EBRD Delivers Early On Its Rio+20 Commitments

  From an award-winning wind farm in Mongolia and climate-resilient hydropower in Tajikistan to window insulation for Turkish families, the EBRD is working across a vast region and many economic sectors towards a sustainable energy future. In a public declaration of its commitment to sustainable energy, the EBRD signed up to the Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) initiative launched by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to modernise energy supplies and increase energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources. The Bank is proud to announce that it has more than delivered on its pledge made at the launch of the SEforALL initiative at the Rio +20 Summit in June 2012. At that time the EBRD set a target of sustainable energy financing of US$ 8 billion for the period 2012 to 2014 for a total project value of US$ 30 billion. As of 30 June 2014, EBRD sustainable energy financing had reached US$ 8.25 billion across 352 projects for a total project value of US$ 44 billion. Accordingly, the Bank now expects to deliver a result significantly in excess of its original SEforALL pledge by the end of 2014. Projects financed to date are estimated to achieve CO2 reduction of around 21 million tonnes per year. The share of sustainable energy projects in the EBRD’s total annual investments is growing steadily each year. From 2006- when the EBRD launched its Sustainable Energy Initiative- to mid-2014, the Bank has invested US$20 billion in 816 projects for a total project value of over US$ 100 billion in this sector. Projects include direct financing for industrial energy efficiency and wind farms or credit lines for residential buildings insulation. Reflecting its mandate and business model, close to two thirds of EBRD sustainable energy projects are in the private sector. At the UN Climate Summit in New York on 23 September, global leaders from politics and business will have an opportunity to underscore their collective commitment to sustainable energy goals. The EBRD is looking forward to contribute to the Climate Summit and to progress this crucial agenda based on its business model which combines policy and investment. The EBRD has financed sustainable energy projects in the following 21 countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Croatia, Egypt, Georgia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyz Republic, FYR Macedonia, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovak Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine. Download story infographic here SEforALL Note: This story was originally published by the EBRD and can be found here