Until recently, the Peruvian city Cusco stank. But thanks to a more modern sewage system, the Andean metropolis is now not only easier on the climate – it’s also easier on the nose. The system even creates biogas.Project goal: Installation of a modern wastewater system in Cusco, Peru
Project size: The modernization saves 5,300 tons of CO2 annually for the pilot firm SEDACUSCO
Financing: International Climate Initiative (IKI) is funding this and similar initiatives in Jordan, Mexico and Thailand with 6.5 million euros ($7.3 million)
Implementation: German development agency GIZ

Around 80 percent of sewage worldwide is channeled into the environment without being treated. Unprocessed wastewater creates three times more greenhouse emissions than that which is treated. Cusco’s sewage modernization project has improved sewage sludge treatment, and the facility now creates biogas. The location couldn’t be more historic – Cusco was at the heart of the Incan empire, and the nearby world-famous Inca citadel Machu Picchu attracts millions of tourists annually.

A film by Joachim Eggers