On 5 April, about 200 attendees gathered at an official ceremony, “Climate Change and Women in Armenia Award”, including speakers from the UNDP, high ranking government officials, ambassadors, and many other respected guests from around the country. The goals of the awards were to recognise the contribution and leadership of Armenian women in mitigating and adapting to climate change, create a platform for sharing best practices, stimulate the cooperation of stakeholders, and draw attention to the uneven impact of climate change on women and men.
As part of the EBRD’s engagement in supporting green investments in the country, gender finance activities are also carried out continuously. Therefore, EBRD GEFF in Armenia did not hesitate to nominate the Director of Radio Hay, renowned architect Anahit Tarkhanyan. The company was among 100 nominees for 170 nominations and was honoured with one of the event’s six awards, presented for its engagement in climate change awareness-raising in Armenia in recent years through its radio coverage. The company’s activities are powered by renewable energy investments made with the help of GEFF in Armenia financing and GTS high-performance technologies, thus making its radio transmissions more sustainable and greener. GEFF nominee Radio Hay invested in five solar power stations installed at the company’s head office in Yerevan and four radio towers in the Yerevan, Gegharkunik, Lori, and Syunik regions, thus enabling the company to produce 57.48 MWh of green energy annually. As a result of these investments, the awardee has successfully reduced its CO2 emissions by 25 tonnes a year. The GTS vendor of the power stations has granted a 15-year warranty on the German-made solar panels and a five-year warranty on the other parts. After the seven-year repayment period, the solar power station will provide stable coverage for the company’s energy costs for about 20 years.
The contest was organised by the UNDP in the framework of the “Armenia’s National Adaptation Plan” project financed by GCF, the RA Ministry of Environment, in cooperation with the RA Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the Council on Women’s Affairs; it was coordinated by the “Women in Climate and Energy” NGO. Many guests expressed the hope that the Awards will take place on an annual basis, thus bringing into focus and contributing to the development of a more resilient and sustainable future for the country.