Sedacusco Water Utility – Peru

Peru's National Challenge

Peru is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Droughts, melting ice in the Andean glaciers, intense rainfall events and mudslides affect drinking water and wastewater services. These impact the availability and quality of water and often damage utilities’ infrastructure. In response, water and wastewater utilities in Peru are pioneering new ways to address climate change by reducing their carbon footprints and their vulnerability to climate change at the same time.

Adopting climate change mitigation measures in the water sector in Peru is an effective insurance against an uncertain resources future, and would contribute to the NDC commitments made by the Peruvian government to reduce 20% of its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, as well as a more ambitious target of 30%. Water as a resource is one of the priority areas in Peru’s adaptation plan.

Peru’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Sector in Percent (2016)

WaCCliM in Peru

The WaCCliM project cooperates with the General Directorate for Environmental Affairs under the Ministry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation, which is responsible for environmental policy in the water and sanitation sector including both mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

CO2 reduction and beneficiaries through implemented measures in Cusco, Peru. Illustration: © WaCCliM

WaCCliM partner utilities

In Peru, water and wastewater utilities have started to prepare Mitigation and Adaptation Plans for Climate Change (PMACCs), developed by WaCCliM in collaboration with the BMZ funded PROAGUA II programme. PMACCs help utilities account for their greenhouse gas emissions, and then identify mitigation and adaptation measures that can contribute to their sustainability as well as enhance their services.

As a pilot, WaCCliM and MVCS have supported the utility of Cusco, SEDACUSCO, to identify and achieve mitigation measures. Improved sludge management has proven highly effective in the city, with multiple benefits. It has avoided emissions of 7,454 t CO2e per year – equivalent to 5,300 passengers flying economy from Lima to Frankfurt and back – while bringing a serious local odour problem under control. The utility is moving forward to install a cogeneration system for biogas valorisation, which they expect will save around €260,000 in annual electricity costs and avoid a further 544 t CO2e per year in emissions.

For a detailed account of WaCCliM’s impact in Peru, please read:

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