December 2014: The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has released the second edition of the ‘IRENA Handbook on Renewable Energy Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs),’ which guides policy makers and NAMA developers as they seek to use NAMAs to deploy renewable energy and mitigate climate change. The guidance offered is supported by case studies from Tunisia, Chile and Mexico.

The Handbook begins with an explanation of NAMAs, the development of the concept under the UNFCCC to assist countries in incorporating climate change mitigation into sustainable development strategies, and the need to measure, report and verify (MRV) results obtained through NAMAs. According to IRENA, the proliferation of renewable energy can be inhibited by any number of political and economic barriers, and NAMAs can take various forms, whether sweeping targets, specific policy measures or individual projects, to start breaking down those barriers.

A chapter on financing opportunities for renewable energy NAMAs covers the international funds and facilities available to developing countries and describes the NAMA financing framework, complete with a list of potential instruments to use, from equity and loans to risk cover instruments and, indirectly, regulatory instruments. The chapter also provides examples from the UNFCCC NAMA Registry of active NAMA support vehicles.

The following chapter takes the reader step-by-step through the process of developing a NAMA, from conception through operation. To illustrate this process in practice, the final chapter hones in on three case studies. In Tunisia, the challenges its ‘Plan Solaire’ has faced in gaining traction demonstrate that garnering buy-in from key conventional energy industry and relevant government stakeholders is crucial to moving a NAMA forward, even with enthusiastic support from international actors.

Chile’s self-supply renewable energy (SSRE) NAMA offers a good example of a flexible framework that integrates existing and planned policies under one NAMA, eligible for national and international support. Mexico’s case shows how a strong NAMA coordinator can ensure the lengthy NAMA process stays on track, even as s/he manages the expectations and demands of all interested stakeholders. [IRENA Publication Webpage] [Publication: IRENA Handbook on Renewable Energy Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs), Second Edition] [IISD RS Story on First Edition of Handbook]