SDG 7.2.6: Policy on divesting investments from carbon-intensive energy industries notably coal and oil

Solar Photovoltaic Panels

IUL has implementing a solar photovoltaic panels on an area up to 1000 square meters in Wardanieh campus to provide clean and affordable energy. This system provides a total energy through renewable sources equal to 566000 KWH, that represent 70% from total energy consumption in the university. The total energy consumption in the university is equal to 808870 KWH.

Environmental Laws and Regulations.

 The Lebanese Parliament and the Council of Ministers organize and release a series of laws and regulations, but enacted procedures are not clear. There is no direct reference to the environment in Lebanon’s Constitution. The private sector and the civil societies have collaborated in order to try to patch things up. The Green Party rises from this condition It targets both political players and the general public in order to achieve awareness about the environmental issues. (“An urgent need to regulate sustainability in Lebanon”, 2015)

  1. State of the Environment Report (SOER) identify and analyze existing legislation affecting the environment in Lebanon.
  2. Environment Law444/2002. Approved by parliament, it’s a legal tool for environmental protection and management, but this law needs application decrees, which some are difficult and have political debate, not expected to achieve implementation. (“State and Trends of the Lebanese Environment”, 2010)
  3. (SELDAS) It helped strengthening the awareness of the environmental legislation development and enactment, application and liability, and promoted environmental law education in several universities. ((SELDAS)Strengthening the Environmental Legislation Development and Application System in Lebanon, 2003)

Building permits. All building permit applications are controlled through the Order of Engineers (in Beirut or Tripoli) and must be approved by either the Director General of Urban Planning and/or municipalities. (“Lebanon State of the Environment Report”, 2001)

Air Quality Protection Act

The university aims to make a difference in minimizing carbon footprint by making an energy transition of a part of its electricity to “green” power. Studies are under preparation to initiate projects to establish hybrid renewable energy systems to produce power from clean renewable sources such as the sun and wind, rather than oil, and using clean fuel whenever possible.

IUL has a mission to transform its campus and to do so it focuses on energy efficiency. The use of solar energy as a way to combat problems related to climate change will be the indicator for this particular area of interest. focusing on the use of low consumption appliances, energy conservation program, construction of green areas, climate change mitigation and adaptation program and policies for the use of renewable energies and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

The university is committed to regulating the total electricity consumption, water, paper and fossil fuels to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by reducing consumption. Moreover, the university is planning to rely on clean energy sources such as solar energy to provide affordable electricity to its facilities.

Furthermore, the university adopts the Air Quality Protection Act issued by the Lebanese Parliament (Law No. 78 dated: 04/13/2018), especially the articles of chapter 3 – The protection, and those related to the Fuel quality, to reduce air pollution resulting from the transportation and encouraging the employees to use less polluting fuels.

 

This chapter 3 declares:

The use and trade of fuel is subject to the specified specifications in accordance with Article 11 of this law and to the provisions of Law 341/2001 (reducing air pollution resulting from the transport sector and encouraging the trend towards the use of less polluting fuels) and its amendments.

Counting emissions from fuel trading (1-23): Emissions resulting from fuel storage operations must remain below the limit values ​​for emissions from stationary sources stipulated in Article 9 of this law.

The environmental conditions, including preventive measures, that must be adhered to when loading, transporting, unloading or storing fuel, are determined by a joint decision issued by the Minister of Environment and the Minister of Energy and Water so that the emissions do not exceed the limit values ​​of emissions from the fixed sources referred to in Article 9 of this law.