EBRD to trigger investments in Eastern Europe

TIRANA, May 13 – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is to trigger investments in sustainable energy projects worth up to 15 billion Euros in the next three years in its drive to finance the development of new sources of clean energy and to reduce energy waste throughout Eastern Europe.
The Bank’s own investments in sustainable energy projects through 2011 of between 3 and 5 billion Euros are expected to attract further co-financing of up to 10 billion Euros.
Countries in the EBRD region continue to grapple with the legacy of cheap energy that made wastage an endemic problem. They remain the most energy intensive economies in the world when measured by carbon emissions per unit of GDP. The potential for further reductions remains huge.
The EBRD’s strategy to help mitigate the impact of climate change is to attack this widespread energy wastage with energy efficiency projects but also to tap new sustainable sources of energy via investments in renewable.
“Reducing energy wastage in Eastern Europe and developing reliable new supplies of sustainable energy remain core to the EBRD’s future strategy,” said EBRD President Thomas Mirow. “Energy efficiency helps increase competitiveness. It is a key part of the transition process,” he added.
The first stage of the EBRD’s Sustainable Energy Initiative (SEI) was launched in May 2006 as a response to the rising challenges of climate change.
The EBRD’s investments in sustainable energy from May 2006 up until the end of 2008 reached 2.7 billion Euros, outstripping the original target of 1.5 billion Euros by 77 percent. There were a total of 166 investments in 24 countries for a total project value of 14 billion Euros.
The Bank also launched new facilities to finance sustainable energy projects via financial intermediaries and supported the development of the carbon market.