The British Embassy Washington is pleased to announce a call for bids for US State Green Economy Report as part of the UK Government’s Prosperity Fund. The resulting analysis from the project will be used in support of UK engagement on climate and energy policy priorities and to prioritise UK trade and investment engagement in the United States.
The deadline for completion of all work is 5 March 2021 and the budget must not exceed £130,000.
The deadline to submit bids is 30 October 2020. Please submit bids using the attached templates to Talia.Calneksugin@fcdo.gov.uk.
Background
The UK is hosting the 26th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP26) in November 2021. It is vital that in order to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement that COP26 focuses on increased climate action at all levels of government, business, and civil society.
The UK is a global leader in clean growth, climate ambition, and on engaging the private sector in national plans (for example, through the Clean Growth Strategy, Industrial Strategy, Sector Plans, etc). The UK’s Climate Change Act (2008) was a pivotal economy-wide, legally-binding climate change legislation and has become a structure replicated around the world.
The UK is a world leader in green finance and offshore wind capacity, and it has a strong focus on the innovation and technology needed to meet its net zero commitment including carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS), electric vehicles (EVs), building efficiency, and energy networks and storage.
Climate action and low carbon innovation are top foreign policy, and international trade and investment priorities for the UK. The UK also firmly believes that a clean and resilient economic recovery must be at the forefront of the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The UK and US have a strong history of close collaboration on low carbon innovation at both the national level and subnationally with universities, states, and the private sector. However, in this quickly evolving sector there remains limited tailored data to advance this agenda, particularly at the state level.
Project objectives and parameters
This report will help inform the UK’s state-level engagement on policy priorities related to the green economy and support prioritisation of trade and investment opportunities in green economy sectors (e.g. renewable energy and clean infrastructure).
To achieve this objective, the project will deliver detailed mapping of the current and projected green economy in a selection of US states. We hope that this mapping will include at least 20 US states, with the final states to be agreed in collaboration with the Project Board that will work with the grant recipient.
For each state, the report should focus on sub-sections of the green economy which are of most relevance to that particular state and align with the UK’s climate/energy objectives (for example, offshore wind, CCUS, hydrogen, EVs, energy storage, electrical networks and smart grids). The reports for each state will be used to identify current trends, the drivers and opportunities for future growth, the short-term and potential longer term impact of COVID-19 on the state’s green economy, and the policy and investment/export environments.
Bidders will be responsible for proposing precisely how to achieve the objectives. Proposals should include how the bidder will:
1) Use existing data sources (and primary data if relevant) to provide information on the current green economy in the state, aligned with UK priorities and definitions where possible
Potential metrics are:
- current state policies/regulation
- GHG emissions;
- energy mix (generation)
- energy imports/exports
- green jobs and the quality of those jobs
- size of the green economy including tax revenues
- data on the EV market including sales, charging infrastructure, jobs etc
- relevant data and action plans on climate adaptation and infrastructure resilience
- role of ambitious businesses
- role and importance of green finance in the state
2) Provide projections for future green economy opportunities for each state, including the impact of COVID-19. This will likely be through novel analysis, for example economic modeling. It is expected that the final reports could include:
- an assessment of the commitments made by the state to date
- future impact of current incentives to support green growth
- potential renewable energy capacity
- green jobs projections
- likely impact of COVID-19 on the green economy in the short and longer term (focusing on the sectors most relevant to the state)
- data on state and/or major city energy transition plans in place or planned
- major funding sources for innovation and low carbon businesses
In addition to the detailed reports for specific states, the Project should include a summary report providing an overview of the current and emerging opportunities for climate engagement across the states assessed. The grant recipient will also be expected to present findings and recommendations to UK Government stakeholders via video teleconference.
The grant recipient will be expected to provide interim products to the UK Project Board for its review and guidance. Bidders are encouraged to include a timeline in their proposal that includes regular opportunities for feedback on draft reports and a phased approach to delivery.
All work must be completed by 5 March, 2021. Bidders should include a realistic timeline in their proposals demonstrating ability to deliver against the Project’s objectives within this timeframe.
Bidding process
Bidders should submit their proposals to Talia.Calneksugin@fcdo.gov.uk no later than 30 October 2020 using the attached Proposal Template and Grant Eligibility Documentation, linked below. Proposals should not exceed 15 pages.
Proposals will be evaluated using the attached evaluation criteria. Bidders may be asked for additional information to support their initial proposals.
If the bidder is a consortium, the following information must be provided: Full details of the consortium; the role of each member of the consortium in delivering against the project’s objectives; and a primary bidder, who will be the principal point of contact with the project board.
Please email Talia.Calneksugin@fcdo.gov.uk with any questions regarding the project or the bidding process. These questions must be received on or before 21 October 2020.
Documentation
