MOUNTAINS AND ENERGY: A CALL FOR ACTION ON THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGs) Sustainable mountain development should be 2 global priority Sea diven the multiude of services that mountains provide, among ‘the most notable being water for half of humanity for crinking, TARGET 1: “Integrle sustahable Number of counties iigation and energy production. The pressing need to alleviate mountain deveopment —inlo Supporting sustainable poverty in mountain regions is another reason for concerted County poles and programmes rrouniain development in ‘action. Mountain people ~ who are among the poorest in the ‘and stop the loss of ‘thei pices and world - are key to maintaining these mountain ecosystems, ‘iranmental resources,” Programmes. which provide essential environmental goods and services 10 the global communis s - TARGET 2: "By 2030, incease Share of sustainable the share of sustainable nergy in energy within the overall Following the incusion of mountains in Chapter 13 of Agenda the enerwy mx, nduing. the energy tax, in patteuar 21, the acon pian endorsed by the ‘Earth Summit in 1992, atopion of ate seleguecs, win: develoing. counties ‘and the recent Rio+20 outcome document, various expedaly in developing counites wi fkagle mountain stakeholders call for mountain issues to be covered by wih fagle mourienous —ecosysters. the SDGs, especially the goals that address. topics ecooystoms, relevant to’ mountains, such as energy. By 2030, doubt the gobal rate Gobel rte of mroverent of improvement in energy) ereagy affesncy in cour Pfciency in buldings, industy, thes wih fagie maurtan sgrcuture and anspor in ecusysters countries wit fragle mouniaincus e0csystems.” The following actions are needed to protect fragile mountain ecosystems and communities, in particular in developing countries: ‘= Recognize the invaluable contribution of mountzins to the feet ese cree eae TARGET 3: "Take joint action and Proportion of population '% Recognize the potential for mountain counties to develop improve offorts to work together at iving in mountart regions sustainable energy and energy efficiency solutions, which can ail levels 10 improve acoess for with access 10 sustoinable contibute to the goals of energy secutly, cimale resilence ‘mountain communities, in pertculst energy ‘and economic development in deveepirg countries, to modem, relable and affable sustoinable energy © facile the achieversent of the sustainable evelopment goals.” % Promote and expand sustainable energy and energy efi- ciency solutions in’ mountains including through: sustainable hydropower development, biomass, wind, solar and geothermal ‘energy, vile preventing’ and minimizng negative environmen ‘al and social impacts on mountain ecosystems and communi tes: % Create and improve policies, frameworks and incentives to romate investments in Susianable energy Solutions in moun— fain counties, also to spur opportunites. for public-private partnerships; Improve access for mountain communities, in developing Ccounities in particular, to modem, reliable and’ affordable sus- ‘ainable energy solutions; Support the establishment of mountain-related targets ‘and indicators for the sector-specific Sustainable Develo- Pment Goals related 10 energy:MOUNTAINS AND ENERGY: KEY FACTS AND FIGURES Mountains provide sustainable energy for downstream cities and remote mountain communities Mountains contribute up to 80%, sometimes even 100%, of downstream iver flow, and thus are @ key resource for ‘green economic growth. Hydropower is one of the main sources of sustainable ‘energy in mountain regions: Hydropower is a leading source ‘of energy in the European Alps. In Latin America, 85% of the hydropower energy is generated from mountains. Hydropower is ‘also increasingly important in Asia and AMtica. Argentine 34.4 34.9 Bolivia 100.0 35.6 Chile 93.1 50.4 Coloma 95.4 39.4 Ecuador 858 55.8 Pou 95.6 739 Venezuela O48 36.5 Total 52.4 63.6 Fydreciecivie energy generation In ihe Andes © Condesen: "he J esata rycopowarpstartal the ec Kush tials (HAH Ta ainae oR apn ded 600,000 Mo NSP Solar power can also be efficiently produced in mountains and ‘ther cold regions - contrary to popular belef. The Himelayes and Tropical Andes are particuiarly promising locations forthe development of solar energy, where installtions could produce approximately 20% more energy then they could at see level Wind power is a vast, but largely untapped source of potential sustainable energy in mountains. Even at. lower elevations, the terran and topography of mountains can create Wind corridors with high wind speeds that are idealy suited for Wind turbine development. However, this potential remains largely untapped. For example, 33% of the European Economic Area (EEA) ' considered mountainous, but generally only @ small fraction of wind turbine capacity is instaled in these regions. ‘Sustainable energy brings benefits to human health, the mountain environment and global climate. Reduced dependency on firewood, for example, can lead to fewer respiratory diseases, improved water and. soll conservation, and Jess black carton (soo!) in the atmosphere ~ one of the most widespread short-lived climate pollutants. However, many sustainable energy sources in mountains remain unused or underutlized. The Himalayan region, for ‘example, could produce up to 500,000 MW from hydropower (roughy the equivalent of SOO nuclear plants). Curently only 9% of the potential in the Himalayas is developed. Awareness about the oppartunties and constants of sustainable energies in ‘mountain regions globally i also lacking Adequate environmental and social safeguards are needed @ Mountains contain some of | the most _ frat ecosystems on the planet. These ecosystems, and. the communities that live within them, are among’ the most vulnerable to climate change and other environmental changes. Mountain glaciets are dramatically retreating in almost all regions of the world, resulting in the diminishing of mountain water supply and in some cases leading 10 further tensions over water and energy use. @ Impairment of these fragile ecosystems is often not avoided/minimized when developing sustainable energy solutions. For example, large and small-scale hycropower development must adhere to established global standards and safeguards to avoid and minimize environmental and Social impacts, which can include the loss of agricutural ang forested land, changes in ecosystems and biodiversity, ang a lack of benefits to local mountain communities. Adequate Participatory planning and management, including the involvement of local communities, is critical for sustainability Energy needs should always be carefully balanced with environmental and social concerns. © Improving energy efficiency can_have a significant positive impact on the environment. For example, replacing wood-burning stoves with clean cooking stoves reduces. by 50% the use of wood that many rural communities are stil heavily dependent on,MOUNTAIN ECOSYSTEM GOODS AND SERVICES Sense of lu, sport and touts Austrian = Development Gooperation