On the launching of the Best Climate Practices observatory’s new platform, the International Center for Climate Governance (ICCG) is inaugurating its second edition of the International Competition on Best Climate Practices with this year’s invitation to submit innovative proposals on the theme of energy poverty.

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Energy poverty can be defined as inaccessibility to adequate forms of reliable, affordable energy for meeting basic human needs, such as eating, home heating, travellng and  maintaining health. Today approximately one in five persons lives in conditions of energy poverty, and nearly 40% of the world’s  population uses wood, coal or animal waste for cooking. The use of such fuels, beyond having a negative impact on health, is contributing, through deforestation and its concomitant emissions, to aggravating the effects of climate change.

Coming to grips with energy poverty is therefore crucial for sustainable social and economic development.

By encouraging institutions, citizens, researchers and businesses to reflect constructively on the dual challenges of climate change and energy poverty, we believe it is possible to develop concrete, innovative solutions aimed at solving the problem and promoting economic development and social dignity.

Competition sponsor
The competition, now in its second year, is sponsored by ICCG’s Best Climate Practices Observatory, an initiative whose aim is to provide a comprehensive overview of the most innovative and effective best climate practices, with an emphasis on the wide range of actions that, if pursued by politicians, economists, researchers and private citizens, can really make a difference.

Purpose of the contest
The competition is open to the best practices related to the issues of energy poverty as actions liable to mitigate or aid in adapting to climate change.

The competition is open to:

• original ideas just waiting to be realized,
• already existing innovative projects that deserve to be replicated in different economic and socio-geographical contexts.

The practices must be concretely feasible projects.
What is a good practice? Read the definition.

Who can participate
The competition is open to anyone, regardless of specialized experience and nationality. Practices may be sent in by single users or by teams, and can be invented by the persons proposing them or by third parties.

Deadlines
Propose your practice (July 10th to October 15th, 2014).
The practices must be submitted in English, in accordance with the procedure indicated in the 2014 Contest Guidelines: www.bestclimatepractices.org/contest

Vote and share your favorite practices (October 16th – 31st, 2014)
Users registered on the site can vote on the competing practices and share them on social networks to increase their chances of winning the Users’ Choice Award (see below).

Evaluation Criteria
Submitted practices will be evaluated on the basis on the following criteria:

• feasibility of the actions proposed by the practice;
• replicability potential of the practice described;
• originality of the practice;
• likely impact on energy poverty alleviation, and climate change adaptation and mitigation actions;
• the best costs/benefits ratio.

Awards
The competition will conclude with the awarding of two prizes.

Experts’ Choice Award
A panel of experts, including Carlo Carraro (ICCG and Ca ‘Foscari University of Venice), Pippo Ranci (World Access to Modern Energy & EXPO2015 Association), Shonali Pachauri (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis – IIASA), Saleemul Huq (International Institute for Environment and Development – IIED) and Raffaella Centurelli (International Energy Agency, IEA), will evaluate the practices in accordance with the above criteria and will award the Experts’ Choice Award: a precious Murano glass art item fashioned ​​by a famous master craftsman.

Users’ Choice Award
The author of the practice that receives the highest number of votes between October 16th  and 31st, 2014 will win the Users’ Choice Award: the production of a promotional video of his or her practice.

Award Ceremony
The winners will be invited to accept their awards at the fourth edition of the Think Forward Film Festival (Venice, December 12-13, 2014), the ICCG film festival on climate change and renewable energy. The winners of each practice will also benefit from the opportunity to make contact with a broad network of institutions and potential investors, and will see their practice publicized through the communication channels of the International Center for Climate Governance.

Read the detailed Call for Proposals and participate in the 2014 Competition
Contact: [email protected], +39. (0) 41.2700.435.