Award for ambitious climate protection

Two projects of the BMUB's International Climate Initiative (IKI) receive prestigious awards at COP23

The United Nations Climate Change Secretariat today honours two international climate protection projects funded by the Federal Environment Ministry with its Momentum for Change Climate Solutions Award. On the one hand, it recognizes the work of the Munich Climate Insurance Initiative (MCII), which helps people prepare for climate change. On the other hand, the project "Restoring peatlands in Russia – for fire prevention and climate change mitigation", (PeatRus) has been selected because it offers great potential for cost-effective natural climate solutions benefitting the planet and human wellbeing.
MCII, together with partners in developing countries, offers insurances against weather-related risks. Their goal: poverty reduction and better protection of population groups that are particularly vulnerable to climate change.

Under the patronage of the project "Adaptation to Climate Risks and Insurance Solutions in the Caribbean", funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment with more than 2.6 million euros as part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI), the MCII developed and introduced the Livelihood Protection Policy (LPP) in Jamaica, St. Lucia and Grenada. Regardless of his profession or the amount of his income, the policyholder can insure himself with this insurance policy against extreme weather events, which often occur during tropical cyclones.

PeatRus represents one of the largest peatland ecosystem restoration projects in the world and is funded by the BMUB with 6.5 million euros. Massive emission of CO2, which escape from drained peatland can be prevented. In addition, it reduces the risk of peatland fires, which, in addition to air pollution, also affects the health of the population. Peatlands also make an important contribution to the diversity of plants and animal species in these regions. So far, more than 35,000 hectares of dry peatland have been re-wetted; another 10,000 hectares are to follow. Rewetting is carried out ecologically, by successive closing of the drainage channels, whereby the original state of the peatland landscape is restored.

Momentum for Change is an initiative spearheaded by the UN Climate Change secretariat as part of wider efforts to mobilize action and ambition, as national governments work toward implementing the Paris Climate Change Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. Momentum for Change recognizes innovative and transformative solutions (called Lighthouse Activities) that address both climate change and wider economic, social and environmental challenges.

More information about the projects can be found on the Momentum for Change website