Development of non-conventional renewable energy sources has been slow relative to hydro and geothermal electricity, but the Ministry projects an increase in production so that by 2020 non-conventional sources make up 5% of overall production.

Energy Demand

Between 2003 and 2013, energy consumption increased by 92% and consumption of oil and natural gas doubled. In order to encourage efficient use of energy during this period of economic growth and social development, Congress passed The Law to Promote Efficient Use of Energy in 2000. The Law requires the Ministry of Energy and Mining to promote a culture of energy efficiency and to design and fund energy efficiency projects. Directives regarding how the Ministry would implement the law were detailed by an executive decree issued in 2007.

REDD+ and LULUCF

Peru has the fourth-largest reserve of tropical forests in the world, a total of 72m ha. Deforestation, particularly in the Amazon, is a principal concern. According to the second national report to the UNFCCC, deforestation is the single largest source of GHG emissions, accounting for 47% of national emissions in 2000. Accordingly, Peru’s voluntary pledges on the interna­tional stage have prioritised forest conservation and reducing slash-and-burn agriculture practices. At the UNFCCC meeting in Poland in 2008, Peru pledged to conserve 54m ha of tropical forests; and in 2009 at the Copenhagen UNFCCC meeting, the country pledged to reduce net deforestation of primary forests to zero by 2020.

To help meet these aims, the Ministry of the Environment created the National Programme for Forest Conservation for Mitigation of Climate Change. As of 2013 the programme had conserved 2.5m ha. The Programme received USD50m (USD26.8m in grant funding and USD23.2m in loan financing) from the Climate Investment Funds–Forest Investment Programme.

2014 saw two national policies – by executive decree and legislation – that promote conservation of forested land and ecosystems. While both of these policies are primarily conservation focussed, they incorporate carbon sequestration and represent efforts to legislatively regulate REDD+ mechanisms. By 2014, Peru had negotiated more than USD8m in carbon credits.

Adaptation

Peru reportedly experiences more natural disasters than any other country in Latin America. Since 1970, it has experienced over 100 droughts, floods, mudslides, frosts, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions resulting in tens of thousands of deaths. In response to its disaster-prone geography and the threat of increased droughts, floods, and extreme weather as a result of climate change, the Inter-American Development Bank granted Peru a loan of USD25m in 2010 to increase national and local capacity to manage disaster and reduce risk through policy creation. In early 2011 Peru published a framework law on disaster risk and management that establishes the National System of Disaster Risk Management working across sectors at all levels of government. While the legislation does not explicitly address climate change, it does provide a legal framework that national ministries have employed to develop adaptation plans.

The most direct action on adaption to climate change in Peru has been taken at the ministerial level through two national plans. The first, passed by the Ministry of Environment, is the Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Action Plan, which lays out short and medium term programmes and projects at the national, sectoral, regional and local levels. Objectives of the plan are broken down into seven themes: measurement of GHG emissions, reductions of GHG emissions, adapting to climate change, integration of adaptation and mitigation into policy decision-making, strengthening research and monitoring of climate conditions, capacity building and public awareness, and financing. The plan reports that 68 projects were being executed or in early stages of implementation at time of publication. Responsibility for the implementation of the plan lies with the National Commission on Climate Change.

The second plan was developed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Ministry in co-operation with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization: the Risk Management and Adaptation Plan for Food and Agriculture to be implemented from 2012 through 2021. The plan presents a regionalised risk analysis for the agriculture industry in a changing climate and specific objectives related to food emergencies, drought and irrigation, and soil and forest management among other areas of strategic action. The plan also presents strategies for national, regional and local implementation.