Iran

On November 25^th, 2014, the Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea of the Italian Republic and the Department of Environment of the Islamic Republic of Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding in order to facilitate the implementation of projects for the protection of the environment and sustainable development, with a particular emphasis on energy and climate change.

The co-financing of the Ministry for the Environment to support projects and activities that will be promoted under this  Memorandum  will not exceed the amount of 3 million euros.

The first  Work Plan, adopted on April 26^th, 2015, provides for a contribution that bilateral cooperation will give to implement the National Voluntary Contributions (NDCs) established by Iran, through activities of institutional strengthening, technology transfer and identification of possible initiatives in the field of biodiversity and marine environment.

During bilateral meetings, especially after the technical mission of July 17^th -18^th, 2016, five priority areas have been identified:

• Management of water resources;
• Waste management;
• Promotion of renewable energy;
• Smart cities;
• Reduction of air pollution

With reference to these themes, following the "Environmental Protection and Climate Change" technical seminar (Teheran, October 24-26, 2016), Italian and Iranian companies operating in the green economy sector were called to present project proposals to the Iranian Department of the Environment. The projects, once been positively evaluated by the Iranian Department, are submitted for approval to the Joint Committee, established under the Memorandum of Understanding.

In February 2017, the second meeting of the Joint Committee approved the first project among those which had been selected by the Iranian Department of Environment, entitled : “Adoption of transmission / communication technologies UMPI / IRASCO to convert street lighting into smart grid infrastructures, monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions, pollution reduction, improving of road traffic conditions and increasing of the energy efficiency”. The project will allow the installation of systems for traffic and pollution detection in the street lighting network in some urban areas of Iran.

In addition to the bilateral cooperation carried out under the Memorandum of Understanding, the Ministry for the Environment co-finances other projects that promote the sustainable development in the Republic of Iran:

• the project "Support to Iran's SMEs through the promotion of investments and technology transfer in the fields of energy and the environment", implemented in collaboration with UNIDO ITPO (Investment and Technology Promotion Office of the United Nations Organization for Industrial Development);

• ICAT initiative (Initiative for Climate Action Transparency), implemented with UNOPS;

• The disposal scheme of HCFCs (Hydro Chlorofluorocarbon), phase II, carried out in collaboration with UNIDO under the Montreal Protocol.