[Index]
US$
7.5 million Grant Approved for Climate
Change Mitigation
Geneva, 22 November
2005 - The
UNECE Energy Efficiency 21 Project (EE21)
received approval from the Global
Environmental Facility (GEF) Council
meeting held on 8-10 November to assist
in the development and launching of an
Investment Fund to reduce carbon emissions
in the Commonwealth of Independent States
and South-East Europe. The US$ 3 million
GEF grant for ‘Financing Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy Investments
for Climate Change Mitigation’ is
for technical assistance in the recipient
countries and for development of the
Investment Fund. It completes the co-financing
requirements of the United Nations Foundation
(UNF) and the Fonds Français pour
l’Environnement Mondial (FFEM).
In June 2004, the UNF Board of Directors
approved a grant of US$ 2 million conditional
on matching pledges from other donors.
The FFEM Grants Committee approved the
French Ministry of Foreign Affairs co-financing
proposal of US$ 2.5 million in March
2005. The GEF grant completes the funding
for a technical assistance project that
will launch a public-private equity Fund
together with an international financial
institution, assist local experts to
develop investment projects for financing
and work with local authorities on the
energy policy reforms to support these
investments.
The United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) will be the GEF Co-Implementing
Agency together with an international
financial institution and the UNECE is
the Executing Agency for the project.
Part of the funding from UNF, FFEM and
GEF will be used to structure the Investment
Fund, examine legal and fiscal issues,
and solicit public and private sector
investors who will select an experienced
Fund Manager. The investment fund will
not be managed by UNECE or UNEP but will
be a separate legal entity aligned with
Energy Efficiency 21.
Investment projects
to reduce carbon emissions have been
developed under EE21 with local counterparts
since 2000 in Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan,
Russian Federation and Ukraine. While
some US$ 60 million of proposals have
been prepared, investment projects of
some US$ 9.7 million have been financed
amounting to an estimated 49,000 tonnes
of CO2 avoided per year. The new Investment
Fund will provide the capacity for many
more projects to be financed with larger
carbon emissions reductions. Current
as well as new investment proposals developed
under EE21, with funding from the UNF,
FFEM and GEF grants, that meet agreed
criteria will provide a pipeline of
projects to the investment fund. The
Fund Manager will have access to these
proposals but will also finance projects
from other sources so long as they meet
the selection criteria jointly agreed
with UNEP/UNECE and the investors in
the Investment Fund.
The EE21 capacity
building activities will be aimed at
developing the skills of public and
private sector experts to identify, develop
and finance energy efficiency investment
projects for submission to the Fund Manager.
The project will also work with national
administrations and local authorities
to introduce economic, institutional
and regulatory reforms needed to support
these investment proposals.
For further information please contact:
Gianluca Sambucini
Energy Efficiency 21 (EE21)
Industrial Restructuring, Energy and Enterprise
Development Division (IREED)
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
Palais des Nations, Bureau 348
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Telephone: +41 (0)22 917 1175
Telefax:
+41 (0)22 917 0178
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: http://www.unece.org/ie and
http://www.ee-21.net
Ref: ECE/IREEDD/05/P10