Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources Hosts Workshop for Post-Soviet and Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Countries

Energy efficiency, renewable energy and other low-carbon technologies are the focus of a joint workshop by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and hosted by the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources in Istanbul.

The two-day event on 15 and 16 June 2015 brought together over 60 policy-makers and experts in the energy sector from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as well as Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia.

Many of these countries lag behind economies at a similar level of development when it comes to the sustainable use of energy, water and other resources. Policy-makers are therefore exploring ways to adopt climate technologies across industries in order to enhance national energy security, improve management of natural resources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and pollution, and stimulate sustainable economic development more generally.

Erdal Çalıkoğlu, Deputy General Director of Renewable Energy at the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, said: "To achieve sustainable development, nations should push for the implementation of renewable energy and energy efficient technologies. Turkey is delighted to share its progress to help promote best practices on a global scale.”

In her opening remarks, Şule Kılıç, EBRD Deputy Director for Turkey, said: "Turkey is actively working to overcome the challenge of an energy-intensive economy. Sustainable energy investments are crucial to advance wider economic progress.”

Helping governments and businesses implement innovative climate technologies is among the EBRD’s priorities in the countries where it invests.

The Bank has set up a dedicated programme for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as well as Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia, to support businesses in adopting climate technologies.

The programme, called "Finance and Technology Transfer Centre for Climate Change” (FINTECC), is part of the EBRD’s Sustainable Energy Initiative and promotes energy efficiency, renewable energy, carbon-emission reduction and water efficiency technologies. It offers policy dialogue, expert technical advice as well as incentive grants for companies to introduce new technologies, especially those with low market penetration and good demonstration effect. The grants, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and from the Bank’s own resources, complement EBRD financing.

Presenting FINTECC, Sumeet Manchanda, Principal Manager in the Energy Efficiency and Climate Change team at the EBRD, said: "Companies that introduce climate technologies increase profitability by reducing energy and water costs, bring down regulatory and supply risks through better control of resource consumption and their environmental impact, improve reliability of operations and reduce their carbon footprint. We encourage policy-makers to create more attractive conditions for investment in innovative climate technologies.”

In the countries where it invests, the EBRD is a market leader in promoting private sector investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, playing a key role in helping to deliver private sector finance to help achieve global climate goals.

The EBRD business model for climate finance combines commercial project financing and technical assistance through market analysis, energy audits, training, awareness-building and grant co-financing. It also incorporates work with policy-makers to support the development of a strong institutional and regulatory framework that incentivises sustainable resource projects.

In 2014 alone, 34 per cent of the Bank’s €8.9 billion investment across 35 countries was in sustainable energy. Since the launch of its Sustainable Energy Initiative in 2006, the Bank has invested €16.7 billion in almost 1,000 sustainable energy projects which range from support for wind, solar and hydropower generation to investments in industrial and residential resource efficiency, green transport, municipal infrastructure, better energy transmission and cleaner power plants.

(EBRD)