Green municipal infrastructure investments in Azerbaijan are set to get a boost thanks to the country’s participation in the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership (E5P).
Azerbaijan’s first E5P contribution of US$ 2 million means that the country is now eligible to receive grant financing for energy efficiency and environmental projects in the municipal sector, joining Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Belarus, where the E5P operates.
The contribution agreement was signed today in London by EBRD President Sir Suma Chakrabarti and Azerbaijan’s Prime Minister Ali Asadov in the presence of the EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, at the Eastern Partnership Investment Summit, held by the EBRD.
The E5P is a €206 million multi-donor fund initiated during the Swedish Presidency of the European Union (EU) in 2009. E5P projects not only save energy and protect the environment but also strongly focus on policy dialogue to help reforms supporting effective investments in energy efficient measures by municipalities.
The E5P Fund combines contributions from the EU, the largest donor, beneficiary countries and others including Armenia, Belarus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic, Sweden, Switzerland, TaiwanBusiness – EBRD Technical Cooperation Fund, Ukraine and the United States of America. The EBRD acts as fund manager.
The fund provides grant co-financing for projects in the municipal sector implemented by international financial institutions such as the EBRD, the EIB, the World Bank Group, the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation and the Nordic Investment Bank.
To date, the E5P has invested in 36 projects in five countries worth €741 million, saving 1,700 GWh in energy costs and 1 million tonnes in CO2 emissions per year.
