Towards a Sustainable City through Energy Efficiency in Kairouan

The project “Towards a Sustainable City through Energy Efficiency in Kairouan” is a city-level climate mitigation initiative to accelerate energy efficiency transitions in the city of Kairouan, Tunisia. It focuses on two high-impact urban sectors, energy-efficient buildings and public lighting, aligned with Tunisia’s enhanced Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and local sustainable development priorities.¹

The project’s vision is to “support Kairouan’s transition toward a low-carbon, energy-efficient urban model” that can be replicated in other Tunisian cities. Its aims include strengthening the enabling environment for energy-efficient buildings, reducing electricity consumption through efficient public lighting, and establishing institutional, technical, and knowledge systems that support long-term scale-up of energy efficiency measures at national level.^{2 3}

The project is structured around three main components:^{4 5}

• Institutional strengthening for energy-efficient buildings: development of regularity, quality assurance, and institutional mechanisms to support the market uptake of efficient building practices.
• Energy-efficient public lighting: deployment of energy-efficient street lighting in Kairouan, alongside support to outdoor lighting technology standards and quality control.
• Knowledge management, monitoring, and scale-up: establishment of monitoring and evaluation frameworks, documentation of results, and preparation of replication and scale-up strategies beyond Kairouan.

Through city-wide energy-efficiency interventions, the project is expected to deliver measurable reductions in electricity consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The anticipated mitigation impact is estimated at approximately 0.5 million tons CO₂ equivalent over the project lifetime.^{6 7}

The project is developed and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with Tunisia’s Ministry of Environment, including the Directorate General for Sustainable Development. Operational engagement occurs at the municipal level in Kairouan, with participation of local authorities, relevant public and private institutions , and civil society actors.^{8 9} The project is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), with a total project cost of approximately USD 2.8 million. ^{10 11}
Approved in 2022, the project is currently under implementation and follows a phased delivery structure comprising:

• Regulatory and institutional strengthening for energy-efficient buildings,
• Rollout of energy-efficient public lighting solutions in Kairouan, and
• Monitoring, learning, and preparation for national scale-up under UNDP implementation arrangements.¹²