The National Water and Sewage Corporation (NWSC) of Uganda presented a list of four project ideas and requested financing from Danida Sustainable Infrastructure Finance (DSIF). The Jinja-Iganga project has been deemed suitable and NWSC has presented the project on a larger scope, which includes several subtopics within water supply and sanitation. In the first half of 2022, PEM assisted NWSC and DSIF in assessing whether the project may be eligible for DSIF funding. The team led by PEM-partner Thorbjørn Waagstein drafted a debriefing note, and assessment report, and a concept note according to Danida Guidelines.   Picture by Anna Gade (Uganda)  

The World Resource Institute (WRI) is an advocate and implementer of researching, designing, and carrying out practical solutions which improve people’s lives and ensure that nature can thrive. Since 2013, Denmark has provided core funding to the organization and has thus supported it’s aims. WRI’s 2023-2027 strategic plan will also receive Danish funding, however with an earmark. The chosen thematic areas for the plan will follow Danish development priority areas. PEM is engaged to provide aid for the preparation and program formulation of the Danish support to the WRI strategic plan 2023-2027. The consultancy team under the lead of PEM-partner Stephanie Robert Oksen prepared several documents, including the project document for Denmark’s support to the plan, had elaborate discussions Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, and WRI as well as the key donor partners. The team also visited Ethiopia and Kenya to gain in-depth insights and discuss the program with

Coal as an energy resource accounts for about 30% of the projected global temperature increase and thus, makes it the single largest driver of climate change. Nevertheless, the phase-out of the resource often meets strong opposition from public and private actors as there are strong economic and political incentives to maintain coal as a major energy resource. This is why the Climate Investment Fund (CIF) initiated the Accelerating Coal Transition (ACT) Program in early 2021 at COP 26. Denmark pledged a contribution in the amount of DKK 100 million to the program in 2022. PEM won the tender to provide quality assurance for the investment and its related documentation in accordance with the MFA Aid Management Guidelines. PEM partners Stephanie Oksen and Jens Lorentzen further proposed recommendations for adjustments and improvements of the project document.

Indonesia consists of more than 15 000 islands. Each island has an independent power grid, and many islands are also off grid. It is especially difficult to implement renewable energy supplies under these conditions. Indonesia is engaging with Denmark though a Strategic Sector Cooperation which facilitates government-to-government collaboration. Previously, DSIF has chosen the Indonesian province and island of Lombok for proposing potential projects in biomass-based thermal electricity for funding. The governor of the West Nusa Tenggara province has expressed interest for a similar study in the Sumbawa Regency to the Danish Embassy in Jakarta. In the first half of 2022, a PEM team under the lead of Thorbjørn Waagstein conducted a study about the biomass potential in the solid waste from the city Sumbawa Besar to see if there is a potential to combine agricultural waste and urban solid waste in a bio-energy facility. The team also mapped the type