The Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership (E5P), a multi-donor fund of which the EU is one of the main contributors, was officially launched in the Belarusian capital Minsk on 10 July. The fund will provide up to €17 million in grant support to municipal projects across the country in the areas of district heating, solid waste management, street lighting, transport and energy efficiency.
The EU, with a pledge of €10 million, is the largest fund contributor to date, while Belarus has also committed to providing €1 million. Other contributions have come from Estonia, Germany, Poland and Sweden, and more countries are expected to join the E5P in Belarus in the near future.
“In its capacity of the largest contributor to the Fund, the European Union wishes to see E5P as a catalyst of action. This concerns both policy action and sound investments into sustainable infrastructure for the benefit of citizens and the environment,” stated Ms Andrea Wiktorin, Head of the EU Delegation to Belarus.
The first grant of €2 million from E5P in the country will be provided to the Puhovichi Solid Waste Project implemented by the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development. It will help construct the country’s first regional environmentally friendly landfill, which will be built in accordance with EU standards. The new landfill is expected to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases by an equivalent of 6,764 tonnes of CO2 annually and save a total of €3 million in operating costs.
E5P, part of the EU4Energy Initiative, is a €200 million multi-donor fund designed to promote energy-efficiency investments in the Eastern Partnership countries such as Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The E5P grants mainly support the following sectors: district heating, solid waste management, street lighting, local transport and the insulation of public buildings.
